Central Australia Railway

From the proposal for a line heading north of Port Augusta to turning the first sod in 1878 took 18 years[8] and the process was referred to by the press as "which has so far failed to extend itself out of the region of nebulous ideas.".[9]

The key issues reported at the time were:

Significant debate about the cost delayed and eventually altered the final design. The costs were significant for the South Australian colony and there was rigorous debate over that period. Mineral extraction was touted as the key benefit,[10] with farming and passenger traffic being deemed by many as being uneconomic alone although others suggest the key products were 'wool, station stores, and copper' in that order.[11] The cost per kilometre was set in the Acts which precluded more expensive options.

There was fierce debate about the gauge of the line, the maximum weight to be carried and maximum speed as all three dictated the cost.

A multitude of routes and end-points were nominated with over a dozen potential routes explored, most of these to the north. End points that were discussed included Government Gums (Farina, South Australia (320 km), Yudnamutana, South Australia (390 km) and Beltana (232 km). The 1867 Act stated that the line would be 200 miles from Port Augusta. Newspapers of the time did mention extending the line to Port Darwin although this was not gazetted in Parliament.

The State run South Australian Railways wanted to build the line and there were others who thought 'capitalists', predominantly from the United Kingdom, would offer better value for money. South Australian Railways developed a trial called the Northern Extension Railway to Burra to test the engineering capabilities.[12]

Around 1871, there was general agreement between Robert C. Patteson, Assistant Engineer (report writer), H. C. Mais, (Engineer-in-Chief) and Surveyor General. George Goyder (creator of the Goyder line of rainfall) about the length and route of the railway.[11] All three could not see going further north than Beltana (232 km) due to rain fall and environment, The two options out of Port Augusta were the Western Plains and the Pichi Richi routes.[29] The Pichi Richi route, while more expensive, offered access to the farmland to the west.

An extensive permanent survey was conducted circa 1876 and the final route mapped to Government Gums due to the water available at the terminus.[30] The length was to be "198 miles 66.92 chains", and the route consisted of "no less than 64 bridges, ranging in length from 20 feet to 740 feet, 470 flood-openings from 10 to 40 feet wide, 550 culverts from 2 feet 6 inches to 10 feet wide, 61 pipe-drains,and 14 water courses".[30]

The first sod was turned at Port Augusta on 18 January 1878 and took until 1882 to reach Government Gums (320 km), 1884 Maree (372 km), 1888 Coward Springs (501 km) and finally Oodnadatta in 1891 (770 km). Construction was by South Australian Railways as a 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge railway.[31][32]

Between 1891 and 1926, the railway line was not extended. Discussion occurred about if the existing line should be extended or commence a standard gauge railway from Tarcoola.[33][34] The South Australian Railways were transferred to the Australian Federal Government on 1 January 1911 however South Australian Railways continued running the service until 1 January 1926.[1] In 1926, Commonwealth Railways took over the running and commenced planning for extending the railway line north.

Extending the line from Oodnadatta to Alice Springs commenced around 1926 and was completed on 6 August 1929.

The Northern Territory Act (Cth 1910) required the building of a North-South railway although no date was specified. Two unballasted routes were shortlisted with a standard gauge line from Kingoonya to Alice Springs estimated at 4.5m pounds and the 1.7m pound narrow gauge extension from Oodnadatta to Alice Springs. The 270 miles 65 chain extension was passed after a number of debates in Federal Parliament.[35]

Railway workers were paid 5 pounds, 8 shillings a week and a request for this to be raised to 6 pounds per week was refused by Sir John Quick in the Federal Arbitration Court on 11 March 1927.[36]

Concerns were raised regarding local Aboriginals with media reporting ""It is intended to ask the State and Federal Governments to endeavour to keep the wilder natives and especially those from the Musgrave and Everard ranges in their fastnesses for a few years."[37]

The first train consisted of 12 carriages including Mail and Fruit vans. There were 60 first class and 60 second class passengers and left on 5 August 1929 however an official ceremony to be attended by the Prime Minister was cancelled due to the cost of running a special train.[38][39]

The tortuously curving narrow-gauge line between Marree and Alice Springs was notoriously prone to delays, often caused by flash floods washing away bridges and tracks.[40] Some track was laid on sand without ballast, and wood sleepers were used, serving as food for termites, causing unstable tracks.[41]

There was a need for the route of the railway to be close to water for the original steam engines however this also caused significant issues due to flooding which occurred on a regular basis with a number of significant closures including:

• 1911 A train driver was killed at Brachina Siding (173 km north of Port Augusta) when the train entered the creek after rains.[42]
• 1915 Rain occurred around Quorn and further north with significant damage around Brachina with a bridge destroyed.[43]
• 1926 Widespread rain damaged the railway between Quorn and Oodnadatta.[44]
• 1929 Over 740 kilometers of the railway were damaged after torrential rain broke a seven-year drought. The line north of Quorn.[45][46]
• 1930 The service was suspended beyond Finke from 17 January 1930, until 6 March 1930 after some of the Finke River bridge piers were carried away and others damaged. A deviation was put in place to run the line over the river bed instead.[47]
• 1936
  • A works train engine dived nose-first into Camel Creek near Rodinga with a fireman sustained a broken leg after the 30-foot Camel Creek bridge was undermined. The train was an engine and three carriages and was repairing tracks from recent floods. The driver also sustained unspecified injuries.
  • 16 Passengers and railway engineers were stranded at Finke River will "have to remain there for some days" with water "four feet over the line".[48]
• 1937 Reports of flooding delaying trains for at least 3 days
• 1939 Reports of six weeks of disruptions and headlines of "Train Weeks Late". Food shortages in Alice Springs after the train was delayed 34 days.[49]
• 1943 Two trains collided at 2:03am near Strangeways Springs (537 km from Port Augusta). One fireman was injured and three cattle lost their lives in February. This was the third head-on in recent months including one near Beltana.[50]
• 1944 Four soldiers were killed and 27 injured when a goods train collided with a stationary train carrying 300 troops at midnight near Copley (262 km north of Port Augusta) in May. The troop train had run out of water and was stationary when it was hit from behind by a freight train.[51]

A Central Australia Railway goods train approaching Pichi Richi Pass about 1910, near where the Pichi Richi Railway now operates

• 1950 Floods caused almost 300 km of line to be impassable from Brachina (173 km) to Curamurka (473 km).[52] This prevented coal trains from the Telford Cut coalfields from travelling. More expensive South African coal would be required to continue South Australian power supplies if the line did not reopen and may have been a final catalyst to upgrade to standard gauge.[53]
• 1963 (May) 114 of the 140 Ghan passengers were airlifted to Alice Springs on five special flights after a week of delays. The floods "were the worse since 1938" and bread was dropped to the train.[54]
• 1967 The track was closed for approximately 27 days after the track was breached in more than 32 places including destroying the Finke River Bridge. A "minor Berlin airlift" was required for Alice Springs. There were three proposals to improve the line were mentioned by the Commissioner of Commonwealth Railways. This included
  • a new route from Tarcoola to Alice Springs which the current Adelaide–Darwin railway may be based on,
  • Extending the standard gauge from Marree to Alice Springs
  • Improving the existing narrow gauge line.[55]
• 1974 All roads cut around Alice Springs

In 1944, it was reported that trains had increased on the line from the normal two a week to 56, whilst the North Australia Railway had increased from one a week to 147. Rolling stock, sidings, marshaling areas and water points for the steam engines were all key issues in increasing traffic on the line.[56]

The first diesel electric engine commenced service in June 1954. It was one of 14 engines ordered for both the Central and North Australia Railway. Built by the Birmingham Carriage and Wagon company, had a range of approximately 1134 km, they could travel at 80 km/h and haul 330 imperial tons.[57] The Trans-Australian Railway and this line were the first two lines to be powered by diesel electric engines only in Australia.[58]

In 1949, both South Australia and the Federal Government enacted the Railway Standardisation (South Australia) Agreement Act[22] which looked at the upgrade of all lines to standard gauge, including the Central Australia Line. The act was more of an overarching statement rather than a commitment to complete all lines in a set order or time.

The Leigh Creek and Telford Cut Coalfields were first excavated in 1943 following a shortage of coal during World War II and between 1951 and 1954, discussions surrounded two route options to upgrade to standard gauge. Option B2 was upgrading the current line to Telford, the C option was the chosen option which was up to 32 km west of the current line.[59] The South Australian and Federal governments bickered over by-passing the township of Quorn and it was only after a Royal Commission, that the Commonwealth Railways got their way with option C avoiding Quorn and the work commenced on the 255 km line.

The South Australian Government and agriculturists wanted to extend the standard gauge line a further 88 km to Marree.[60][61] This would reduce the bruising of the cattle and shorten the time to market as well as increase the number of cattle that could be transferred. Transferring livestock at Telford was considered problematic with coal dust and machinery.[62]

The federal minister of transport travelled to the area in mid-1954 and confirmed the extension from Telford Cut to Marree. The cost was set at 1,241,000 pounds, compared to 821,000 pounds to bring the existing line up to an acceptable level including ballasting and possible bridge replacement.[63]

The Minister for Transport, Senator George McLeay and the Commonwealth Railways Commissioner, Mr. P. J. Hannaberry, both stated that they were "strongly in favour" to extend the standard gauge line all the way to Alice Springs in 1952.[64] By April 1954, Hannaberry had changed his mind and stated it was "out of the question".[65]

In 1957, the Marree Railway Line, the new standard gauge line from Stirling North (near Port Augusta) to Marree (372 km from Port Augusta) opened, replacing the existing line via Quorn. This was predominantly for coal to be transferred from the Leigh Creek and Telford Cut Coalfields to the power stations at Stirling North. The line was extended to Marree for cattle to be transported to market from the grazing plains, including around the Birdsville Track.

With the new standard gauge Marree Railway Line opened, the narrow gauge line began to close in sections:

• 1957: The section between Brachina (173 km) to Beltana (232 km) is closed in March
• 1957: The section between Leigh Creek (262 km) to Marree (372 km) is closed in July
• 1958: Beltana (232 km) to Leigh Creek (262 km) closed in July.[66]
• 1972: Port Augusta (0 km) to Hawker (105 km) closed.
  • Some sections of the narrow-gauge line remain in operation as the Pichi Richi Railway and the section from Port Augusta to Stirling North was realigned and restored in 2000–2002.
• 1981: The entire narrow gauge line was closed with the section between Marree (372 km) and Alice Springs (1243 km) abandoned, replaced by Tarcoola-Alice Springs line standard gauge line.[67]
• 2016: Stirling North-Telford Cut standard gauge line mothballed after power station and mine closure.[68]