Port Lincoln Railway Museum

The railyards at Port Lincoln, the end of the line for many of the freight trains which cross the wheat fields and grazing pasture of Eyre Peninsula. Each year millions of tonnes of grain are transported from silos further north. And when the grain trains arrive back in Lincoln, they serve as a constant reminder of how rail helped open up the country, providing a link to remote placed like Minnipa, Buckelboo and Balumbah.

But not everything went according to plan, derailments could mean the loss of lives and produce, and so maintenance crews would set out in the old Quod, a feature of the Port Lincoln Railway Museum.

"So this would be used for the maintenance of narrow gauge lines on the Eyre Peninsula"
"On the West Coast, yes"
"Do you still get to take it out on a spin every so often?"
"Yes, on Tunarama, we had it running on the track here, and we're going to take it to Kalamazoo"
"The Kalamazoo Classic. What sort of speed can you get up to on one of these?"
"More than I can tell you but fast enough, I've seen them turn over"

The old Quod made for a less tiring journey than the old Kalamazoos, which feature each year in what's a classic community event at Cummins. In fact, it was at this junction at Cummins that the two Eyre Peninsula lines fanned out. In fact, both lines pushed in through much of the interior, enabling inland farmers access to a rail link.

"The first line was put down in 1906 and the last line was put down in 1966" "So they really opened up the Eyre Peninsula?"
"Oh, yer yer"
"So prior to the lines going in there were no roads?"
"Oh well, there was only dirt track all the way even around from Port Augusta down here was all dirt".

The Port Lincoln Railway Museum tells the story of the South Australian Railways where nothing went to waste. This was the Fagael. It operated as a bus between Gawler and Adelaide in the '30's and found its way to Lincoln. Soon it was running on rails, providing a passenger service to Buckleboo and Minnipa.

The Museum is located at the Port Lincoln Railway Station and is open on weekends and Wednesdays from 2.00pm until 4.00pm.

Admission
$2.50 for adults
$2.00 for concession
$1.00 for children.

For more information email info@postcards-sa.com.au