Eudunda railway station: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Former railwayRailway station in Eudunda, South Australia}}

| country = Australia

Eudunda railway station opened on 23 September 1878 as part of the final extension of the [[Morgan railway line|Northern Railway]] from the existing terminus at [[Kapunda]]. The extension helped to provide a connection to the [[Murray River]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article29364977 |title=Opening of the North-West Bend Railway |newspaper=[[The South Australian Advertiser]] |location=Adelaide |date=2 November 1878 |accessdateaccess-date=3 September 2014 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The station facilities included a stone station building on a passenger platform and a goods shed. Infrastructure to provide water to steam locomotives was also provided, including a water column and water tank at the southern end of the station, and a large dam that held nearly 4 million gallons of water.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gustav Newsletter - No 7 September 2002 |url=https://eudundaheritage.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/07-September-2002-Gustav-Newsletter-Eudunda-Family-Heritage-Gallery.pdf |website=Eudunda Family Heritage Gallery |access-date=17 May 2024}}</ref> The dam burst on 3 separate occasions in 1903, 1913, and 1915 due to heavy weather events.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5021919 |title=SAVING A BROKEN DAM. |newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]] |issue=14,078 |location=Adelaide |date=1 December 1903 |accessdateaccess-date=18 May 2024 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article105285312 |title=EUDUNDA. |newspaper=[[Daily Herald]] |issue=922 |location=South Australia |date=6 March 1913 |accessdateaccess-date=18 May 2024 |page=8 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article108273903 |title=Last Week's Floods. |newspaper=[[Kapunda Herald]] |issue=3,694 |location=South Australia |date=14 March 1913 |accessdateaccess-date=18 May 2024 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article124982438 |title=EUDUNDA. |newspaper=[[Kapunda Herald]] |issue=3,818 |location=South Australia |date=13 August 1915 |accessdateaccess-date=18 May 2024 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The most serious of these was in 1913 as a large thunderstorm caused the town to flood and significant damage to the dam, as the dam burst was unable to be stopped early.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McCarthy |first1=David |last2=Rogers |first2=Tony |last3=Casperson |first3=Keith |title=Floods in South Australia 1836–2005 |url=https://www.met-acre.net/Floods_in_SA/html/references/Floods%20in%20South%20Australia.pdf |website=Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the Earth |publisher=Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology |access-date=17 May 2024}}</ref>

Eudunda became a junction station on 9 December 1914, with the opening of the railway line to [[Robertstown railway station|Robertstown]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5433523 |title=Robertstown Railway|newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]] |location=Adelaide |date=10 December 1914 |accessdateaccess-date=16 May 2024 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The junction was located east of the town. During the 1950s-1960s, grain silos were provided at the station yard, allowing bulk handing of grain for goods trains without the need for bagging.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58102028 |title=NEW LINCOLN JETTY BULK WHEAT NEED |newspaper=[[The Mail (Adelaide)]] |issue=2,204 |location=South Australia |date=4 September 1954 |accessdateaccess-date=15 May 2024 |page=88 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

The station closed for regular passenger use on 15 December 1968, but some special train tours used the station afterwards. It ceased to be a junction station on 2 November 1969, with the closure of the line between Eudunda and Morgan.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hennell |first1=David |title=The 1956 Morgan floods |url=http://cdn.timetable.org.au/thetimes200301issue.pdf |website=Australian Timetable Associated |access-date=17 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Harvey |first1=Dean |title=A CONCISE HISTORY OF STEAMRANGER 1961 - 1988 |url=https://steamranger.org.au/enthusiast/history/pdfs/r8901a.pdf |website=SteamRanger Enthusiast Pages |access-date=17 May 2024}}</ref> In 1978, the station and all associated infrastructure were included in the transfer of [[South Australian Railways]] non-metropolitan assets to [[Australian National Railways Commission|Australian National]].<ref>{{cite web |title=South Australian Railways collection |url=https://researchdata.edu.au/south-australian-railways-collection/937697 |website=Research Data Australia |access-date=17 May 2024}}</ref> The last passenger train to use the station was a tour run by Train Tour Promotions to Robertstown on 20 May 1989.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kellner |first1=Lydia |title=All aboard! Here’sHere's a property that will have you doing the locomotion |url=https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/property/all-aboard-heres-a-property-that-will-have-you-doing-the-locomotion/news-story/2536eb4c2d0ee096bc6bbc66e320dcd2 |access-date=17 May 2024 |work=The Weekly Times |publisher=News Corporation |date=15 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Carter |first1=Mark |title=Last pass from Robertstown |url=https://flickr.com/photos/markcarter/25098364395/ |website=Flickr |date=20 May 1989 |access-date=17 May 2024}}</ref> Eudunda became the terminus of the line with the closure of the Robertstown line on 25 September 1990. On 11 March 1994, the Kapunda-Eudunda section of the line was closed after the last grain train was run from Eudunda.<ref>{{cite web |title=Interactive Maps of Railways and Colonisation in South Australia |url=https://railmapsa.au/ |website=Railways & Colonisation in South Australia |access-date=17 May 2024}}</ref> This section was pulled up the following year. In 2003, the railway yard land was transferred to the Regional Council of Goyder.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kerrigan |first1=S.J |title=Council Agenda – 18-11-0 |url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=cb3810afd1b853b726d0b5bf1e0ba8a22b28fa44 |website=Regional Council of Goyder |access-date=17 May 2024}}</ref>

The ganger's shed was relocated to the [[National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide]] around 1990, where it has since been on display.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Drymalik |first1=Chris |title=National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide, Exhibits Guide |url=https://www.comrails.com/print/$NRMExhibitsGuide.pdf |website=ComRails |access-date=16 May 2024}}</ref> A scaled down 2D replica of the first locomotive to pass the town, the Pioneer is placed next to the station building, which is privately owned and fenced off. The water tower and water column at the southern end of the yard are intact. Most of the non-grain goods infrastructure has been demolished, except for the base of the goods crane. The grain silos were painted in 2022 by artist Sam Brooks, becoming a part of the Australian Silo Art Trail.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brooks |first1=Sam |title=Eudunda Silo Art |url=https://www.australiansiloarttrail.com/eudunda |website=Australian Silo Art Trail |access-date=16 May 2024}}</ref> The project, known as 'Eudunda: The Storytime Silos features art based on local author [[Colin Thiele]]'s book 'The Sun on the Stubble,' and the [[Ngadjuri]] story book made in collaboration with local Ngadjuri elder Quentin Aeguis. <ref>{{cite web |title=Eudunda Silo Art |url=https://www.clarevalley.com.au/directory/eudunda-silo-art |website=Clare Valley Tourism |access-date=22 May 2024}}</ref> In 2024, the section car placed on the weighbridge was cosmetically restored. It was originally donated to the Eudunda community in 1997.<ref>{{cite news |title=Eudunda Railway Carriage In Centenary Gardens Restored By Volunteers |url=https://eudundanews.com/eudunda-railway-carriage-in-centenary-gardens-restored-by-volunteers/ |access-date=22 May 2024 |work=Southern Goyder News}}</ref>

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