Pinnaroo railway station

Former railway station in South Australia, Australia

Pinnaroo

Pinnaroo railway station (2017)

General information
Location| Railway Terrace, Pinnaroo, South Australia
Coordinates| 35°15′35″S 140°54′27″E﻿ / ﻿35.25983167548555°S 140.9075654557561°E﻿ / -35.25983167548555; 140.9075654557561
Operated by| South Australian Railways
Line(s)| Pinnaroo line
Distance| 242 kilometres from Adelaide
Platforms| 1
Tracks| 1
Construction
Structure type| Ground
Other information
Status| Closed to passengers, now used as a museum
History
Opened| 14 September 1906
Closed| 1968 (passengers)
31 July 2015 (freight)
Services
| Preceding station  | Aurizon | Following station

|
|

Chandos

towards Adelaide

|  | Pinnaroo railway line, South Australia |  | Panitya

Terminus

Pinnaroo railway station was located on the Pinnaroo railway line from Tailem Bend to Ouyen. It served the town of Pinnaroo.

## History

[edit]

Pinnaroo station opened on 14 September 1906 when the broad gauge railway line opened from Tailem Bend to Pinnaroo. It was eventually connected to Victoria with the opening of a broad gauge branch line from the Mildura railway line at Ouyen on 29 July 1915.[1] Its name derived from a native term used to express "big man".[2] The station consisted of a platform and a main building.[3]

Regular passenger services ceased in 1968.[4]

The South Australian section of the Pinnaroo line was gauge converted from broad gauge to standard gauge on 25 November 1998 [5][6] thus making Pinnaroo a break of gauge station.

In 1997, the station and railway line were included in the transfer of Australian National's South Australian freight assets to Australian Southern Railroad (later known as One Rail Australia.) The line became disused in July 2015 when grain handler Viterra announced that no more grain would be carried by rail with the 2015 harvest to be entirely transported by road.[7][8] As the South Australian line became disused, the Victorian government was upgrading part of its end of the line for regional freight.[9] 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 station building is now used as part of the Tourist Information Centre and Mallee Heritage Museum.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Newland, Andrew; Quinlan, Howard (2000). Australian Railway Routes 1854 - 2000. Redfern: Australian Railway Historical Society. pp. 53, 56. ISBN 0-909650-49-7.
2. ^ Day, Alfred N. (1915). "Names of South Australian Railway Stations with Their Meanings and Derivations" (PDF). R. E. E. Rogers. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
3. ^ Pinnaroo. The old Pinnaroo Railway Station
4. ^ Pinnaroo line
5. ^ "SA Branches to be Standardised" Railway Digest June 1995 page 15
6. ^ Non-Metropolitan Railways (Transfer) Act 1997 Government of South Australia
7. ^ Freight Study & Rail Operations Investigation Archived 16 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine Flywheel Advisory 17 November 2014
8. ^ Strathearn, Peri (21 May 2015). "End of line for Murraylands, Mallee grain trains". The Murray Valley Standard. Fairfax Regional Media. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
9. ^ Jones, Erin (18 November 2017). "Campaign to reinstate South Australia's regional rail network to help boost employment and create economic benefits for towns". Sunday Mail. Retrieved 20 July 2018.