Semaphore railway line was a railway line in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

located in the north-west of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

servicing the suburbs of

Semaphore Semaphore (; ) is the use of an apparatus to create a visual signal transmitted over distance. A semaphore can be performed with devices including: fire, lights, flags, sunlight, and moving arms. Semaphores can be used for telegraphy when arra ...

and

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

. It had two stations: Semaphore and Exeter. The line opened in 1878 and closed in 1978.

History

The Semaphore line was extended from

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

South Australian Railways South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Austr ...

on 7 January 1878 with no intermediate stations. It was to serve both the new overseas shipping jetty at Semaphore, and for defence logistics along Military Road (in support of nearby

Fort Largs Fort Largs is a historic defence site in the coastal suburb of Taperoo near Port Adelaide, South Australia, approximately north west of Adelaide's city centre. Fort Largs was built as a coastal battery installment in 1885, responsible for A ...

and Fort Glanville). It remained the main line until the Outer Harbor railway line was extended north from a junction created at Glanville in 1908. In 1917 when the

Rosewater Rose water ( fa, گلاب) is a flavoured water made by steeping rose petals in water. It is the hydrosol portion of the distillate of rose petals, a by-product of the production of rose oil for use in perfume. Rose water is also used to flavour ...

and Albert Park tram line was opened there was an unresolved dispute over the tramline crossing the railway line near Exeter station. The Railway Commissioner disallowed trams to cross over the railway line. Trams continued to operate with one isolated tram service between the crossing and

Largs Largs ( gd, An Leargaidh Ghallda) is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town mark ...

, with passengers having to walk across the railway line to use the remaining tramline. After a short period of time, the Municipal Tramways Trust continued full service along the line regardless of not having the rail commissioner's consent. In response to this rail workers threatened to cut the tramline off by dumping a load of sleepers on the tramway tracks. An agreement was eventually made to allow trams to cross the line on the condition that a signal cabin be installed and a signal man was to cut off power to trams when a train approached preventing trams from proceeding over the railway tracks. This system nearly caused a disaster when a tram happened to be using the crossing when power was cut off. The tram was nearly stranded on the railway line and an accident was barely avoided. The switches for cutting of power was then removed and replaced by a system of traffic lights. The line closed on 29 October 1978. This was partly because traders on the north side of Semaphore road claims of losing business.Railpage Forum: Walk down memory lane (aka Semaphore Road)
accessed 23 February 2008 The original stations have been demolished and practically no evidence of the stations remains. The original rail track has since been dismantled, with only the large median strip along Semaphore Road remaining.

Route

The original line continued from the terminus at

west along St Vincent Street, then over the new bridge and north then west along Semaphore Road. The midpoint of the line was Exeter station, which was located to the east side of where Swan Terrace and Woolnough Road intersect. The line terminated right next to the Esplanade at Semaphore station, which was located east of Esplanade Road (14.9 kilometres from Adelaide station). Its station platform was level with the northern part of the road. It later became a branch from Glanville station, and the route was altered in 1916 to avoid St Vincent Street.

Line guide

References

*Thomas Wilson, ''The Relationship Between a Transport Link and Land Use Development between Adelaide and Port Adelaide South Australia'', Adelaide, 1965 *J.C. Radcliff. C.J.M. Steele, ''Adelaide Road Passenger Transport 1836 - 1958'', Libraries Board of South Australia, Adelaide, 1974 {{Closed Railway lines of Adelaide Closed railway lines in South Australia Railway lines opened in 1882 Railway lines closed in 1978 Lefevre Peninsula

History

Route

Line guide

See also

References