Pine Creek railway station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pine Creek
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| Coordinates | 13°49′11″S 131°49′58.40″E / 13.81972°S 131.8328889°E |
| Line(s) | North Australia Railway |
| Distance | 235 km (146 mi) |
| Platforms | 1 |
| Tracks | 4 |
| History | |
| Opened | 1889 |
| Closed | 1976 |
The Pine Creek railway station is an old train station and museum in Pine Creek, Australia. It was part of the North Australia Railway, which is no longer used. This station is about 235 kilometers (146 miles) from the original Darwin station.
Until 1914, Pine Creek was the very last stop on the railway line. Today, the station area is the best example of how the railway used to look. It shows what the old train stations and tracks were like.
Contents
Discovering the History of Pine Creek Station
How the Railway First Started
The railway line from Palmerston (which is now called Darwin) reached Pine Creek in 1889. This made it easier to get to the goldfields from Darwin. However, by the time the railway was finished, the local gold mining was already slowing down.
The station yard was built with two extra tracks, called sidings. Each siding could hold 42 goods wagons. This was planned so the station could handle a lot of train traffic.
Passenger and goods trains started running regularly on October 1, 1889. The Palmerston part of the South Australian Railways ran these trains. They used special steam locomotives called "W" class.
Three trains came to Pine Creek each week. They arrived in the evenings on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. They left for Palmerston at 8 AM the next morning. The trip took about nine and a half hours, including a stop for refreshments at Adelaide River.
Train Fares and Costs
At first, a train ticket from Palmerston to Pine Creek was quite expensive. First-class tickets cost 4 pence per mile, and second-class tickets cost 3 pence per mile. People complained that the passenger cars were not very comfortable.
Also, the cost to transport heavy goods and machinery by train was seen as too high. Many thought these high prices would stop the mining industry from growing. This was even before the railway officially opened.
Changes and Extensions to the Line
In 1914, the Australian government took over running the Northern Territory and its railway. The train line was then made longer, reaching Emungalan. This town was on the north side of the Katherine River. The extension helped the cattle industry by moving cattle to Vestey's Meatworks in Darwin.
Pine Creek remained an important station even after the line was extended. New sidings were added at the station. Commonwealth Railways took over running the station in 1918. The train ride from Pine Creek to Emungalan took about three hours.
By the 1920s, trains going south ran only once every two weeks. Trains going north ran once a week.
Plans for a Transcontinental Railway
Even with fewer train services, the government decided to extend the line further south to Daly Waters. At the same time, a narrow gauge railway line was extended from Oodnadatta, South Australia to Alice Springs. The big plan was to connect the northern and southern lines. This would create a railway that crossed the entire continent.
However, building the northern line stopped at Birdum, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) short of Daly Waters. This happened because of the Great Depression in 1929. In 1926, the line was renamed the North Australia Railway. Pine Creek was no longer the very end of the line, but it was still a place where trains stopped overnight.
The Railway During World War II
When Australia joined World War II, many military bases were built in the Northern Territory. The railway became a very important way to transport things. In 1939, only one train stopped at Pine Creek station each week in both directions.
By 1941, several trains stopped there each week. This number grew a lot, reaching 147 train services per week by 1944. The station was a major place for moving military supplies and people during the war.
Pine Creek Station as a Museum
Today, the Pine Creek station area is a museum. You can see a restored steam locomotive from 1877, called an NF class engine. It can still run! There's also a diesel-electric shunting engine from the Western Australian Government Railways that is also kept in working order.
Many of the original station buildings are still there. These include the old passenger station with restrooms, a parcel office, and a waiting room. There's also a goods shed, a loading area, a weighbridge, and a crane.
Some other original railway buildings were removed after the line closed in 1976. However, the site was added to the Register of the National Estate in October 1980. Since then, the remaining buildings and equipment have been saved and slowly restored.
The station area was officially listed on the Northern Territory Heritage Register on April 6, 1994.
