The Victor Harbor railway line is a broad gauge line 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 ...

. It originally branched from the Adelaide to Melbourne line at Mount Barker Junction then ran south to Victor Harbor. When the mainline was converted to standard gauge and the junction was closed, the northern end of the Victor Harbor line was curtailed at Mount Barker, from the junction.

History

South Australia's first railway venture was the line completed in 1854 from Goolwa, on the

River Murray The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest ...

, to the small ocean harbour at

Port Elliot Port Elliot is a town in South Australia toward the eastern end of the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula. It is situated on the sheltered Horseshoe Bay, a small bay off the much larger Encounter Bay. Pullen Island lies outside the mouth of t ...

. Short trains pulled by horses moved freight and passengers between the shallow-draft River Murray

Paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...

s and coastal and ocean-going vessels, bypassing the narrow, shallow mouth of the river with its unpredictable

current Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (stre ...

s. However, Port Elliot was extremely hazardous; seven vessels had sunk there by 1864. The line was then extended to a safer harbour at Victor Harbor. The

Institution of Engineers Australia Engineers Australia (EA) is an Australian professional body and not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineering for the benefit of the community. Engineers Australia is Australia's recognized org ...

placed a Historic Engineering Marker on the railway in 1992. The line was extended northwards to Strathalbyn in 1869, the connection 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 ...

reaching the town in 1884 and completing the link. Until 1884, trains south of Strathalbyn were hauled by horse power, but between 1883 and 1885 the section to Currency Creek was rebuilt to steam railway standards. Australian National operated freight services between the Strathalbyn and Victor section of the line were withdrawn in 1980 and along the rest of the line from October 1987. The last goods train to Victor Harbor ran on 23 April 1980 and was hauled by engine 843. In July 1982, AN recommended closure of the Strathalbyn-Victor Harbor section to the Commonwealth Minister of Transport and suspended passenger services from Adelaide to Victor Harbor on 30 April 1984.Our history
SteamRanger Heritage Railway In the early 1980s, Australian National announced that the Victor Harbor line would close, despite high levels of public opposition. Several factors were noted for the closure of the line, such as a deteriorating track condition, a long time-consuming route compared with a more direct road journey, and declining passenger numbers: more than 50,000 return journeys were made during the 12 months to June 1978, but the number had dropped to about 16,000 in 1982–83. The last Australian National passenger service ran on 30 April 1984.

Renewal

The

SteamRanger Heritage Railway The SteamRanger Heritage Railway is a long broad gauge tourist railway, formerly the Victor Harbor railway line of the South Australian Railways (SAR). It is operated by the not-for-profit South Australian Division of the Australian Railway ...

was established in 1986 to operate tourist trains on the line. In late 1989, Australian National declared the Mount Barker Junction–Strathalbyn section unsafe due to poor track condition and SteamRanger operated services from Adelaide to Strathalbyn were cancelled. That section was eventually renewed with assistance from AN during 1990–91 with funding from the

State Government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

. First the line beyond Strathalbyn towards Victor Harbor was operated by SteamRanger train crews, later extending to the entire line. In 1995

gauge conversion Gauge conversion is the changing of one railway track gauge (the distance between the running rails) to another. Sleepers If tracks are converted to a narrower gauge, the existing sleepers (ties) may be used. However, replacement is required if ...

of the Adelaide to Wolseley line isolated the broad gauge Victor Harbor line off from the rest of the network, and volunteers took full responsibility for maintaining the track from Mount Barker Junction to Victor Harbor. The Junction Jogger service from Mount Barker Station to Mount Barker Junction operated until it was deemed unsafe and this section of the line closed in 2007.

History

Renewal

References

Further reading