Cook is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

and crossing loop located in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

on the

Trans-Australian Railway The Trans-Australian Railway, opened in 1917, runs from Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, crossing the Nullarbor Plain in the process. As the only rail freight corridor between Western Australia and the easter ...

. It is about west by rail from

Port Augusta Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a port, seaport, it is now a road traffic and Junction (rail), railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about ...

and about north of the

Eyre Highway Eyre Highway is a highway linking Western Australia and South Australia via the Nullarbor Plain. Signed as National Highways 1 and A1, it forms part of Highway 1 and the Australian National Highway network linking Perth and Adelaide. It ...

via an unsealed road.(1927)''Travel in comfort across Australia on the Trans-Australian Railway''. Melbourne : Commonwealth Railways. internal map titled ''Map shewing Connections between Capital Cities via Trans- Australian Railway'' It is on the longest stretch of straight railway in the world, at , which extends from

Ooldea Ooldea is a tiny settlement in South Australia. It is on the eastern edge of the Nullarbor Plain, west of Port Augusta on the Trans-Australian Railway. Ooldea is from the bitumen Eyre Highway. Being near a permanent waterhole, Ooldea Soak, ...

, South Australia to beyond Loongana,

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Cook is the only scheduled stop on the

Nullarbor Plain The Nullarbor Plain ( ; Latin: feminine of , 'no', and , 'tree') is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its ...

for the

Indian Pacific The ''Indian Pacific'' is a weekly experiential tourism passenger train service that runs in Australia's east–west rail corridor between Sydney, on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, and Perth, on the shore of the Indian Ocean – thus, l ...

transcontinental passenger train and has little other than curiosity value for passengers strolling around while their train is replenished.

History

Cook was established in 1917 on the

when the Trans-Australian Railway was built. It is named after the sixth Prime Minister of Australia, Joseph Cook. When the town was a major

Commonwealth Railways The Commonwealth Railways were established in 1917 by the Government of Australia with the Commonwealth Railways Act to administer the Trans-Australia and Port Augusta to Darwin railways. It was absorbed into Australian National in 1975. O ...

centre for track maintenance and locomotive and rolling stock repairs, it supported a school and hospital. At that time, railway employees and their families depended on two weekly provisions trains for the delivery of supplies. When the town was populated, water was pumped from an underground

artesian aquifer An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure. An artesian aquifer has trapped water, surrounded by layers of impermeable rock or clay, which apply positive pressure to the water contained within th ...

but since then, all water has been carried in by train. The 1964 black-and-white film ''Nullarbor Hideout'' was set in and around Cook.

Today

In 2009, Cook was said to have a resident population of four. The town was effectively closed in 1997 when the

Australian National Railways The Australian National Railways Commission was an agency of the Government of Australia that was a railway operator between 1975 and 1998. It traded as Australian National Railways (ANR) in its early years, before being rebranded as Australian ...

' assets were sold to railway operating companies. The reliability of diesel locomotives and the introduction of concrete sleepers and continuously welded rail rendered resident employees redundant. Track and facilities maintenance is undertaken by contractors and diesel refuelling facilities remain; there is overnight accommodation for resting train crews. The

crossing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...

can cross trains up to long. The former

airstrip An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

is known as a place to spot

inland dotterel The inland dotterel (''Peltohyas australis'') is an endemic bird of the arid Australian interior. It forms loose flocks in sparsely vegetated gibber plain and claypans in the day where it loafs in the shade and eats shoots of shrubs. It is most o ...

. As of 2016, Cook was officially described as an "unbounded locality" which is not used as an address. Since 2013, it has been administratively classified as being in the locality of

Nullarbor The Nullarbor Plain ( ; Latin: feminine of , 'no', and , 'tree') is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its ...

. Image:Indian Pacific train hauled by NR class locomotive stopped at Cook, South Australia (cropped).jpg, The

train at Cook Image:Wrecked Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles at Cook, South Australia, in 2011.jpg, Disused vehicles at Cook in 2011 File:Signs on a building at Cook, South Australia.jpg, Signs on a deserted building at Cook in 2005

Climate

References

{{Journey Beyond railway stations, Indian Pacific=y, state=collapsed Railway stations in South Australia Railway stations in Australia opened in 1917 Ghost towns in South Australia Populated places established in 1917 Places in the unincorporated areas of South Australia Nullarbor Plain Trans-Australian Railway

History

Today

Climate

See also

References