Whyalla Railway Station

I was in Whyalla on business this month and took the opportunity to visit the remains of the former Whyalla passenger Railway Station.

I am a bit sketchy on the exact closing date, but my understanding is that the station closed in December 1990 along with the passenger services from Adelaide to Whyalla (via Port Augusta).

The railway line itself is still in active use today by Arrium Steelworks mining operation in Whyalla, and the trains run past the former Whyalla station on their way to/from the Steelworks facility.

It seems a real shame that we can't have a passenger service from Adelaide to Whyalla any more, especially when the line servicing Whyalla is still in active use today, unlike many of the closed country lines in South Australia.

The station itself is no longer signposted anywhere, and there is one dirt road from the main road into Whyalla leading to it, also unmarked. I needed to use Google Maps to locate the station, since without any signage (and being hidden away from the road behind trees) it was hard to find.

It is not that close to the Whyalla township, which seems a strange decision given the rails go much closer than this to Whyalla. I found the station eventually though, and parked nearby.

Here is the view towards the station platform, with the wooden fence (and iron mesh) on the platform intact but obviously no longer maintained.

As I walked onto the station platform I could see the Station sign, plants and concrete chairs were still present.

Here are some close up photos of the Whyalla Station platform signage:

This is the view from the Platform towards Port Augusta end:

Some motorcyclist has clearly decided to use the platform for doing burnouts at some point...

 
This is what is left of the former Whyalla Railway Station building. Sadly it was demolished sometime between 2009 and 2012 so I didn't get to see it...you can see the large station building that was there on Johnny's pages website here.

 
Some alternative photos of the former station building site:

Some remnants still remain of the flooring - I guess the toilets?

Here is the view from the Whyalla station platform towards Whyalla:

Turning around and looking back towards Whyalla I took a few more shots from the platform - I am guessing no one is likely to sit in this chair:

View across the platform towards the running track:

Some last views of the Whyalla platform looking towards the Port Augusta end:

Some running track shots to finish up:

I was keen to see this station having not been to Whyalla before, and I was glad to be able to finally see it. Would be better if you could still catch trains at it of course...

Tanunda Railway Station

This weekend I went on a trip to the Barossa and decided to drop in to see the Tanunda Railway Station, on the now disused line from Gawler Central to Angaston.

The Tanunda Railway Station is being used today as a local Radio station, which makes it the only station on the disused line in active use, albeit not as it's intended function. It does mean the building is being kept in reasonable condition though.

The Goods Shed is still intact too as you can see above. The other railway lines that were originally here have been long since removed, with only the main line still remaining.

Reminders of the Stonie are still here, with the signs indicating only Marble trains to use the line.

Another view of the good shed:

Someone has been actively fighting the graffiti on the Goods Shed.

Another poor condition platform siding is here too - not sure what it's original function was, here looking towards Gawler:

Here are some more photos of the Tanunda station:

View looking towards Nuriootpa:

Next I went around the front of the Station, which looks quite barren:

On the Tanunda station platform:

On the platform looking towards Nuriootpa:

On the Platform looking towards Gawler:

As a final look around I went to the railway crossing near the station:

View from the pedestrian crossing looking towards Nuriootpa:

Final photo looking towards Tanunda Railway Station from the Pedestrian crossing:

I was glad to see the station is not in too bad condition. I really hope someone uses this line for wine tours into the Barossa using the old Barossa Wine Train (as has been suggested as a possibility) - it would be great to ride this line - I have never had the chance.

Redhen Train and Peronne Steam during Port Festival

Last month I took the rare opportunity to ride a Red Hen from Adelaide Railway Station to the National Railway Museum (former Port Dock Railway Station).

Since I was at Adelaide Railway Station (I took a bunch of photos in my older blog post here), I took the opportunity to take some updated photos around the station and platforms:

Once beyond the ticket gates, I took some photos of the platform area and some 3000 series trains running regular Adelaide Metro services.

Touchscreen Information board in the platform area inside the ticket gate:

Platform 4 - an Belair line train waiting to depart:

Platform 6 - an Outer Harbor line train waiting to depart:

Platform 8 and 9 - a Gawler line train waiting to depart:

With the retirement this year of the 2000 series Diesel trains that were commonly used on the Gawler line, the 3000 series trains that used to run on the Seaford line are being used on the Gawler line instead so the 2000 series trains could be retired from service.

The Seaford line is now electrified and using new Electric trains now all delivered in 2015. There is the occasional 3000 series service still, but not very often.

Arriving into Platform 9 following the Gawler line train departure is the RedHen diesel train. These used to run on the Adelaide Metro before the 2000 and 3000 series trains were brought into service.

Closer view of the front:

People quickly scrabbled onto the train for seats!

Inside the RedHen train as the crowds flocked in:

Inside the Redhen train shortly after departure from Adelaide Railway Station:

The Red Hen trains don't have any air conditioning, so the windows open, allowing photos to be taken easily out the window!

The Red Hen journey goes directly from Adelaide Railway Station to National Railway Museum without any intermediate stops, which I guess makes it the fastest way to get to Port Adelaide!

We arrived into Jacketts station, within the National Railway museum:

The Red Hen trips were very popular and it was great to see so many people riding it. The National Railway Museum was open for free on this particular weekend, so lots of people took the opportunity to enjoy the museum!

Jacketts station platform sign:

Bub was on steam train duties at the museum, taking people on a railway trip around the museum grounds:

Closeup of Bub waiting as the passengers got on board for the next trip:

View of the train tracks around the museum, with the former Woodville signal cabin in the background:

Inside the museum building I noticed these interesting pig additions:

The former Adelaide Railway station clock is also now in the museum, and it is the first time I have seen it since it was moved here:

Classic trains from the past in the museum:

Outside though, as a special treat for this particular weekend, Peronne (a Steam Locomotive) was doing trips from the Railway museum to the Aircraft museum during the day:

Here is Peronne watering up as Bub passes by:

Closeup of Peronne taking on more water before it's next run:

I had a great day out, with plenty of train action! This event was part of the Port Festival, and I also spent some time in the port enjoying some of the other activities on that day!