Re: Why hasn't Adelaide been electrified?

[Neil Waller <nwaller@denr.sa.gov.au>]

David Bromage wrote:
> 
> Lachlan Smith (lsmith@senet.com.au) wrote:
> > Does anyone know if the electrification of Adelaide's suburban network has
> > ever been proposed? If not, why not? I have often wondered this, as
> > Adelaide's network is more extensive than Perth's, and only marginally less
> > extensive than Brisbane's, and both of these have been electrified, leaving
> > Adelaide as the only major centre without an electrified system.
> 
> I understand the 2000 class DMUs were designed with conversion to electric
> tracion in mind, although it will probably never happen. The 3000s are
> based on the Melbourne Comeng sets so they too were possibly designed to
> take an overhead.
> 
> Cheers
> David


The 3000 and 3100 class are diesel electrics.   Conversion to straight 
electric should be possible.

There have been at least 2 proposals to electrify Adelaide.

Goodwood station shows signs of one attempt, the trackbed for a
connection
from North Terrace to the South Terrace Glenelg line.   The subway once
had an unused double track rail bridge to the west of the platforms,
and the Brownhill Creek has, or had, the abutments for a bridge were it
passes just to the west of the Forestville Basketball Stadium.

Nothing came of the elctrification scheme (around 1919) and the bridge
was removed only in the last few years.

The next scheme I can recall was in the late 1960's, but nothing came of
that either.

Any advance on 2 attempts??


-- 
Neil Waller	(nwaller@denr.sa.gov.au)
Department of Environment Heritage and Aboriginal Affairs
Telephone:	Oz: (08) 8204 9218; International: (618) 8204 9218
Mail:		GPO Box 1047, ADELAIDE 5001     Australia

Unless explicitly attributed, the opinions expressed are personal
and not those of DEHAA or the South Australian Government.