The Penrice Stone Train was a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

train in

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 ...

that operated from the Penrice Quarry near Angaston on the Barossa Valley line to Penrice Soda Products'

soda ash Sodium carbonate, , (also known as washing soda, soda ash and soda crystals) is the inorganic compound with the formula Na2CO3 and its various hydrates. All forms are white, odourless, water-soluble salts that yield moderately alkaline solutions ...

factory in

Osborne Osborne may refer to: * Osborne (name) Places Australia * Osborne, South Australia (disambiguation), places associated with the suburb in the Adelaide metropolitan area * Osborne, New South Wales, a rural community in the Riverina region Can ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

's north-western suburbs, and the co-located Readymix concrete batching plant.

History

The train commenced operating in November 1950, initially being operated by the

South Australian Railways South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Austr ...

, and later by Australian National and

Genesee & Wyoming Australia One Rail Australia is an Australian rail freight operator company. Founded by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. in 1997 as Australian Southern Railroad, and later renamed Genesee & Wyoming Australia, it was renamed One Rail Australia in February 2020 aft ...

. It was notable as the last

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

freight service in South Australia. It ceased operating abruptly in June 2014 when Penrice Soda Products went into receivership and the Osborne factory closed. The last service was halted whilst loading and returned to Dry Creek to terminate. "Penrice stoney and SBR iron trains cease" ''

Railway Digest ''Railway Digest'' is a monthly magazine, published in Sydney, covering contemporary railways of Australia. Overview The magazine's publisher is the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS), NSW Division. The first issue was published in M ...

'' August 2014 page 19 In its final 10 or so years, it was hauled solely by 700 and 830 class locomotives. It had previously been hauled by the Rx, 500,

700 The denomination 700 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Avar and Slavic tribes conq ...

750 __NOTOC__ Year 750 ( DCCL) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 750 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

900 __NOTOC__ Year 900 ( CM) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Abbasid Caliphate * Spring – Forces under the Transoxianian emir Isma'il ibn Ahmad are ...

930 Year 930 ( CMXXX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * 17 June (traditional date) – The Althing, the parliament of Iceland, is established at ...

, GM, CK and BL classes.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Flickr galleryFlickr gallery
Railway services introduced in 1950 Railway services discontinued in 2014 Rail transport in South Australia Discontinued railway services in Australia