Kingston SE railway line
| Kingston SE railway line | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Status | Closed and removed |
| Locale | Limestone Coast, South Australia |
| Termini | |
| Continues from | Mount Gambier–Wolseley line |
| Stations | Naracoorte, Stewarts, Lucindale, Bull Islands, Reedy Creek, Avenue Range (Avenue), Kingston SE |
| Service | |
| System | South Australian Railways |
| Operator(s) | South Australian Railways (1876–1978), Australian National (1978–1987) |
| History | |
| Opened | June 1876 |
| Closed | 28 November 1987 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 94.95 km (59.00 mi) |
| Track gauge | 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in) from 1957 |
| Old gauge | 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) (1876–1957) |
The Kingston SE railway line was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network.
History
An isolated line was authorised by the South-Eastern Railway Act in 1871 and completed in June 1876[1] from the port at Kingston SE[note 1] inland via Lucindale to Naracoorte as narrow gauge. For the first six months after the line was completed, no locomotives were available, so wagons on the line were towed by horses.
On the night of 26 February 1941, a fire broke out at the Avenue Range (Avenue) station grounds, completely destroying the station office and its contents.[2] The immediate cause of the fire was not evident, and an official inquest into the incident, on 7 March 1941, could not determine it either. The railway administration subsequently replaced the building with a basic corrugated iron waiting shed.[2]
The line was converted to broad gauge with a new terminus 1 kilometre (0.6 miles) east of Kingston, on the edge of the port township in 1957. Freight and passenger services ceased on 28 November 1987.[3][4]
The last train on the line (which was temporarily reopened for the event) was Bluebird railcar 255 Pelican, organised by the Rail Tourist Association on 9 December 1987.[5] The line was dismantled in September 1991.[6]
Stations
| Station / Siding | Opened | Closed | Current Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naracoorte | 1876 | 12 April 1995 | Closed | Junction with the Wolseley–Mount Gambier line. |
| Stewart Range | 1876 | - | Demolished | - |
| Lucindale | 1876 | 28 November 1987 | Preserved | Station building survived; repurposed as a local museum. |
| Avenue | 1876 | 28 November 1987 | Demolished | Original weatherboard building destroyed in fire |
| Reedy Creek | 1876 | - | Demolished | - |
| Kingston SE | 1876 | 28 November 1987 | Demolished | Relocated 1 km inland during the 1957 broad-gauge conversion. |
Notes
- ↑ "SE", meaning "South East" of South Australia, was added to the town's name to distinguish it from Kingston on Murray.
References
- ↑ "The Overland Mail to Victoria". Milang Historical Society. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Avenue railway station destroyed by fire". The Border Watch. 4 March 1941. p. 3. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
- ↑ Bell, Peter; Marsden, Susan (29 September 2010). "Kingston SE – An Overview History". Professional Historians Australia (SA) Inc. p. 21. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- ↑ "Light Railways" (PDF). Light Railways. 252. Light Railway Research Society of Australia. December 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
- ↑ "Final Train Visits Kingston" 9 December 1987
- ↑ Diesel Days on the Kingston S.E. Goods Milne, Rod Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, October, 1997 pp356-364