Willunga railway line

The Willunga railway line ran through the southern Adelaide suburbs[2] from Adelaide railway station to Willunga, over 45-kilometre (28 mi) long (longer than the current Gawler line, 42.2 kilometres (26.2 mi)). The line was opened in Willunga by the Governor of South Australia Sir Henry Galway on 20 January 1915,[3] and initially had 16 stopping places between Adelaide and Willunga.[1] It closed beyond Hallett Cove in 1969 and was dismantled in 1972. The Seaford railway line continues from Hallett Cove along a different alignment before rejoining the route of the old line between Seaford Road and Griffiths Drive.

Map of the line

Willunga railway line
Overview
Statusclosed and removed
LocaleSouth Australia
Termini
Service
Typegoods and passengers
SystemSouth Australian Railways
History
Opened20 January 1915 (1915-01-20)
Closed1969 (1969)
Technical
Track gauge5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm)
Minimum radius12 chains (790 ft; 240 m)[1]
Highest elevation437 ft (133 m)
ruling grade: 1 in 45[1]
Route map

km
0.0
Adelaide
21.4
Hallett Cove
Hallett Cove (original site)
1915–74
Patpa
26.4
Happy Valley
28.2
Reynella
29.6
Pimpala
30.8
Coorara
32.2
Morphett Vale
Yetto
34.5
Hackham
Korro
38.9
Noarlunga
Seaford Meadows
Seaford
Moana
to Aldinga
(corridor reserved)
Tuni
McLaren Vale
Pikkara
Willunga

The original corridor remains as the 34-kilometre (21 mi) long Coast to Vines Rail Trail. There is some evidence of railway track remaining on this trail, notably near the South Road crossing at Hackham, the top of the Seaford Hill and a small section of track in a paddock adjacent to Victor Harbor Road, McLaren Vale. Occasionally, rails surface through the bitumen at Field Street, McLaren Vale. Most station infrastructure was demolished except for a buried goods platform at Morphett Vale, and the passenger platform and building at Willunga.[4]

At the time of its opening, there was a proposal to extend it to Second Valley to connect with coastal steam shipping to Kangaroo Island for holidays, with the route already approved as far as Normanville and Yankalilla.[1] This extension was never built.

References

  1. "WILLUNGA RAILWAY". The Advertiser. Vol. LVII, no. 17, 554. South Australia. 19 January 1915. p. 6. Retrieved 29 March 2016 via National Library of Australia.
  2. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, October 1965 pp181-192
  3. "Banquet at Willunga". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  4. "WILLUNGA DISTRICT HERITAGE SURVEY" (PDF). 2-Willunga-District-Heritage-Survey-1997.pdf. McDOUGALL & VINES. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
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