Northfield railway line

Northfield railway line
Overview
Locale	Adelaide, South Australia
Termini	Adelaide; Northfield
Operation
Opened	1857
Closed	1987
Technical
Line length	14.3 km (8.9 mi)
Number of tracks	Quadruple track to Torrens Junction; Double track to Dry Creek; Closed from Dry Creek; (formerly single track)
Route map

The Northfield railway line was a railway in northern Adelaide. The line branched east from the Gawler line just north of Dry Creek station. In earlier years, it saw mixed freight including livestock in and meat out of the Gepps Cross abattoirs and sale yards. In its later years, it was operated as part of the metropolitan passenger rail network and served three stations: Cavan, Pooraka, and Northfield.

History

The Stockade line (originally terminating at Stockade railway station) was opened in 1857 at the same time as the Adelaide-Smithfield section of what is now the Gawler line, making it one of South Australia's oldest rail lines. It was built to carry stone from the quarries behind Yatala Labour Prison.^[1]^[2] In the 19th century the line became mixed use, as the track was originally designed for cargo. When the Metropolitan and Export Abattoirs Board (MEAB) was formed in 1933, it transferred more slaughter work to Gepps Cross, and a new siding named Export Siding was built in 1937 to deliver sheep and lambs direct to the abattoirs.^[3]

Closure

The State Transport Authority decided that passenger services on the line was uneconomic and patron numbers were low. In 1961, the former terminus station, Stockade station was closed and the land redeveloped, and the last passenger trains ran on 29 May 1987.^[1] The line continued as a freight-only rail line, with cattle delivered by rail to the Gepps Cross Abattoirs and Livestock Markets sale-yards until 1995.^[1] The branch stations were subsequently demolished and the track lifted.

The triangle junction where the track joined to the Gawler line remained in place until late 2009 and was used as a storage area for rails, sleepers and Maintenance of Way equipment by TransAdelaide. With the decision to replace the Adelaide Railcar depot (located on the southern side of Adelaide station yard), the triangle was removed and the site prepared for the new Dry Creek railcar depot. This project also took over the site of the former Australian Railway Historical Society depot which was vacated in 1995.

The dual gauge track from the triangle junction north to Dry Creek North Yard, which ran through former sheep loading facilities, was leased by TransAdelaide to Genesee & Wyoming Australia for storage of some standard gauge rolling stock before construction of the new railcar depot. The former siding and sheep loading facilities are also part of the new depot complex. After the line was closed, services which previously operated from Adelaide to Northfield were cut back to terminate at Dry Creek, known by local railway enthusiasts as "Dry Creek squirts". These continued to operate until April 2008.

Today only 150 metres of track from Churchill Road North going southeast remains along with the overgrown remains of Pooraka railway station.

Line guide

Station	Opened	Coordinates	Additional information
Stockade	1857-06-01	34°50′29″S 138°37′43″E / 34.8415°S 138.6286°E / -34.8415; 138.6286 (Stockade)	Terminus 1857-1961; closed in July 1961
Northfield	1857	34°50′22″S 138°37′24″E / 34.83953°S 138.62325°E / -34.83953; 138.62325 (Northfield)	Terminus 1961-1987; moved west of Briens Road in 1961; closed 29 May 1987
Pooraka	1913-07-12	34°50′08″S 138°36′29″E / 34.8356°S 138.6080°E / -34.8356; 138.6080 (Pooraka)	Originally named Abbatoirs station; closed 29 May 1987; sidings used until 1995
Cavan	1914	34°50′02″S 138°35′59″E / 34.8339°S 138.5998°E / -34.8339; 138.5998 (Cavan)	Closed 29 May 1987; sidings used until 1995
Dry Creek	1856	34°50′06″S 138°35′08″E / 34.83500°S 138.58556°E / -34.83500; 138.58556 (Dry Creek)	Former branch station; still in use as part of the Gawler line.

External links

References

1 2 3 "A Brief History of the Dry Creek to Stockade Railway". Catch Point. May 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
↑ "Dry Creek River Trails | Dry Creek Linear Park | Walking SA". Walking SA. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
↑ Richard Maurovic (2007). The Meat Game: A History of the Gepps Cross Abattoirs and Livestock Markets. Wakefield Press. p. 59. ISBN 978 1 86254 726 1. Retrieved 18 March 2015.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[CatchPoint-1] 1 2 3 "A Brief History of the Dry Creek to Stockade Railway". Catch Point. May 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2015.

[2] "Dry Creek River Trails | Dry Creek Linear Park | Walking SA". Walking SA. Retrieved 2017-09-20.

[3] Richard Maurovic (2007). The Meat Game: A History of the Gepps Cross Abattoirs and Livestock Markets. Wakefield Press. p. 59. ISBN 978 1 86254 726 1. Retrieved 18 March 2015.