The Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre ("Centre") is a static railway museum based in the former railway workshops located in

Peterborough, South Australia Peterborough is a town in the mid north of South Australia, in wheat country, just off the Barrier Highway. At the , Peterborough had a population of 1,419. It was originally named Petersburg after the landowner, Peter Doecke, who sold land to ...

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire unti ...

was the administrative and service centre for the Peterborough Division of 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 Aust ...

,Fitch, R. J. (1989). ''Making Tracks: 43 years in Australian Railways''. Kangaroo Press. employing up to 1,500 people in the workshops during its heyday. The railway workshops covered an extensive area mainly to the west of the township, and it is in these original buildings that the exhibits are displayed. The turntable and roundhouse are the main features of the exhibit. The turntable is unusual in that it accommodates three rail gauges:

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 ...

(),

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in E ...

() and

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 ( C ...

(). In Australia there were only two similar turntables (located at

Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. The city has an expansive history which dates back to 1845. Port Pirie was the first proclaimed regional city in South A ...

and

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-cons ...

); all three were on the same line, with the one at Peterborough the only one remaining. This unique situation arose from the standardisation project of the late 1960s. At this time the broad gauge line was extended from Terowie to Peterborough and the Port Pirie to Broken Hill section (passing through Peterborough) was replaced by standard gauge line. The Peterborough to Quorn section remained narrow gauge. Carriage on turntable at steamtown Heritage Rail Centre, Peterborough, South Australia

Carriage on turntable at steamtown Heritage Rail Centre, Peterborough, South Australia

History

Prior to the cessation of railway operations by

Steamtown Peterborough Railway Preservation Society The Steamtown Peterborough Railway Preservation Society Inc. (known colloquially as ''Steamtown'' and ''Steamtown Peterborough'') was a not-for-profit incorporated society that operated a heritage steam railway from Peterborough, South Australi ...

in June 2002, a steering committee, made up of the Federation of North East Councils, the Northern Regional Development Board, and the Flinders Ranges Area Consultative Committee, as well as Society representatives, was established. This led to a project to formalise development of the workshops precinct, which in turn led to the development of the Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre.

Development

South Australian Railways work train carriages at Peterborough roundhouse

Inside the Diesel shed showing the bogie exchange mechanism

Considerable effort was put into improving the grounds and the presentation of the displays, including interpretive signage. It was hoped that Garratt 402 could return from the Zig Zag Railway in Lithgow; however, negotiations were discontinued. Garratt 402 was the only member of its class which travelled the entire Quorn Line. A reception centre, which includes offices, a souvenir shop and a cafe, was built just off Main Street, at the north-eastern corner of the 1960s-vintage diesel workshop.

Opening

The Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre was officially opened on 29 November 2009 to much fanfare from the South Australian premier, Mike Rann.

Services

Part of the Roundhouse at the Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre - showing some of the engines on display at the museum

The centre is open seven days a week; an entry fee is charged.Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre Tour Brochure
Retrieved 21 July 2010. Guided tours, lasting about an hour and a half, provide a narrative of the equipment displayed, the infrastructure on site and its social history as well as exploring amusing railway anecdotes and experiences. After the centre's opening, technical difficulties limited the availability of the planned

sound and light show In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

; but after considerable work to resolve the issues the show is now considered a huge success, operating most nights, dependent only on bookings. The sound and light show has contributed to an increase in the number of overnight stays in the town, which benefits the other tourist attractions and the town in general."Steamtowns Visitations Booming". ''The Informer'', May 2010. The centre had accreditation as a rail-transport operator to run its motor inspection car, MIC 127, between the centre and the former goods platform in Peterborough yard, though this is rarely done.

Operation

Here you can see the sheep-cattle car that the local High School students are working on at Steamtown Peterborough

Today the centre is operated by a staff of volunteers sourced from the local community in conjunction with a paid manager and a receptionist. Through a skills-development program run in association with the local high school, students assisted with the refurbishment of a sheep wagon and a miniature train. One of these students, Ben Graefe, who also runs tours at the centre, won a Rotary Pride in Workmanship 2010 Award for his efforts. The centre was planned to be cost neutral to the Council within 7 years, however attendances to both tours and its Sound and Light show have been such that it as expected to break even within two to three years. It was expecting to achieve a visitation rate of 15000 by the end of the 2011-2012 financial year

Awards

October 2010 the Centre won an Advantage SA award, in the Regional Tourism category for Yorke and Mid North Region During October 2012, the Centre won an Advantage SA award, in the Regional Tourism categoryMayfield, G 201
"A full head of steam for Steamtown"
Flinders News accessed 11 November 2012 2014 Steamtown won the SA Regional Award for Tourism 2015 Steamtown won the Hall of Fame Award for Tourism in the region of Yorke and Mid North

References

External links

Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre
official site
Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre
at the Peterborough, South Australia, website

{{coord, -32.9751, 138.8261, type:landmark_region:AU, display=title Railway museums in South Australia Heritage railways in Australia Railway roundhouses in Australia