Morgan railway line

File:Gawler River Railway Bridge, Roseworthy Line (7364049606).jpg (2012)]]

File:Morgan, railway next to River Murray(GN14113).jpg

The first section of the line opened from Gawler. It was built to service the copper mining at Kapunda, opened on 13 August 1860.[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/822747 Opening of the Kapunda Railway] South Australian Advertiser 14 August 1860 It was extended to Morgan on 23 September 1878{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article29364977 |title=Opening of the North-West Bend Railway |newspaper=The South Australian Advertiser |location=Adelaide |date=2 November 1878 |accessdate=3 September 2014 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}} to provide a more efficient freight and passenger connection between the Murray paddle steamers and both the city of Adelaide and Port Adelaide for ocean transport.{{cite book|last1=Quinlan|first1=Howard|last2=Newland|first2=John|title=Australian Railway Routes 1854 - 2000|date=2000|publisher=Australian Railway Historical Society|location=Redfern|isbn=0 909650 49 7|page=55}}[http://www.natrailmuseum.org.au/history.php The Formation of the South Australian Railways] National Railway Museum

The Eudunda to Morgan section closed on 2 November 1969, and Morgan residents requested that the line was preserved to Mount Mary. This was rejected, and the line being removed not long after. [http://visitmorgan.com.au/html/railways.html Railways] Visit Morgan In 1978, the remaining line to Eudunda and the Robertstown branch came under the ownership of Australian National as part of the SAR's sale to the Federal Government. The Kapunda to Eudunda section was closed on 11 March 1994 by AN, with the deterioration of the River Light bridge at Hansborough being cited as a reason for closure. This section was pulled up the following year. The remaining Gawler to Kapunda section was leased by the South Australian Government to Australian Southern Railroad (later known as ORA) in 1997 as part of AN's SA freight asset sale to Genesee and Wyoming. The line's last documented use was on 21 May 2003 by Australian Railroad Group locomotive CK4, though grain services had ceased years before.{{cite web |title=Burra Railway |url=https://burrasa.info/pages/railway.html |website=Burra History |access-date=25 October 2022}} In 2015, a short section of the line within Kapunda was repurposed as the Swann Path (also known as the Kapunda Rail Trail,) and it is planned to be extended to the southern end of the town in the future.{{cite web |title=Kapunda Rail Trail |url=https://www.railtrails.org.au/trails/kapunda-rail-trail/ |website=Rail Trails Australia |access-date=1 May 2024}}{{cite web |title=ADELAIDE WINE CAPITAL CYCLE TRAIL |url=https://lightinvest.com.au/sites/lightinvest/media/pdf/Kapunda-Railway-Corridor-Summary-of-Proposed-Redevelopment.pdf |website=Light Regional Council |access-date=1 May 2024}} The lease of the land and ownership of the rail infrastructure passed to Aurizon in 2022, following their purchase of One Rail Australia (the final successor of Australian Southern Railroad).

The line's present owner, Aurizon does not list the line as being open or in use, but it is available for access.{{cite web |title=Access to South Australia Regional Rail Network |url=https://www.aurizon.com.au/what-we-do/bulk/bulk-sa-and-nt/access-regional-network |website=Aurizon |access-date=30 April 2024}} The line has fallen into disrepair, being damaged by floods and bushfires.{{cite news |last1=Marcus|last2=Gage |first1=Candice|first2=Nicola |title=SA bushfire: Residents make emotional journey home to assess property damage |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-26/residents-emotional-journey-home-to-assess-damage-from-sa-fire/6977384 |access-date=30 April 2024 |work=ABC News |date=26 November 2015}} The line has been severed at several points for drainage and road surface improvements. In 2022, the line was blocked off from the Gawler line, and the wider Adelaide metropolitan network after a fence was installed at the Gawler River bridge.

File:Railway bridge over Light River at Hansborough, South Australia.JPG (2010)]]

The Kapunda railway was the first extension of the line from Adelaide to Gawler. It passed through Roseworthy from where the Peterborough line later branched. The line headed northeast from Roseworthy to reach Freeling, then the line crossed the River Light just south of Kapunda. The extension continued through Hansborough, running across the River Light once again and Pine Creek before reaching Hampden, then turning south and going through a steep descent into Eudunda. From there, the line curved northwards towards the junction for the Robertstown line, then heading west across the plains adjacent to what is now the Thiele Highway to Morgan. The Robertstown line branch opened in 1914 from Eudunda to Robertstown, passing through Point Pass along the way.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5433523 |title=Robertstown Railway|newspaper=The Advertiser |location=Adelaide |date=10 December 1914 |accessdate=23 September 2015 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}}

There were proposals to extend the line to connect to Wentworth, New South Wales,{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article42974072 |title=Public Works |newspaper=South Australian Register |location=Adelaide |date=14 June 1879 |accessdate=3 September 2014 |page=3 Supplement: Supplement to the South Australian Register. |via=National Library of Australia}} and even to Hay to provide a more direct rail route to Sydney.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article127437641 |title=Hay to Morgan |newspaper=The Maitland Weekly Mercury |location=NSW |date=10 June 1922 |accessdate=3 September 2014 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.johnnyspages.com/classic_pictures_menu_files/classic_present_day_pics_files/north_line_stations/morgan_line.htm Gallery]

Category:Closed railway lines in South Australia

Category:Railway lines opened in 1860