Status Closed | Termini Balaklava
Moonta | |
 | ||
System South Australian Railways Locale Yorke Peninsula, South Australia Continues from Hamley Bridge-Gladstone line Opened Balaklava-Port Wakefield: 14 March 1876
Port Wakefield-Kadina: 9 October 1878
Kadina-Wallaroo: 15 January 1880
Wallaroo-Moonta: 2 November 1891 | ||
The Balaklava-Moonta railway line was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network. It ran across the top of the Yorke Peninsula.
History
The first part to be built was a horse-drawn tramway between the port at Wallaroo and mines near Kadina in 1862, followed by mines near Moonta in 1866.
On 14 March 1876, the Balaklava to Port Wakefield section opened. It was extended to Kadina on 9 October 1878, to Wallaroo on 15 January 1880, and to Moonta on 2 November 1891. On 1 August 1927, the line was converted from 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) to 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) broad gauge.
A junction at Kadina connected the Brinkworth-Kadina line. The section from Kadina to Wallaroo was converted to dual gauge broad and standard gauges on 2 December 1982 after the Adelaide-Port Augusta line was converted to standard gauge.
The section from Balaklava to Paskeville closed on 4 April 1984, followed by the Wallaroo to Moonta section on 23 July 1984. The broad gauge section from Kadina to Wallaroo also closed on 23 July 1984, but the standard gauge line remained open until 3 March 1993. The Paskeville to Kadina section closed on 14 March 1990.
After the railway closed, part of it was used by the Lions Club of Yorke Peninsula Railway for heritage tourist services, but this ceased operations in 2009.