Port Broughton railway line was an isolated

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

railway line serving

Port Broughton Port Broughton is a small South Australian town located at the northern extent of the Yorke Peninsula on the east coast of Spencer Gulf. It is situated about 170 km north-west of Adelaide, and 56 km south of Port Pirie. At the , the t ...

Spencer Gulf The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost and larger of two large inlets (the other being Gulf St Vincent) on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. It spans from the Cape Catastrophe and ...

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 ...

. It opened in 1876 and closed in 1942. The railway was built to service the port of

, and opened on 11 March 1876. It delivered grain from Mundoora, inland and uphill.

Horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

were used to tow the empty wagons uphill, but they were sent downhill powered by gravity, with a driver to operate the brakes. The passenger service ceased on 17 September 1925. The use of the line for grain traffic continued until 1942. In 1906, Clarence Goode, a member for

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

in the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

, proposed the use of steam or petrol-powered locomotives on the line. During January 1926, a Fordson rail tractor displaced the animal power. From 1931, the railways contracted out the service to a private operator. The railway ceased to be used on 3 August 1942, but the tractor continued to shunt wheat wagons between the station yard and the jetty at Port Broughton until 1949.

References

{{reflist Closed railway lines in South Australia Railway lines opened in 1876 Railway lines closed in 1942 3 ft 6 in gauge railways