Morgan railway station
Morgan | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Morgan Railway Station (1910) | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | Railway Terrace, Morgan, South Australia | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 34°02′10″S 139°40′23″E / 34.03608895066457°S 139.67300704198266°E | ||||||||||
| Owned by | South Australian Railways 1878 - 1969 | ||||||||||
| Operated by | South Australian Railways 1878 - 1968 | ||||||||||
| Line(s) | Morgan line | ||||||||||
| Distance | 169 kilometres from Adelaide | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Structure type | Ground | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Status | Closed | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | 23 September 1878 | ||||||||||
| Closed | November 1969 | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Morgan railway station was the terminus of the Morgan railway line. It served the town of Morgan, South Australia.
History
[edit]Morgan railway station opened when the North-West Bend railway reached it on 23 Sepember 1878. It was built to provide a more efficient freight and passenger connection between the Murray paddle steamers and both the city of Adelaide and Port Adelaide for ocean transport. [1] The station was named after Sir William Morgan, who was the Chief Secretary of the state at that time. [2] The station building consisted of a ticket office, refreshment rooms, railway platform and goods cranes. [3] Locomotive 'Pioneer' had made the first trial run to Morgan as early as 17 April 1878. The venture had succeeded. The river/rail transport system was cheap, quick and reliable, and had opened up new and exciting opportunities for both the river traffic and people on the land. The goods could now begin flowing in both directions-the produce to the outside markets, and heavy capital items could be brought in to open up the country. In 1883 the value of goods passing wharf to rail was 238,453 pounds. [4] Morgan eventually became one of the busiest shipping ports on the Murray and the second biggest in South Australia. [5] About six trains a day carried freight from the Murray to the sea at Port Adelaide.
Decline and closure
[edit]Rail transport at the port declined during the early 20th century as road transport approved. Regular passenger services ceased in December 1968. The last train Duchess of Gloucester pulled out of Morgan in November 1969. [6] The railway line was eventually dismantled with the station being officially closed.
Present day
[edit]The station building was registered as a South Australian Heritage on 4 March 1993. [7] The station was converted into a historic railway museum with ticket office, railway refreshment room, oil shed and railway platform cranes, railway track and miscellaneous carriages being put on the display. [8]