The SteamRanger Heritage Railway is a long broad gauge tourist railway, formerly the

Victor Harbor railway line The Victor Harbor railway line is a broad gauge line in South Australia. It originally branched from the Adelaide to Melbourne line at Mount Barker Junction then ran south to Victor Harbor. When the mainline was converted to standard gauge ...

of 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 ...

(SAR). It is operated by the not-for-profit South Australian Division of the

Australian Railway Historical Society The Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS) aims to foster an interest in the railways, and record and preserve many facets of railway operations. It had divisions in every state and the Australian Capital Territory, although the ACT divis ...

. As the last operating non-suburban line of the former broad-gauge network, on which Australia's first public railway was opened, the line and its associated rail assets have high historical significance.

History

In the 1970s, the South Australian Division of the

established SteamRanger as a not-for-profit railway preservation offshoot to operate its train tours from

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

, mainly on rural lines throughout the state's broad gauge networks. SteamRanger opened their first purpose-built depot at Dry Creek railway station, north of

in 1980. From the mid-1980's, SteamRanger gradually took over the operation & maintenance of the

. When plans were announced for the Adelaide to Melbourne line to be converted to standard gauge, SteamRanger had to chose between staying a Dry Creek and losing the investment in the Victor Harbor line, or move and become isolated from the suburban railway lines.Since the first choice would break the society's financial viabiity, in a huge project all of SteamRanger's locomotives and rolling stock were moved. A new depot was built at Mount Barker railway station, in the Adelaide Hills at the northern end of the broad-gauge line to Victor Harbor. As part of the move, the District Council of Mount Barker renovated the station building, at the time derelict, to become SteamRanger's headquarters. The conversion of the interstate line was completed in 1995 as part of the One Nation infrastructure program, and with closures of South Australia's remaining broad-gauge tracks, the line became the last operating memory of locomotive-hauled trains on the state's broad-gauge network.

Operations

The ''Cockle Train'' operates year-round between Goolwa and Victor Harbor. It operates with a steam locomotive in school holidays, and historic diesel locomotives or railcars other weekends. The ''Southern Encounter'' runs from Mount Barker to Victor Harbor from May to November on most of the line. Some other services along the line are: * ''The Murray River Connector'' (formerly ''The Highlander'') - from Mount Barker to Strathalbyn and Goolwa. Operates on the second Sunday of each month from May until November. * ''The Bugle Ranger'' - from Mount Barker to Bugle Ranges using a Redhen railcar set. Services operate on the fourth Sunday each month from June to November. * ''The StrathLink'' - from Goolwa to Finniss or Strathalbyn using a restored heritage railcar. Operates during School Holiday periods. * ''The Hills Encounter'' - from Victor Harbor to Mount Barker. Other special services operate throughout the year''.''

Fleet

South Australian Railways 520 class loco at the SteamRanger Museum

The SteamRanger fleet was as follows: ;Steam locomotives * Rx 207 ''Dean Harvey'' - built in 1913: operational * Rx 224 - built in 1915: operational * F 251 - built in 1922: stored awaiting overhaul * 520 '' Sir Malcolm Barclay-Harvey'' - built in 1943: under restoration (as funds permit) * 621 ''The Duke of Edinburgh'' - built in 1936: operational. ;Diesel-electric locomotives * SAR diesel shunter 350: operational (for shunting only) * SAR diesel shunter 507: operational * SAR mainline diesel 704: stored * SAR mainline diesel 844: restoration completed; awaiting accreditation * SAR mainline diesel 845: under restoration * SAR mainline diesel 958: operational * SAR mainline diesel 963: stored ;Railcars * "Red Hen" railcars 334, 412, 428, 824 (trailer car): operational * "Red Hen" railcar 424, 875 (trailer car): under restoration * "Red Hen" railcars 364, 405: stored * Brill Model 75 railcar 43: under restoration * Brill Model 75 railcar 60 (rebuilt from Brill trailer 207): out of service * 2000 class railcars 2010, 2109: stored ;Carriages * Wooden "Centenary" cars 52, 54, 56, 60, 61, 62, 66 * Wooden suburban cars 70, 71, 73 * Wooden suburban baggage cars 81, 82, 83 * Wooden 4400 class brake-van 4420 * Steel 500 class First Class car 503 * Steel 600 class Second Class car 602 * Steel 700 class Second Class cars 701, 704, 706, 710 * ex V&SA Joint Stock Sleeper ''Finniss'' * Steel brake-van CGP2

References

http://www.steamrangerheritagerailway.org/events/ http://www.steamrangerheritagerailway.org/volunteering-with-steamranger/520-restoration-appeal/

External links

SteamRanger Heritage Railway website
{{Adelaide Hills, state=collapsed Fleurieu Peninsula Heritage railways in Australia Museums in South Australia Railway museums in South Australia

History

Operations

Fleet

See also

References

External links