North Terrace Glenelg railway line

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Not to be confused with Glenelg Tram.
North Terrace to Glenelg railway line
Overview
Termini Adelaide railway station
Operation
Opened 24 May 1880[1]
Closed December 1929
Operator(s)
Holdfast Bay Railway Company (1880 1882)
Glenelg Railway Company Limited (1882 1924)
South Australian Railways (1924 1929)
Technical
Line length 6.75 mi (10.86 km)[1]
Number of tracks single track
Track gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm)
[show]Route map
The North Terrace to Glenelg railway line was a railway in western Adelaide.
The line started in the city from the Adelaide railway station, and then headed
west. From approximately where Henley Beach Road currently is, the railway then
followed an almost direct route to the seaside suburb of Glenelg.
Today, much of the corridor in which the line ran remains as a rail trail for cy
clists, which is known as the West Side cycleway.[2] Part of the north section o
f the corridor has been built over as James Congdon Drive. A railway platform re
mains on the site of Plympton station near Marion Road in the suburb of Plympton
.[3] The line was closed in 1929, after which remnants remained for some time in
cluding rails across Marion Road in the 1950s.[4]
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 See also
3 Notes
4 References
History[edit]
Adelaide railway station around 1889
The line was constructed to compete with the existing Glenelg railway line, (now
the Glenelg Tramline), which ran from Victoria Square. Customer satisfaction on
the existing line was becoming low. In response a group which had been attempti
ng to improve conditions on the existing service decided to establish a company
and construct a new railway in competition with the existing one.
The Holdfast Bay Railway Company was established and the new line was opened on
24 May 1880. The line proved to be popular due to the convenience of using the e
xisting Adelaide railway station, and trips taking only 20 minutes to Glenelg, w
hich was 5 minutes shorter than the existing line. There were two trains that ra
n in the morning from Glenelg to Adelaide, and two from Adelaide to Glenelg in t
he afternoon.[5]
Two years after the line opened, it was realised there was not enough business t
o support both companies. On 11 May 1882, the two merged to form the Glenelg Rai
lway Company Limited. Both lines continued to run and business assets such as ma
intenance facilities were shared to reduce costs.
In 1924, William A. Webb, the railways commissioner, proposed that the two Glene
lg railways be given to the Municipal Tramways Trust (MTT) and be converted from
 steam railways into electric tramways. The government, following Mr Webb's reco
mmendation, acquired both Glenelg railways and electrification of the South Terr
ace line, which now known as the Glenelg Tramline, began in 1929, taking nine mo
nths to finish. On the day when the South Terrace line conversion was completed
in December 1929, South Australian Railways stopped running trains from North Te
rrace. After the closure, the MTT began the operation of bus services from the c
ity to Plympton.
The line was originally intended to become electrified with the Glenelg line, an
d small scale works on its conversion had begun, including drilling holes for po
wer lines. However, work was halted and the future became uncertain for years. P
arts of the remaining corridor were sold to private holders in 1938, and the res
t to the South Australian Government in 1940. The MATS Plan in the 1960s propose
d an expressway be constructed in the corridor.
See also[edit]
Railways in Adelaide
List of Adelaide railway stations
List of closed Adelaide railway stations
Notes[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b "THE HOLDFAST BAY RAILWAY.". The South Australian Advertiser.
South Australia. 24 May 1880. p. 6. Retrieved 7 March 2016 via National Library
of Australia.
Jump up ^ Transport SA: Bike Map
Jump up ^ Railpage Forms South Australia: Abandoned Plympton Railway Station
Jump up ^ State Library SA: Plympton Railway Station Rails Remnants Photo
Jump up ^ West Torrens Library Service, History, NESFIELD', 353 Marion Road, Nor
th Plympton
References[edit]
J.C. Radcliff. C.J.M. Steele, Adelaide Road Passenger Transport 1836 - 1958 , Li
braries Board of South Australia, Adelaide, 1974
[hide] v t e
Closed railways of Adelaide
Bridgewater Finsbury Hendon Henley Beach Mount Pleasant Northfield Penfield Sema
phore Willunga Exhibition North Terrace to Glenelg
Dry Creek-Port Adelaide railway
Categories: Closed railway lines in South AustraliaRailway lines opened in 1880R
ailway lines closed in 1929
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