Mount Barker railway station, South Australia

TransAdelaide
colour=#009900
station_name=Mount Barker

---

line=Victor Harbor (Disused)
street=Druids Avenue
suburb=Mount Barker
distance=
access=n/a (Station closed)
HFS=n/a
peakfreq=n/a
wdfreq=n/a
wefreq=n/a
nightfreq=n/a
rrtd=No
rrts=No
platforms=1
platform_arch=Side Platform
toilets=No
parking=No
bike=No
lounge=No
kiosk=No
disability=No
facilities=
opened=1883
rebuilt=unknown
closed=1984
trainconnect=None
busconnect=835 to Lobethal via Hahndorf
837 to Nairne
840 to City via Freeway
852 to Strathalbyn via Wistow
853 to Strathalbyn via Macclesfield
864 to City via Aldgate
previous=Littlehampton "(Closed)"
next=Strathalbyn "(Closed)"

Mount Barker railway station is a disused railway station in South Australia on the Victor Harbor branch line, formerly operated by South Australian Railways and it successor, Australian National. With only broad gauge track running through the station, it has been disconnected from the Adelaide metropolitan network since the standardisation of the Adelaide-Melbourne line in 1995. It is still used by Steamranger, a non-for-profit organisation that runs heritage trains between Mount Barker and Victor Harbor.

History

The first railway link between two colonial capital cities, Adelaide and Melbourne, was completed in 1886. Three years earlier construction on a branch line from Mount Barker Junction to Victor Harbor, with stations at Mount Barker, Strathalbyn, and Goolwa, was begun, and completed in 1884. The Mount Barker railway station was built out of Aldgate freestone, and housed a stationmaster's quarters and a ticketing office. It was opened by the Governor on November 27, 1883.

Regular services operated until passenger numbers declined in the late 20th century with the dominance of the motor car, and were terminated in April 1984. Community support saw the establishment of the non-for-profit organisation Steamranger in 1989, which ran heritage trains from Adelaide to Victor Harbor through the station. As part of Paul Keating's 'One Nation' public works programme in 1995, the main line between Adelaide to Melbourne was standardised, leaving Streamranger's depot in metropolitan Adelaide isolated and defunct. Mount Barker railway station became its new base, and all its locomotives and facilities were transferred there. As part of the move, the railway station itself, at the time derelict, was renovated by the District Council of Mount Barker.

With the growth of Mount Barker as a city, public transport services, provided by bus, are being progressively upgraded, with a large 'Park 'n ride' facility scheduled for completion alongside the station in 2008.

References

* [http://www.steamranger.org.au/enthusiast/guides/guide2.htm Steamranger — Mount Barker station]