Trains of Peterborough, South Australia

Model of a train at Peterborough

On our recent visit to Peterborough, South Australia to visit family I spent an hour or so taking photos around town, something I had not done much of over the last 40 years on our regular visits to the town. I had three purposes in taking a few photos. First, a friend who had visited the town last year had taken many photos but her camera failed to download them. Second, I had precious few photos of the town in my own collection, and third, I wanted to share them here on this site.

Peterborough, in the mid-north of South Australia, was for many years a railway town. Major lines intersect or run through the town. Rail lines from Adelaide to Sydney, Perth to Sydney, and Broken Hill to Port Pirie are the main ones. In years gone by another line ran from there through to Quorn further north in the state. At one time the town boasted three different operating rail gauges: narrow, standard and broad gauge. This made Peterborough unique, possibly in the only place in the world where this happened. Standardisation, and the closing of some lines, has brought this to an end.

Today most trains just go straight through the town. At each of the four main road entrances to the town locals have placed magnificent modal trains on display at the welcome signs to the town. I will feature each of these over coming days.

The model train shown in today’s photos can be found on the south-western approach to the town on the road leading from Clare and Jamestown. The S.A.R. on the tender stands for South Australian Railways.

Model of a train at Peterborough