Copley railway station, South Australia
Copley | ||||||||||||||||
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The station building at Copley railway station in January 2021. | ||||||||||||||||
| General information | ||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 30°33′15″S 138°25′28″E / 30.5541°S 138.4244°E | |||||||||||||||
| Operated by | South Australian Railways 1882–1926 Commonwealth Railways1926–1975 Australian National 1975–1987 | |||||||||||||||
| Lines | Central Australia Railway, Marree railway line | |||||||||||||||
| Distance | 596 kilometres from Adelaide | |||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Construction | ||||||||||||||||
| Structure type | Ground | |||||||||||||||
| Other information | ||||||||||||||||
| Status | Closed | |||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1881 - 1882 | |||||||||||||||
| Closed | Mid 1990s | |||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 27 July 1957 | |||||||||||||||
| Previous names | Leigh Creek | |||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||
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Copley railway station was located on the Central Australia Railway, and later the Marree railway line serving the small South Australian outback town of Copley.
History
Early history
The Copley railway station was opened between 1881 and 1882 as Leigh Creek railway station during the construction of the railway from Port Augusta to Government Gums (now Farina).[1] It was located south of Telford railway station. The town of Leigh Creek was built next to Telford railway station to support the coal mine, while the town of Copley was built next to Leigh Creek railway station. This prompted the renaming of the station to Copley in 1916.[2]
Conversion to standard gauge
Following the decision to construct two Power Stations at Port Augusta, fed by coal trains from Leigh Creek, it was recognised that the existing narrow gauge railway line would not be capable of handling the new traffic.[3] Construction of a new standard gauge railway began in 1952, opening to Leigh Creek in 1956 and Marree in 1957. Copley received a new brick station building similar to those at Telford and Marree, and a goods platform. Copley was one of the places where the 2 lines crossed over.[4]
Decline and closure
Regular passenger services through the town ceased when The Ghan was rerouted via Tarcoola. However, a mixed goods service continued operating to Marree until 1985, when this was replaced by a goods-only service.[5] The service was curtailed to Copley in June 1987 and stopped operating in the mid-1990s. Leaving the Leigh Creek coal train as the only movement through the station until its cessation in 2016, though it did not service Copley. [6]
Present day
Today, the standard gauge station building, goods platform, and water column survive. The line from Stirling North to Telford Cut remains intact, and Flinders Power handed the line back to the state government in 2017.[7]
References
- ^ Farina Restoration Group. "History". Farina Restoration Group. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ SA Department of the Premier and Cabinet. "Leigh Creek mine remediation". SA Government Department for Energy and Mining. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ^ Fuller, Basil (1975). The Ghan. Rigby. p. 234 - 236
- ^ Flinders Ranges History. "Coal". Flinders Ranges History. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ^ FLINDERS RANGES HERITAGE SURVEY VOLUME 6 Department of Environment and Natural Resources
- ^ Flinders Power. "Leigh Creek Railway". Flinders Power. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ^ "Leigh Creek Railway". Flinders Power. Retrieved 13 April 2023.