Mount Lofty railway station
Mount Lofty | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Station in February 2008 | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | Sturt Valley Road, Stirling | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 35°00′28″S 138°42′34″E / 35.0077°S 138.7095°E | ||||||||||
| Operated by | State Transport Authority | ||||||||||
| Line(s) | Adelaide-Wolseley | ||||||||||
| Distance | 31.40 kilometres from Adelaide | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 side | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 3 | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Structure type | Ground | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Status | Closed | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | 1883 | ||||||||||
| Closed | 23 September 1987 | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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Mount Lofty Railway Station was located on the Adelaide-Wolseley line serving the Adelaide Hills suburb of Stirling. The station opened in 1883 and was the highest railway station between Adelaide and Melbourne.
Two platforms were provided. The eastbound platform was 125 metres long and the westbound platform, 104 metres long. Both platforms are still in place, although no longer in use. The wooden stairs leading down from the footbridge to the south platform were removed in 2014 when the footbridge was refurbished. The station signs on both platforms, which were mainly used at stations in the hills and near the beach (e.g. Belair and Semaphore respectively) from early in the 1900s to the 1980s, are also still in place. The small traditional wooden shelter which once graced the eastbound platform no longer exists. Neither does the signal box which once stood high next to the bridge on the south platform. This was demolished when main building was extended to include a new signal box in 1929.[1]
The station closed on 23 September 1987, when the State Transport Authority withdrew Bridgewater line services between Belair and Bridgewater.
In 1995, the line from Adelaide to Melbourne was converted from Broad Gauge (1600mm) to Standard Gauge (1435mm), thus preventing any restoration of local trains to Mount Lofty and beyond, as the Adelaide suburban system remained as broad gauge. At the station there are three standard gauge railway tracks, two for interstate freight, and the third is used to stable track machines. The southern track is the main line and the northern track is the crossing loop. As the length of the crossing loop is 629 metres, the crossing of trains at Mount Lofty is rare.[2]
Today, Mount Lofty station is holiday and tourist accommodation with a comfortable and quaint railway theme. Bookings can be made throughout the year.[3] From a derelict state, the station building was rebuilt in the mid 1990s in a project managed by Stirling Council using Federal Government retraining funding. In 1999-2000, the Emmett family of Stirling completed the rebuild to suit its current use as accommodation, and still operate it today (2011) on lease from the South Australian Government. Interstate freight trains and the interstate passenger express "The Overland" pass through the station each day, but the platforms are only used for special trains or in emergencies .
References
- ^ Callaghan, WH (1992). The Overland Railway. Australian Railway Historical Society. p. 244. ISBN 0 909650 29 2.
- ^ Mount Lofty - Ambleside SA Track & Signal
- ^ Home Mount Lofty Railway Station
- Timetables
- South Australian Railways Working Timetable Book No. 265 effective 30 June 1974
- Australian National Working Timetable Book No. 286 effective 25 October 1987
External links
Media related to Mount Lofty railway station at Wikimedia Commons
