The Lions Club of Yorke Peninsula Rail was a tourist railway in the Australian state of South Australia which, from 1994 to 2009, operated tourist services from Wallaroo to stations on a local 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) gauge railway line which had been closed on 3 March 1993.
 The dual gauge railway track at Wallaroo (2008) | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Service type | Heritage railway |
| Status | Ceased |
| Locale | Yorke Peninsula, South Australia |
| First service | 1994 |
| Last service | 2009 |
| Route | |
| Line(s) used | Kadina-Brinkworth line |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) |
History
editOperations on the Northern Yorke Peninsula started with the opening of a horse-drawn tramway between Kadina and Wallaroo in 1862, soon converted into a railway and extended out to the towns of Snowtown and Port Wakefield.[1][self-published source][2] Australian National took over the operations in 1978, eventually closing the line on 3 March 1993.[3]
The Yorke Peninsula Rail Preservation Society was formed in 1992 to preserve and run a tourist railway on the line between Kadina and Wallaroo. On 12 April 1994, the YP Rail Preservation Society ran its first train between Wallaroo and Kadina. From 27 December 2000, they extended operations further 38 kilometres to the town of Bute. A T class locomotive was purchased from Victorian Railways and three "BE" class carriages were purchased from SteamRanger.[4][self-published source] In February 2000, it took delivery of ex - State Transport Authority Redhen railcar 435 from Islington Railway Workshops to its depot in Wallaroo following its purchase from Great Northern Rail. In April 2002, railcar 406 was moved from the Port Milang Historic Railway Museum to the YPR.[5] Rolling stock leasing company CFCLA swapped the society's sole locomotive, T387 with the Superchook set (2301, trailer 2501, 2302) and railcars 416, 432 and 436.[6] All railcars but 436 were transferred to Wallaroo, with 436 being stripped of parts and scrapped after an arson attack.[7] 432, 435 and 406 remained stored as a source of parts while the Superchooks and 416 were put into service.
The tourist railway was forced to cease operations in 2009 due to high track repair costs.[8] The rolling stock was then sold off to private owners.[9] The track between Kadina and Wallaroo was removed and replaced with the Copper Coast Rail Trail and retail stores on both ends.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Hoyleton to Port Wakefield Railway Line
- ^ "THE PORT WAKEFIELD AND KADINA RAILWAY". South Australian Register. Vol. XLIII, no. 9953. South Australia. 8 October 1878. p. 6. Retrieved 24 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Quinlan, Howard; Newland, John (2000). Australian Railway Routes 1854 - 2000. Redfern: Australian Railway Historical Society. pp. 56–58. ISBN 0-909650-49-7.
- ^ End of the line for local tourist railway
- ^ Bailey, Keith (2010). End of the Line. The Story of Y.P. Rail. Openbook Howden. pp. 45–46.
- ^ Bailey, Keith (2010). End of the Line. The Story of Y.P. Rail. Openbook Howden. pp. 57–60.
- ^ Redhen Railcars 400 to 436 Chris's Commonwealth Railways Information (ComRails)
- ^ Repair costs derail tourist train operation 19 March 2009
- ^ "Looking Back". SteamRanger Enthusiast Pages. Retrieved 29 December 2023.