Barmera railway line

Barmera railway line
Overview
Status	Closed and removed
Locale	Murray Mallee
Termini	Tailem Bend Barmera
Continues from	Adelaide-Wolseley line
Service
System	South Australian Railways
Operator(s)	South Australian Railways: 1913-1978 Australian National: 1978-1990
History
Opened	Tailem Bend-Wanbi: 6 January 1913 Wanbi-Paruna: 1 May 1913 Paruna-Meribah: 7 May 1913 Meribah-Paringa: 2 October 1913 Paringa-Renmark: 1927 Renmark-Barmera: 1 August 1928
Closed	1990
Technical
Track gauge	1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Route map Legend former Tailem Bend-Barmera line Barmera Glossop Karoom Berri Spring Cart Gully Calperum Renmark Paringa Bridge across Murray River Paringa to Chowilla Dam site ( 1967 only ) Wonuarra ( formerly Koora ) Yamba 197.25 mi 317.44 km Taldra 195.25 mi 314.22 km Ingalta 192.5 mi 309.8 km Noora 188.5 mi 303.4 km Pungonda 187 mi 301 km Nangari 183.25 mi 294.91 km Taplan Nadda 172 mi 277 km Meribah 164.75 mi 265.14 km Paruna Brown's Well district ↑ Loxton railway line 151.75 mi 244.22 km Alawoona Yinkanie railway line 139.9 mi 225.1 km Wanbi 215.2 km Mindarie 128.25 mi 206.4 km Halidon 115.5 mi 185.9 km Borrika 111.5 mi 179.4 km Lowaldie Waikerie line │ Peebinga line 105.25 mi 169.38 km Karoonda 95.25 mi 153.29 km Wynarka 89.5 mi 144 km Kulde 84.5 mi 136 km Naturi Pinnaroo railway line to Pinnaroo & Ouyen Adelaide-Wolseley line to Wolseley & Western SG line to North Melbourne 75.25 mi 121.1 km Tailem Bend Adelaide-Wolseley line to Adelaide This diagram: view talk edit

The Barmera railway line was the second railway built to develop the Murray Mallee region of South Australia, in 1913. It followed the success of the Pinnaroo railway line in 1906. Both lines branched east from Tailem Bend to the north of the main Melbourne–Adelaide railway. The Brown's Well line was the more northerly, and extended into country which had not been developed much before the railway, partly due to the absence of any viable transport route for produce. The original terminus of the Brown's Well railway was at Meribah, not far from the Victorian border.

Such was the optimism about this region, that three lines from the Brown's Well line to the Murray River, and an additional line between it and the Pinnaroo line, were approved even before it was completed.^[1] It was extended further to Renmark and Barmera in the 1920s, along with construction of another spur from Wanbi to near Moorook in 1925.^[2]