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The first of the Railways In Adelaide was built in 1856 between the city and the port. The Adelaide railways were all built as Broad Gauge of 5'3". Gradually, a network of lines spread out from Adelaide. These were initially built to carry Ore , particularly Copper , then later freight from the Murray River, and Grain from the broadacre lands. The main line to Melbourne was opened after a bridge was built at Murray Bridge in 1886 . It was the first railway line between colony capitals to not have a Break-of-gauge . It was also the last of these to be converted to Standard Gauge in 1995 . The southern lines were all built to broad gauge, except for those south of Wolseley , which were built to narrow gauge. The main line to Melbourne (and the remaining branches off it) are now converted to standard gauge. The lines on Eyre peninsula and the mid north were built to Narrow Gauge 3'6". Once the standard gauge from Port Pirie to Broken Hill was built, broad gauge extended up to this line, and narrow gauge north of it. In the first half of the 20th Century , most of these lines carried passengers as well as freight. The only remaining passenger trains outside of Adelaide's metropolitan lines are The Overland between Adelaide and Melbourne, the Indian Pacific between Perth and Sydney via Adelaide, and The Ghan from Adelaide to Darwin , via Alice Springs . The country railways were initially owned by South Australian Railways . The main interstate lines were handed over to the Commonwealth Railways in 1926 . Commonwealth Railways later merged with S.A.R. to become the Australian National Railways Commission (ANR), and was eventually privatised. The metropolitan railway lines are owned and operated by TransAdelaide . DEVELOPMENT OF THE LINES Timeline
The first South Australian steam-operated line was built as a Broad Gauge (1600 mm) line in 1856 between the city and Port Adelaide stopping at Bowden, Woodville and Alberton. This line is now part of the Adelaide Suburban Network and has been proposed for standardisation and conversion to light rail. It was extended to Outer Harbor in 1908. A branch was built to Grange in 1882. This was extended to Henley Beach in 1894 and closed in 1978. Southern Lines The South Line, through the Adelaide Hills, was opened to Aldgate , Nairne in 1883, Murray Bridge in 1884 and Bordertown in 1887. A branch line was built to Marino in 1913, extended to Hallet Cove in 1915, Christies Downs in 1976, and Noarlunga in 1978. A horse-drawn broad (1600 mm) gauge Tramway was built from the port of Goolwa on the Murray River to an ocean harbour at Port Elliot in 1854. This line was used to move freight between the shallow-draft vessels navigating the Murray, and coastal and ocean-going vessels, without either having to traverse the narrow and shallow mouth of the river with unpredictable Current s. It was later extended from Port Elliot to Victor Harbor in 1864 and from Goolwa to Strathalbyn in 1869. It was extended to Mount Barker Junction on the South Line in 1884 and strengthened to carry steam trains. A branch line was built to Monarto and Cambrai in 1886. In was shortened to Appamurra near Palmer before being closed due to the standardisation of the Adelaide - Melbourne line in 1995. A branch line was built from Tailem Bend to Pinnaroo on the Victoria n border and Ouyen in 1906. The South Australian part of this line was standardised in 1998 to reconnect it with the Adelaide - Melbourne line.
Southern narrow gauge lines V class No. 9 commenced service on the Kingston-Naracoorte railway (3′6″) in early 1877. Transferred to northern division of S.A.R. in 1888, retired in 1953 (on display in Naracoorte).]] In 1876 a narrow (1067 mm) gauge line was built from Kingston SE to Naracoorte . In 1879, a railway was built between Beachport , Millicent and Mount Gambier . A line was later built from Mount Gambier to Naracoorte and Wolseley in 1887, creating a Break-of-gauge junction. A broad gauge branch was opened from Mount Gambier to Heywood near Portland in 1917. In 1956 the southeastern lines were converted to broad gauge, with the exception of the Beachport - Millicent railway, which was closed down. The Kingston - Naracoorte was closed in the 1970s. The other southeastern lines, including the line to Heywood, have been out of use since the standardisation of the Adelaide - Melbourne and Maroona - Portland lines in 1995. There are regular calls for their standardisation. Northern lines Broad gauge lines In 1857 a 42 km line was built to Gawler Station , which was rural at the time, and extended to Roseworthy , Kapunda in 1860 and Morgan in 1878 (now closed beyond Kapunda). The main line left the Kapunda branch at Roseworthy and proceeded to Hamley Bridge, Riverton , Burra in 1870, and Terowie in 1880. A branch line was built from Gawler junction, north of Gawler Station , to Gawler Central Station , Penrice and Angaston in the Barossa Valley in 1911. |