Earth:Mount Gambier-Heywood railway line

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Short description: Former railway in Victoria and South Australia

Mount Gambier-Heywood railway line
Mt Gambier-Heywood rail ticket 1979.jpg
Mt Gambier-Heywood rail ticket 1979
Overview
StatusClosed, Dormant
LocaleLimestone Coast, South Australia
Barwon South West, Victoria
TerminiMount Gambier
Heywood
Continues fromMount Gambier–Wolseley line
Continues asPortland line
Service
SystemSouth Australian Railways
Victorian Railways
Operator(s)Victorian Railways
History
OpenedHeywood–Dartmoor: 22 June 1916
Dartmoor–state border: 28 November 1917
State border–Mount Gambier: 28 November 1917
Closed11 April 1995
Technical
Line length90.8 km (56.4 mi)
Track gauge1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) Pending Standard Gauge 1,435 mm or 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in

Mount Gambier-Heywood railway line is a 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) line located in Australia which operated from 27 November 1917 to 11 April 1995 between Mount Gambier in the state of South Australia and Heywood in the state of Victoria. It is one of two railway lines built by both state governments following an agreement in 1912 to connect to each other's railway networks. There has been calls for standardisation over the past two decades from Heywood to Wolseley since the Melbourne to Adelaide line was converted in 1995.[citation needed]

Naming

The line is gazetted as the “Mount Gambier-Heywood Railway” by both the South Australian and Victorian governments.[1][2] This name was also used in a report jointly published by the two state governments in 2009.[3]

Newspaper reports published in both states about the railway line prior to its opening used the title “Portland-Mount Gambier Railway.”[4][5][6] Some sources published in Victoria refer to the line as the “Mount Gambier line.”[7]

History

The South Australian and Victorian governments agreed on 28 November 1912 to connect their respective railway networks at two places by constructing lines between Heywood and Mount Gambier and between Murrayville in Victoria and Pinnaroo in South Australia with legislation subsequently passed by both parliaments being enacted on 14 December 1912 and 23 December 1912 respectively.[8][9]

The agreement between the two state governments gave the responsibility for the construction of the line between Heywood and Mount Gambier to the Government of Victoria and the responsibility for the line between Murrayville and Pinnaroo to the Government of South Australia.[8] The section of line between Heywood and Dartmoor was completed on 22 June 1916 with the remainder of the line being complete on 28 November 1917.[7]

The railway line opened for business on 28 November 1917 without any “special ceremony” and with passenger services scheduled for Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.[6]

The rail service between Mount Gambier and Heywood was suspended on 11 April 1995 due to the standardization of the gauges of the Melbourne–Adelaide and the Maroona-Portland lines.[3][7] The South Australian section of the line between Mount Gambier and Rennick was used by the tourist service, the Limestone Coast Railway, until 20 March 1999.[citation needed]

In 2009, the South Australian and Victorian governments published an action plan for freight services within the Green Triangle Region which advised that projected volumes of woodchip intended for export from the Port of Portland in the years 2012-2015 would make a restored Mount Gambier–Heywood rail line a “potentially … commercially viable” operation.[3] In 2020 the Limestone Coast Regional Development Board conducted a feasibility study with the CSIRO to build a Freight Department at the Glenburnie Saleyards to reopen the line to Heywood and connect with the Melbourne to Adelaide network but is still being pursued for government standardisation.

Due to the construction of a public space park where Mount Gambier railway station once stood in 2015, the line is no longer connected to the Millicent and Wolseley lines only with a two track easement left in its space for right of way.[citation needed]

Stations

Stations included the following: (from west to east):[10][11]


See also

  • Rail transport in South Australia
  • Rail transport in Victoria
  • Pinnaroo railway line, South Australia
  • Pinnaroo railway line, Victoria

References

  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named PLB
  2. ↑ "Search result for "Mount Gambier-Heywood Railway" (Place name ID 18208)". VIC NAMES - The Register of Geographic Names. Government of Victoria. http://maps.land.vic.gov.au/lassi/VicnamesUI.jsp?placeId=5444. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 South Australia. Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure (2009), Green triangle region freight action plan, A Joint Initiative of the Victorian and South Australian Governments, Dept for Transport, Energy & Infrastructure : [Dept of Infrastructure], pp. 51–53, http://www.glenelg.vic.gov.au/files/Green_Triangle_Region_Freight_Action_Plan.pdf, retrieved 4 May 2017 
  4. ↑ "PORTLAND MOUNT GAMBIER RAILWAY.". The Register (Adelaide) (South Australia) LXXVII (20,521): p. 3. 19 August 1912. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59238788. 
  5. ↑ "PORTLAND-MOUNT GAMBIER RAILWAY.". Hamilton Spectator (Victoria, Australia) (8154): p. 6. 28 September 1911. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225323223. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Mt. Gambier to Portland, opening of the railway". Portland Guardian (Victoria, Australia) LXXV (7209): p. 3 (EVENING). 28 November 1917. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article64020286. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Mount Gambier Line". Vicsig. http://vicsig.net/infrastructure/line/Mount-Gambier. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "The South Australian and Victorian Border Railways Act (No 1097 of 1912)". Government of South Australia. pp. 1, 8 & 9. http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/sa/num_act/tsaavbra1097o1912555/tsaavbra1097o1912555.pdf. 
  9. ↑ "The South Australian and Victorian Border Railways Act 1912". Government of Victoria. pp. 455 & 464. http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/hist_act/saavbra1912479.pdf. 
  10. ↑ "Search result for "Feature type: RAILWAY STATION" in "Municipality: GLENELG SHIRE" for "Place Name Status: REGISTERED" with box "Geographic Names Register Only" selected". VIC NAMES - The Register of Geographic Names. Government of Victoria. http://maps.land.vic.gov.au/lassi/VicnamesUI.jsp. 
  11. ↑ "Railway Map of Victoria 1920". Victorian Railway Maps 1860 - 2000. Victorian Railways Resources. http://www.vrhistory.com/VRMaps/Vic1920.pdf. 




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