The South Australian Railway Company was an attempt in the 1840s by private capitalists to establish a railway in the infant colony 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 ...
. The company was based in London, where most of the capital was to be raised, £25,000 in the first instance. There were two or three local directors, since in the days before electric undersea cable telegraph, London was too far away for effective control.
Routes
The first route from
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 ...
to
Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...
was only 6 miles long, quite straight and flat and suitable for horse drawn operation. The initial line was to be single track, with frequent crossing loops.
A longer route to the
Burra copper mines was proposed later on.
Directors
British directors (possibly incomplete):
G. F. Angas, Esq., George Barnes Esq, W.G Gover, Esq.,
Rowland Hill, Esq.,
J. B. Montefiore, Esq.: Managing Director.—Edwin Hill, Esq.: Colonial Director—
Robert Gouger, Esq.
The provisional committee in February 1846 was:
Collapse
In the event the railway was too ambitious, and ahead of its time. It was stillborn.
Timeline
* 1836 Colony of South Australia is founded
* 1846 (February) Advertisement for Prospectus to raise capital of £25,000. (with power to increase).
* 1846 (July) Special Meeting to approve amalgamation with the Adelaide City and Port Railway Company
* 1850 Survey of his proposed line to a point distant 65 to 70 miles from Adelaide, and only 26 miles from the Burra Burra Copper mines.
* 1854 Steam operated government railway opens.
* 1856 Sir—May I be permitted to enquire what has become of the funds collected by the South Australian Railway Company. I hold scrip, of which the ...
* 1865 A South Australian Railway Company has been projected, and several influential parties are moving in the matter.
See also
*
Rail transport in South Australia
The first railway in colonial South Australia was a line from the port of Goolwa on the River Murray to an ocean harbour at Port Elliot, which first operated in December 1853, before its completion in May 1854.
Today the state has broad g ...
*
List of former Australian railway companies
References
Rail transport in South Australia
History of transport in South Australia
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