Solomontown railway station

Solomontown railway station was the third of six stations that operated successively between 1876 and the early 2010s to serve the rural maritime town (later city) of Port Pirie, 216 km (134 mi) by rail north of Adelaide, South Australia.

In 1911, a local passenger service started on the narrow-gauge line between the main station in Ellen Street, built nine years previously, and a developing suburban area 2.3 km (1.4 mi) to the south. A small wooden shelter was erected; no platform was constructed because, as with the station's two predecessors, passengers boarded from ground level. The location was on the southern boundary of Solomontown, on Railway Terrace.[1]

Port Pirie's original station at Port Pirie South became the mid-way station between those at Ellen Street and Solomontown. Soon after Solomontown station opened, the town council asked for extra trains to run and complained about delays occurring at Port Pirie South, alleging that passengers often had to wait longer at that station than the timetabled duration of the whole journey.[1]

In 1937, two new lines – broad gauge from Adelaide and standard gauge from Port Augusta – reached Port Pirie. The shelter was dismantled to make way for a more substantial station to transfer passengers and baggage between broad and standard gauge trains. Although the new station was officially named "Port Pirie Junction", it remained "Solomontown" in colloquial use, both among residents of Port Pirie and South Australian Railways employees.[2]:27[3]

Solomontown railway station
Map of Port Pirie (part), its railway reserves and Solomontown in 1896
LocationOff Railway Terrace, between the intersections with Murn Street and Harris Road, Port Pirie, South Australia
Coordinates33°10′55″S 138°00′43″E
Owned bySouth Australian Railways
Line(s)Port Pirie to New South Wales border
GaugeNarrow – 1067 mm / 3 ft 6 in
StructureSmall, wooden
PlatformNone; ground-level boarding
StaffingTwo
StoppingAll passenger trains (to/from Ellen Street)
Opened1911
Closed1937 (demolished)
Previous
station
Ellen Street
Concurrent
station
Ellen Street
Subsequent
station
Port Pirie Junction
Articles about Port Pirie's six railway stations
 Known asDurationGauge
1Port Pirie (name changed to "Port Pirie South" in 1902)1876
to soon after 1911		ng 
2Ellen Street1902–1967ng bg*
3Solomontown (this article)1911–1937ng
4Port Pirie Junction (also dual-signposted, and known colloquially, as "Solomontown")1937–1967ngbgsg
5Mary Elie Street1967–1989bgsg
6Coonamia1st, 1929 to after 1937
2nd, 1989–2010s		sg
* In 1937, one of the two narrow-gauge tracks along Ellen Street was made dual-gauge as far as the station by the addition of a broad-gauge rail.

Track gauges: narrow, broad and standard.

The "multi-gauge muddle" in Port Pirie
At various times during a period of close to 140 years, Port Pirie had six railway stations – never more than two concurrently. During the 45-year period 1937–1982, the city became well known as one of the few locations in the world having three railway gauges.[note 1]
This situation was a result of South Australia's transitioning from lightly constructed narrow gauge to heavy-rail broad gauge (which predominated in the state at the time), then to standard gauge when lines between the mainland state capitals were at last unified. As a consequence, all Port Pirie stations that succeeded the inaugural station of 1876 were either built to accommodate a change of gauge or were affected by one.

Previous (and concurrent) station: Ellen Street.

Subsequent station (after closure): Port Pirie Junction, on the same site.

Timeline of Port Pirie's six railway stations (click to enlarge)
The timeline, reasons for change, and gauges involved are shown in the following graphic.
Map including the first Solomontown railway station and the evolution of Port Pirie's three railway gauges (click to enlarge)

See also

Notes
  1. The gauges were 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in), 1435 mm (4 ft ​8 1⁄2 in), and 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in).

References
  1. "Solomontown railway service". Port Pirie Recorder and North Western Mail (1451). (Original, Port Pirie. Digital reproduction, Canberra: National Library of Australia – Trove digital newspaper archive). 16 September 1911. p. 3. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  2. "South Australia's mixed gauge muddle" (PDF). National Railway Museum [South Australia]. National Railway Museum. 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  3. "Solomontown Railway Station". The Advertiser. (Original, Adelaide. Digital reproduction, Canberra: National Library of Australia – Trove digital newspaper archive). 14 July 1937. p. 27. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
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