Global InformationSolomontown railway station information
Solomontown railway station, 1911–1937 (part of Port Pirie Junction station, 1937–1967) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Map of Port Pirie (part), its railway reserves and the site of Solomontown in 1896 (click to enlarge) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Off Railway Terrace, between the intersections with Murn Street and Harris Road, Port Pirie, South Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 33°11′29″S 138°01′16″E / 33.1914°S 138.021°E | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | South Australian Railways | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line(s) | Port Pirie to New South Wales border | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Articles about Port Pirie's six railway stations | |||||
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| Known as | Duration | Gauge | |||
| 1 | Port Pirie (name changed to "Port Pirie South" in 1902) | 1876 to soon after 1911 |
ng | ||
| 2 | Ellen Street | 1902–1967 | ng | bg* | |
| 3 | Solomontown (this article) | 1911–1937, then part of Port Pirie Junction until 1967 | ng | ||
| 4 | Port Pirie Junction (also dual-signposted, and known colloquially, as "Solomontown") | 1937–1967 | ng | bg | sg |
| 5 | Mary Elie Street | 1967–1989 | bg | sg | |
| 6 | Coonamia | 1st, 1929 to after 1937 (marker at level crossing only); 2nd, 1989–2010s |
sg | ||
| * In 1937, one of the two narrow-gauge tracks along Ellen Street was made dual-gauge as far as the station by the addition of a broad-gauge rail. Track gauges: narrow, broad and standard. | |||||
| The "multi-gauge muddle" in Port Pirie | |||||
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| At various times during a period of close to 140 years, Port Pirie had six railway stations. During the 45-year period 1937–1982, the city became well known as one of the few locations in the world having three railway gauges.[note 1] This situation was a result of transitioning from lightly constructed developmental narrow gauge lines to heavier broad gauge (which predominated in the state at the time), then to standard gauge when lines between the mainland state capitals were at last unified. As a consequence, all Port Pirie stations that succeeded the inaugural station of 1876 were either built to accommodate a change of gauge or were affected by one. The timeline, reasons for change, and gauges involved are shown in the following graphic. Timeline of Port Pirie's six railway stations (click to enlarge):  |
Solomontown railway station was one of a total of six stations that operated at various times between 1876 and the early 2010s to serve the rural maritime town (later city) of Port Pirie, 216 km (134 mi) by rail north of Adelaide, South Australia. It was opened in 1911 as the town's third (and ultimately final) narrow-gauge station. It was closed in 1967, when narrow-gauge passenger services ceased.
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