Trans-Australian Railway - National Engineering Landmark #22 - Port Augusta Railway Station Port Augusta, South Australia, Australia
By Team MavEtJu on 18-Oct-15. Waypoint GA7636

Trans-Australian Railway - National Engineering Landmark #22 - Port Augusta Railway Station

When the Trans-Australian Railway joined eastern and western Australia in 1917 it provided a physical link which was to be of major commercial and strategic importance and which improved immeasurably the convenience and comfort of interstate travelers. The railway was also symbol to all Australians of the bonds which had bound the colonies together in Federation.

The Trans-Australian Railway was the first major public work to be undertaken by the Commonwealth Government and at that time it was the largest construction project ever undertaken in Australia. It was built through some of the most inhospitable country to have been traversed by railway in Australia to that date, most of which country was largely uninhabited by Europeans and lacked adequate water supplies. It is still the longest railway ever built at any one time in Australia (1682 km).

The railway’s construction operations were unique because, due to the lack of developed infrastructure along the route, the constructing authority had to arrange the complete supply logistics for up to 3000 men working on the railway, in addition to the supply of all the engineering plant and materials and the care of hundreds of horses and camels.

When it commenced operation, no other railway in the world was so completely self-contained. Commonwealth Railways ran its own farms and stores, and provisioned by rail the small communities along the line for which all the social and service infrastructure was provided. The railway had a number of unique operational features including the longest straight stretch of track in the world (478 km 193 m), and for twenty years from 1933, the longest run undertaken by coal burning steam locomotives, 867 kilometres from Cook to Kalgoorlie.

When logging this virtual, please add a photo of yourself or your GPSr at the plaque.

For more information, please see this page at the Heritage Register at the Engineers Australia website: https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/portal/heritage/trans-australian-railway-1917, Ceremony report, Nomination