The Barmera railway line was the second railway built to develop the

Murray Mallee The Murray Mallee is a cereal, grain-growing and sheep-farming area in the east of the Australian state of South Australia. The name is not formally designated but is widely used to refer to an area of approximately bounded by the Murray Rive ...

region of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, in 1913. It followed the success of the Pinnaroo railway line in 1906. Both lines branched east from

Tailem Bend Tailem Bend (locally, "Tailem") is a rural town in South Australia, south-east of the state capital of Adelaide. It is located on the lower reaches of the River Murray, near where the river flows into Lake Alexandrina (South Australia), Lake Al ...

to the north of the main Melbourne–Adelaide railway. The Brown's Well line was the more northerly, and extended into country which had not been developed much before the railway, partly due to the absence of any viable transport route for produce. The original terminus of the Brown's Well railway was at

Meribah Massah () and Meribah (, also spelled "Mirabah") are place names found in the Hebrew Bible. The Israelites are said to have travelled through Massah and Meribah during the Exodus, although the continuous list of visited stations in Numbers 33 ...

, not far from the

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

n border. Such was the optimism about this region, that three lines from the Brown's Well line to the Murray River, and an additional line between it and the Pinnaroo line, were approved even before it was completed. It was extended further to Renmark and

Barmera Barmera ( ) is a town in the Riverland region of South Australia. It is on the Sturt Highway A20, 220 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, the capital of the state of South Australia. It is primarily an agricultural and viticultural town and is ...

in the 1920s, along with construction of another spur from Wanbi to near Moorook in 1925.

Route

The initial sidings and mileages from Adelaide were:—

, 75¼ miles; Naturi, 84½; Kulde, 89½; Wynarka, 95¼; Karoonda, 105¼; Lowalde, 111½; Borrika, 115½; Halidon, 128¼; Wanbi, 139¼;

Alawoona Alawoona is a town in the Murray Mallee region of South Australia. At the , Alawoona had a population of 250. It lies on the Karoonda Highway and Loxton railway line where they both change direction from easterly to continue northwards for 35&nb ...

, 151¾; Paruna, 164¾;

, 172. As the locomotives were powered by steam, reliable water supplies were required as well. There are no significant rivers or lakes in the Mallee, so government bores and tanks were required. The following bores were available on the Brown's Well railway: Yalwarra bore, at 14½ miles (bad water, not suitable for railway use); Wynarka, 20 miles; Karoonda, 29 miles 66 chains; Borrika, 40 miles; Sandalwood, 47 miles 43 chains; Halidon, 55 miles 19 chains; Crecy, 58 miles 20 chains; Wanbi, 64 miles 60 chains; Cobera, 71 miles; Alawoona, 76 miles, 22 chains; Wolowa, 84 miles; Meribah, 96 miles 64 chains. The bores were situated at an average distance of 7 miles apart. Part of the Barmera line plus most of the

Loxton railway line The Loxton railway line is a closed railway line in the northern Murray Mallee region of South Australia. It ran north-east from Tailem Bend to grain silos near Loxton. History The first stage of the Brown's Well railway line opened from ...

spur from Alawoona were converted to standard gauge and remained as the Loxton line, used to carry part of the seasonal grain harvest. The section from Barmera to Alawoona closed in 1990. The Loxton line closed on 20 July 2015, with all grain traffic now taken by road.

Extensions

Almost as soon as the railway to the Brown's Well district had been completed to Meribah (May 1913), it was extended north to the Murray River at Paringa. The extension was approved before the original length had been completed, with an additional cost estimate of £135,750 to serve an additional . The official opening to Paringa was on 2 October 1913. The intervention of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

delayed the construction of the

Paringa Bridge The Paringa Bridge carries the Sturt Highway across the Murray River in Paringa, South Australia. Until 1982, it also carried the Barmera railway line. The bridge consists of a vertical-lift span long which can rise in one and a half minu ...

to extend the railway to Renmark until 1927. Later it was extended to

; the first passenger service ran on 1 August 1928. In the 1960s, a branch line was built which joined the main line south of Paringa, near the Wonuarra siding. It was long, and went north-east to

Murtho Murtho is a locality in South Australia. It is north-east of Renmark and Paringa. It is bounded by the River Murray on its north and west sides and the Victorian border on the east. Land around Murtho today is used for vineyards and orchards ...

on the south bank of the River Murray. It was built to support construction of the proposed Chowilla Dam. The dam construction was cancelled in 1967 and never built. The railway line was removed without being used.

References

{{reflist Closed railway lines in South Australia

Route

Extensions

See also

References