The Finsbury railway line is a defunct railway in north western

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

which was used mainly for industrial purposes in the 20th century. It ran through the suburbs of Woodville,

Woodville North Woodville North is a north-western suburb of Adelaide 10 km from the Adelaide city centre, in the state of South Australia, Australia and falls under the City of Charles Sturt. The post code for Woodville North is 5012. It is adjacent to P ...

, Pennington and Ottoway, connecting the Outer Harbor line with the Dry Creek-Port Adelaide line. It serviced four stations; Actil, Woodville North, No. 18 Shed, and Finsbury Stores. It closed in 1979 and was dismantled in 1985.

Route

The Finsbury line departed from the main Outer Harbor line north west of Woodville station, and headed north, parallel to the eastern side of the

Cheltenham Park Racecourse Cheltenham Park Racecourse was a horse racing track located in the suburb of Cheltenham, South Australia, Cheltenham in Adelaide, South Australia, between around 1921 and 2009. History The Port Adelaide Racing Club began thoroughbred racing a ...

, where the Actil station was located, 8.2 kilometres from Adelaide station. It crossed Torrens Road and turned due north, parallel to Audley Street through Woodville North and Glenroy Street, Pennington. The Finsbury station was located where the al-Khalil mosque now stands, at the corner of Torrens Road and Audley Street. The line then crossed

Grand Junction Road Grand Junction Road is the longest east–west thoroughfare in the Adelaide metropolitan area, traversing through Adelaide's northern suburbs approximately 8 kilometres north of the Adelaide city centre. Route Travelling from the Port Adelaide ...

and travelled parallel and between Eastern Parade and Agnes Street, before meeting the Dry Creek line.

History

The Finsbury line was opened in September 1940 and departed from the main Port Line at Woodville station. It headed in a northerly direction and serviced a wartime munitions works at

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

Park (Actil Station) and a Government Supply Depot at Finsbury station. It was built primarily to service wartime industrial plants. Following the conclusion of the war, the industrial activity in Athol Park was maintained for a period, before declining to an extent that the Finsbury line was regarded as unnecessary, leading to its removal. A few remnants like the rail corridor and ballast at Gillman Junction, a former platform at Woodville, a goods platform and some track covered by concrete are all that exist of the line today.

Route

History

References

Further reading