The Peterborough Railway Devision The history of the Railways of Peterborough is realy the story of the narrow gauge railways which constituted the Peterborough Division of the former South Australian Railways. The main line of this division was the ore carying line from Cockburn to Port Pirie which met the Silverton Tramway Company at the border of New South Wales. There were branches from Peterborough to Quorn and Terowie, and Gladstone to Wilmington. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Peterborough has always been the headquarters for this system although Peterborough to Terowie(Yongala) is now part of the Adelaide Dlvision In the 70's large areas of the northern part of the State of South Aus- tralia were being developed for agriculture. Following the success of the 3 ft. 6 in. gauge railway from Port Wakefield to Hoyle's Plains (Hoyle- ston) the Government decided to build a similar railway from Port Pirie to serve the wheat-growing areas inland. Port Pirie was a small port located on the upper end of Spencer's Gulf. A channel had been dredged to 15 ft at low water so vessels could come alongside the wharves, and Port Pirie appeared to have a promising future as a shipping outlet for the North's cerial crops. The first line was laid down over the 18 miles from Port Pirie to Crystal Brook. Construction commenced in 1874, but strangely enough 15 miles of The earthworks had been completed by the contractor, Mr Bond before the ceremony of turning the first sod, was undertaken. This necessity was per- formed by the Commissioner of Public Works at a brief ceremony at 3.00 p.m. on November 14, 1874. It was hoped that the line would be completed in a short space of time. However, labour was scarce, and the first consignment of wheat from Cry- stal Brook to Port Pirie did not move over the line until December 1875. The line was opened to traffic on the 10th of that month, but as the locomotives had not yet arrived, loaded goods trucks were gravitated to Port Pirie after receiving a start by horse power. Horses were used to bring the trucks back. A turntable and goods shed were provided at Crystal Brook at the temporary terminus. On January 13th, 1876, the "Bengal" berthed at Port Pirie with rolling- stock on board, and the first locomotive was landed at 4.00 p.m. with- out mishap. This was the first of four "U" Class engines Nos. 1--4 which were initially allocated to Port Pirie system. The first run made by a locomotive was on January 31 when the first eng- ine proceeded through the town as far as Magarey's Mill, hooked onto two trucks, stopped at Howe's Hotel stud then returned to the railway station, five days later a trial trip was made to Crystal Brook and back. The bridge over the Crystal Brook creek had not been completed and it was not until April 29 that the locomotive was able to run right into the station. In the meantime vast quantities of wheat had been railed from the temporary terminus on the outskirts of the town. The 14 miles of track from Crystal Brook to Gladstone was constructed under contract by Messrs. Baillie and Marshall. A slow rate of progress was made and the first train did not run into Gladstone until November 9, 1876. The formal opening of the line did not take place until December 7. A train service commenced immediately consisting of one train in each direction daily. The fare for the whole distance was 8 shillings and 6 pence. In order to provide transport for more of the agricultural areas in the north of the State, a start was made in April, 18T7, with the extension of the line a further 19 miles to Jamestown. This work was undertaken as a contract by Mr J. Chapman. By September sufficient of the earthworks had been completed for platelaying to commence, and this was carried out at the rate of 1+1/2 miles per week, until The first Station was opened at Caltowie on Jan19th 1878. By may ballast trains were busily engaged on th Caltowie to Jamestown section and on the 28th of that month the first goods train with 11 wagons steamed into Jamestown ,due to the success of the line. Public rail traffic began on July 15, 1878, without any further ceremony. With the opening of the line to Jamestown two 'W' class engines N06. and 14 were added to the roster. These engines entered service during February 1878. A further extension of this line was now contemplated. In the meantime, the 5 ft. 3 in. gauge line from Adelaide to Burra had been extended nearly to Hallet and to the north a contract had Just been let for a railway line from Port Augusta to Government Gums (Farina). The Premier, Mr Boucaut had been expounding, since 1874, a Public Works programme which envisaged the linking of all the Isolated railway systems in the State. Part of this program me involved the extension of the Burra line to meet the Port Augusta line with a branch line to Port Pirie. The first surveys were made around about 1876 and fixed Lancelot (now a ghost town) as the point where the broad-gauge from Adelaide would ter- minate and the narrow-gauge lines to Port Pirie end Port Augusta would broach. At this time silver had been discovered by P. Green Just over the border in N.S.W. and with the mining of this ore the town of Silverton came into existence. Supplies were carried to Silverton by bullock from the near- est rail-head at Burra, then Hallett and Terowie as the line was extended. Apparently, however, the traffic to Silverton was not considered of sufficiently great importance to turn the railway in this direction and a further survey was made whereby the broad gauge was terminated at Terowie and the narrow-gauge proceeded from there to Port Augusta, with a Junction to Port Pirie in 'Section 216'. Section 216 was owned by Mr T. H. Koch who had bought The Land from Peter Doecke in the previous year. The land was poor and Mr Koch had been trying to sell the land for some time at 1 Pound per acre. As soon as he learnt that this land was to be the location of the railway junction, he sub-divided a portion of his land adJacent to the railway line, and held a sale. On the first day of the sale he made 1,700 Pound on a small portion of the land the whole of which he could not previously sell for 500.Pounds. On the sub-division plan he nominated "Petersburg" as the name of the town in honour of his old fried Peter Doeeke. (The name was changed to Peterborough in 1918 during World War I, when the Government in a Frenzy of patriotism eliminated all town names of German origin). The names of Carell, after a World War I nurse, and Nullya or Nella, alter a creek through the town were suggested. However the local populace protested strongly and the name Peterborough was given as a compromise). Construction began in December 1879 of an extension of the Jamestown line to Petersburg. A contract was let to Mesrs Moline, Mc,dermot & CO. who made rapid progress. The earthworks were completed to Yongala in the following month and ballasting commenced using 'U' class engine No. 1. This line was usable to Yongala on December lI, 1880, and reached Petersburg on January 17, 1881. The opening of the Jamestown / Petersburg line coincided with the open- ing of the Hallet to Terowle line and the Governor with his party made a very hot dusty trip by horse dray from Terowie to Petersberg to open the former line. Another "W" Class engine No24 was added to the System folowering the opening of this line.. Continuing with its plan to link the Northern and Central railway systems the Government proceeded with the constructlon of a 3 ft. 6 in. Gauge line from Terowle to Quorn (or Pichi Richi as it was described so picturesquely On all official plans). At Quorn, a Junction would be made with the Government Gums line and at Petersburg a Junction would be made with the Port Pirie line. The contract for the Terowie to Quorn line was split into two Parts, the first part to Petersburg being undertaken by Keane & Co., while the Petersburg to Quorn section was built by C. & E. Millar. Work began at Ter- owie in February, 1880. The earthworks were general/y light except for a short section near Gumbowie and the line was able to be opened to Petersburg on May 11, 1881. There was a little formality in the opening which was carried out by the Treasurer, the Hon.W. B. Rounsevell. With the opening of this line Port Pirie now had a through rail connection with the Capital. Meanwhile, construction proceeded on towards Orroroo, which was reach- ed in September 1881. The contractor's engine ran into the Orroroo station yard for the first time on the 28th of that month. Two months later the Governor opened the line formally for trafitc. The day marked one of the fastest and longest Journeys ever made by train in a single day in the colony. At 6.30 a.m. on November 22, 1881, the train conveying His Excellency, William Jervois and others left Adel- aide bound for Orroroo. Orroroo was reached after travelling 6+1/2 hours and 176 miles. After conducting the opening and partaking of a sumptuous banquet, the party then rejoined the special train at 4 30 p.m. and after travelling a round trip of 261 miles arrived back in Adelaide at 11.00 pm. the trip occupying 12+1/2 hours travelling time. The work on the last link to the north, that between Orroroo and quorn began in September, 1880, at the Quorn end. By December, 1881, trains were running between Quorn and Eurelia. Here the trains were met by a coach from Orrorco and by this passengers and parcels were conveyed to the rail-head at the latter place. The train service was extended to Walloway, two month's later and on March 8, 1882, a rail communication was established between Adelaide and Port Augusta (and also to Beltana). The opening of the Orroroo / Quorn section was combined with the opening of the Port Augusta to Farina railway on May 17, 1882. A 'W' Class engine No. 32 formerly in use on the Beachport and Rivoli Bay railway was sold to C. & E. Miller in September 1880. The engine was used on the construction of the Petersburg-Quorn railway and on completion the engine was re-purchased by the department. In August 1882 two more 'W' class engines Nos. 42 and 43 were placed into service on the system. In 1882 'V' Class No. 12 (0-4-2 tank engine) was transferred from Kingston to Port Pirie for shunting on the wharves. This engine had a short wheelbase and was more suited for shunting on the sharp curves leading to the shipping berths. Two of the American 'X' class engines Nos. 46 and 47 were delivered to this system in January and February 1882 and work formaly between Terowie and Port Augusta. In 1883, No.47 was transferred to the Great Northern Line. Another 'W' class engine No. 22 was landed at Port Pirie in October 1882, taking the number of previous No.22 which had been sold. Five 'W's Nos- 19, 25, 26, 28 and 33 were transferred from the Great Northern Line in 1883. The sole narrow gauge 0-6-4 tank engine No. 52 was sent to Port Pirie in 1883 (when built) but was shortly after transferred to Port Augusta. In July 1883, after many years of vain promises by various Govermnents. a start was about to be made on the short branch line from Gladstone to Laura. There was a considerable inFlux of population into this area in the early 1870's. A Commission appointed by Parliament reported in 1874 that a railway was desirable but no action was taken. In desperation, the local inhabitants approached the Government seeking permission to form a private Company to construct and operate a railway through the area. The Government opposed this scheme however, and it fell through ,several alternative proposals were put up in the intervening years, including a scheme for a railway from Port Germein to Orroroo,However, a select Committee decided in favour of the Gladstone/Laura railway and the necesary legislation was pleased in 1883. As part of the terms of the contract It was stipulated that the line ] should be completed and open for traffic by January 1884, to handle the harest, but despite the easy earthworks the 7 Miles of line was not completed by contractors (Messrs. Crocombe, Hat.and Co.) until May 1884. The line was opened to traffic on June 2, 1884. A further five 'W' class engines were added to the later in 1884, to meet the increasing demands of a rising traffic. These were engines Nos. 21, 27, 41, 54 and 55, The last two having been sold At as special meeting in 1881 to Batty, Brooks and Fraser Company for use on the Great Northern Line and had been repurchased. CONSTRUCTION OF THE LINE TO BROKEN HILL In 1886, an Act was passed authorizing the construction of a line from Petersburg to the New South Wales Border. Initially the terminus was to be at the 145 mile post (along the border), but was altered to terminate at Haliday's dam thus saving 4 miles of line. A contract was let to Messrs. Millar Bros. in May 1885 and Millar took over the work from the Govern- ment who had commenced the line themselves in April using relief labour. The type of line originally proposed o be constructed differed materially from the standard previously adopted,it was to be essentially a surface line, avoiding heavy earthwork as far as possible by adopting frequent changes of grade and only bridging over those creeks which absolutely required it. Wherever it was practicable, creeks or low depressions were to be travers- ed at the level of the surface, and where floods occurred, which with a limited rainfall, would be very seldom, the traffic would no doubt have had to be temporarily delayed. Ballast was to be dispensed within boxing up as far as possible and the quantity used under the sleepers was to be a mini- mum. No intermediate Station were required although sidings would be prcvided where necessary for wayside trafic The maximum speed anticipated was 15 m.p.h. for passenger trains, and 12 for goods and mixed trains. Out on Mr. Gipps station in N.S.W. a boundary rider Charles Rasp discov- ered the ore body known as Broken Hill and which later came to be known as the World's richest single deposit of silver, lead and zinc. In 1884 a specimen from Broken Hill showed 800 oz. of silver to the ton and by the end of the decade Broken Hill was producing one third of the world's silver. The South Australian Government was not unaware of the goings on at Broken Hill and if "Lady Luck" had turned her back on South Australia by putting Broken Hill across the border it did not go unnoticed that Port Pirie was the nearest port. It was possible that South Australia could share in the wealth of Broken Hill by providing transport, shipping facil- ities and sending supplies. The specifications for the Petersburg to N.S.W. Border railway were severely revised. The standard of construction was raised to the same level as that elsewhere on the Port Pirie system. The additional cost of con- struction was estimated at 50,000. Pounds The 145 miles of track was laid with 41 lb. rail, of which 18 miles was second hand 41 lb. rail removed from the Burra-Hallett line which was being relaid with 61 lb. rail. In the meantime, the Millar Bros. were pressing on with the earthworks to the new standards at a very rapid rate. Steam traction engines with steam scoops apparently were being used for the removal of spoil. Part of the contract provided that the contractor was to provide facilities for conveying traflc as the rail-head advanced. Paratoo received a rail service on June 1, 1886 and Yunta three weeks later. A service was provided to Man- nahill by the middle of August. Mr. Baxter was in charge-of the line construction between Petersburg and Cockburn. 'A worse man to swear I have not met', commented one rail- way employee who crossed his path. At this time, the Teetulpa gold rush was on (Teetulpa is near Yunta). Men of all nationalities would arrive at the 'Burg' and depart via the Contractor's train. The standard fare was 1,Pound but on occasions, Mr Baxter would raise it by another 5/-, saying" . . . if these people are going to get rich, I am going to have some of it". If they would not pay, the carriage would be uncoupled and the train would depart without them. But the cries of the passengers would soon pull up the train, the fares would be duly paid and the carriage coupled back on again. The tempting lure of gold caused a depletion of the available labour market, and the rate of progress of the line decreased accordingly. Nevertheless, Mingary was reached by the beinning of December and the rail- head reached Cockburn by January 2, 1887. During the construction period, the line suffered from washaways during heavy thunder storms .This disability has remained with the Cockburn Line up to this day. Some very severe washaways have occurred over the years. In preparation for the South Australian Railways taking over the working of the line a train left Petersburg at 7.00 a.m. on June 10 "for the end of the world". On board was Mr H. McArthur, the Trafic Superintendent and staff for working the line. Mr. George Baxter,son of the overseer, was the driver. The train arrived in Cockburn at 8.00 p.m. that night. By this time Cock- burn was quite a busy yard due to the tragic developed by the contractor whilst the line was still under constructlon. There was no goods shed and the goods stood in the open up and down the yard in long lines where they would sometimes stand for weeks waiting for bullock teams to come and collect them. The first S.Aust Train left Cockburn at 9.00 pm. on June llth, 1887, with Mr McArthur aboard and purely as a formality the line was declared open to public trafic as from June 14, 1887. The track from Petersburg to Cockburn was divided into seven blocks for trainworking purposes and Spangnolette Block Signal Instruments were in use. 'W' class engine No. 2'2 was used by Millars during construction of the line. They also acquired No. 23 to asist but this engine was later ex- changed Ior No. 41. Iater two more 'W' class engines No. 21 and 54 were acquired the latter being exchanged for 5 ft. 3 in. gauge No. 60 of class 'K' which Millars had been using. It is to be noted that the new line did not reach Broken Hill. This was because the New South Wales Government refused to allow South Australia to build a railway line themselves. Steps were taken to form a private railway company and the outcome of these efforts was the formation of the Silverton Tramway Co: authorized by the Silverton Tramway Act of 1886. The 30 miles of railway linking Broken Hill, Silverton and Cockburn was constructed by C. & E. MIller after completion of the Petersbur to Cockburn section and upon completion of the line, engine No. 22 was sent to Western Austraila whilst engines Nos. 21, 41 and 54 were sold back to the South Austrailan Railways in 1889. Initially the Silverton Tramway Co.was worked by the S.A.R. until the company was able to undertake Its own operations commencing on June 30. The Cockbum Line started with one mixed train daily and two goods trains weekly in each direction. So ralpdly did the traffic build up that by 1908 there were thirty trains dally in each direction. A number of 'X' class engines were allocated to the system. A new type of locomotive, the class 'Y' was introduced in 1885. No. 63 was allocated in September 1885 folowed by five, Nos. 71-75 between September and November 1886. From then on the number of 'Y' class engines on this system built up as the traffic increased. The industrial development of Port Pirie commenced in 1889 when the first lead smelting plant was erected on land leased from the railways. A wharf adjacent built by the railways was used for shipping the finished product. Four smelters were in operation by the end of 1890. For a short period between 1890 and 1897 smelting was carried out at Broken Hill but after this date all the smelting was done at Port Pirie. The system of railways we have been referring to as the Port Pirie system, was named the "Northern System" It was later renamed the Peterborough Division when the divisional headquarters were established at Peterborough with a Divisional Superintendent in charge of all rail- way matters. The Division was almost completed in the 13 years between 1874 and 1887, but in 1910 the Laura line was extended the 24 miles to Booleroo Centre and in 1915 a further 221 miles to 'Wilmington. Main events which have occurred since the last piece of the Division fell into place in 1915 were the introduction of the Garratt steam loco- motives in 1952 and 1953, introduction of diesels in 1963 and the opening of the standard gauge between Port Pirie and Broken Hill in January 1970 and simultaneously the extension of the broard-gauge from Terowie to Peter- borough. In the very near future the lines of the Peterborough Division will be- come part of the Railways system operated by the Australian Government (Australian National Railways) which will give them continuous standardisation of the main line from Broken Hill to Kalgoolie, appropriattely, two of Australia's Greatest mining cities. Thursday, Dec. 4, 1959: STANDARD GAUGE AT LAST The long awaited change over from Narrow Gauge to Standard Gauge between Port Pirie and Broken Hill and the long awaited (43 years late) arrival of the "Broad Gauge" into Peterborough is to take place on Monday, January 12, 1970. End of Document