Steamtown: Ron visits this historic Railway Town in the Mid North region of South Australia
Peterborough, 300 kilometres north of Adelaide is a rail buff's dream. For much of last century it punched well above its weight and the punch came from steam. Maintenance and insurance costs mean the T and Y class steam locos now sit silent but thanks to a 'never say die' attitude the locals have brought Steamtown back to life, trading on a railway history which made this place one of the great transport hubs of the nation.
A recently completed video tells the story of a town that sprang from virtually nothing to become a junction for lines offering connections to all parts of Australia. While the film provides a feel for the era it's perfectly complemented by a tour with one of Steamtown's many guides like old railway man Darryl Harvey.
Darryl Harvey, 'Steamtown': "The roundhouse is heritage listed. It's designed to store all the locomotives and have locomotives repaired while they're in storage. "
The Roundhouse speaks of another era when steam was king and the chug and hiss of the Y and T class trains filled the air as maintenance workers went about their craft. The turntable would swivel locos onto the appropriate rail gauges. This place could handle all three - narrow, standard and broad gauge and with up to eleven hundred men working here at its peak the Roundhouse was one of the busiest country maintenance depots in the land.
Today one of the largest collections of locos and carriages await those who'd like to travel back in time perhaps to 1923 when the luxurious lounge car first went into service on the Trans West line from Port Augusta through to Kalgoorlie.
Darryl Harvey, 'Steamtown': "This end was the gentlemen's end where smoking was allowed. At the other end there's a piano and of course the ladies were permitted to sit in there. And there was no smoking."
Here you could tinkle the ivories, perhaps have a sherry or two and watch the world float by. And then, when the day was done, it'd be time to head back to your sleeping compartment. But Peterborough's Steamtown heritage is not just about passenger travel. With three gauges meeting here freight from four States would make its way through this mid-north hub. And in World War Two that freight was destined for the Pacific.
During Australia's darkest hour Peterborough was abuzz with activity. Prior to World War Two two trains would pull in each week but with Australia under the threat of imminent invasion in 1942 up to fifty trains would pull in here each loaded with men and equipment heading north.
From this railway metropolis, maintenance crews would head out to the various lines. That meant someone had to check up on them and they did it in a 1937 Morris Sedan - with railway wheels - is surely one of Steamtown's strangest exhibits.
Colin Workman, 'Steamtown': "This is a very important piece of South Australian railway history - it's called the Inspection Car and it would bring out the 'big wigs' who came out to inspect the work done by maintenance crews. But more importantly it also brought the paymaster.
With more than a thousand men working here the paymaster had to be on time - even if that couldn't always be said for the trains. And it's the trains which take centre stage come nightfall.
It's as if where about to head off into the clear mid-north night but here the passengers stay put as the world around them hurtles by through surrounding countryside and through the ages as Steamtown's newly opened Sound and Light Show begins.
Seated in an old Port Augusta built carriage - once used on the east west line and later on The Ghan - we're transported back to a very different Australia. It's an Australia opened up by rail and later transformed by those who came here from all over the world to man the locos and maintain the tracks.
Bit by bit the Sound & Light Show illuminates the story of steam powered rail and while nothing can replace the real thing the Peterborough locals have certainly done their best to bring this hissing, heaving part of Australia's transport history back to life.
For one Steamtown local with 25 years on the railways this night time show is as close as you'll ever get to experiencing the true romance of steam.
Colin Workman, 'Steamtown': "I think a steam engine is alive. You can feel it. It almost talks to you. It's breathing. It is. It's a breathing, living monster."
There are plenty of them on show at Steamtown located in Main Street in Peterborough.
If you're looking for a steam fix closer to home then head to Rundle Mall from April the 15th to the 18th for the State of Steam event. The Cobdogla Steam Society will have a Bagnall Loco used in the construction and maintenance of the irrigation channels on the River Murray. If you have any further questions please email them to manager@steamtown.com.au
Steamtown Sound & Light Show
240 kilometres Nth Adelaide
1 Telford Ave
Peterborough
Contact +61 (0)8 8651 3355
Fax +61 (0)8 8651 2173
Email: manager@steamtown.com.auPublished 10th April 2010
