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The North Australia Railway (NAR), also known as the Palmerston to Pine Creek railway, was a narrow gauge railway which ran from Darwin, once known as Palmerston, to Birdum, just south of Larrimah.

History

In the nineteenth century the Northern Territory was administered by South Australia. The John Cox Bray Government in South Australia introduced the Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway Bill in 1883. The £959,300 contract went to C & E Millar of Melbourne on the proviso that they could use coolie labour. The line reached Pine Creek in 1888 and was officially opened on 30 September 1889^[1]. Singhalese and Indian gangs did the grubbing and earthwork and 3,000 Chinese labourers laid over 1 km of track per day. A total of 310 bridges and flood openings were built.

Commonwealth takeover

The Commonwealth Government took control in 1911, having promised to complete the railway from Adelaide to Darwin but without setting a time frame for so doing.

The line was extended to near Katherine in 1917. A further extension saw the line reach Birdum in 1929.

In 1930 a mixed train, called Leaping Lena^[2] ran to an established timetable.

Depart Darwin at 8.00 a.m. on Wednesdays
Arrived at Pine Creek at 4.46 p.m.
Depart Pine Creek 8.00 a.m. on Thursdays.
Arrived ad Katherine 11.00 a.m. on Fridays.
Depart Katherine 12:00 p.m. Fridays.
Arrive Birdum at 5.51 p.m. Fridays.

During the Second World War Larrimah, nine kilometres north of Birdum, became the effective railhead. The busiest time for the railway was during the Second World War. As many as 247 trains ran per week in 1944.

Closure and completion

Although a railway line from Alice Springs to Darwin had been discussed and promised by politicians for many years, the North Australia Railway line was closed in 1976.

Despite this discussions continued from time to time and eventually a consortium was formed to build the Alice Springs - Darwin link. This standard gauge line was finally completed on 17 September 2003. The first freight train reached Darwin on 17 January 2004. The passenger service of the Ghan first ran from Adelaide to Alice Springs to Darwin in early February 2004. The line runs near the route of the North Australia Railway in places but uses very little of the old infrastructure.

The Pine Creek Railway Station is on the National List of Significant Places at the National Trust of Australia.

References

^ The Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway Harvey, J.Y. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, February/March, 1968 pp25-48; 63-71
^ The Darwin Sentinel - Leaping Lena Harvey, Jim Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, February, 1987 pp35-40

External links

Pine Creek NT
Walkabout page on Pine Creek
National Trust of Australia
1930 Pastoral map showing railway - Northern Territory Library

[1] The Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway Harvey, J.Y. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, February/March, 1968 pp25-48; 63-71

[2] The Darwin Sentinel - Leaping Lena Harvey, Jim Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, February, 1987 pp35-40

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@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 [[Image:Katherine river bridge.jpg|thumb|175px|Disused NAR bridge crossing the [[Katherine River]], now converted to footbridge]]
 [[Image:Pine Creek Railway 0-6-0 DSC03645.jpg|thumb|0-6-0 Shunter]]
-[[Image:Pine Creek Rail 2-6-4 DSC03648.jpg|thumb|2-6-0 Main Line]]
+[[Image:Pine Creek Rail 2-6-0 DSC03648.jpg|thumb|2-6-0 Main Line]]
 The '''North Australia Railway''' (NAR), also known as the '''Palmerston to Pine Creek railway''', was a [[narrow gauge railway|narrow gauge]] [[railway]] which ran from [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]], once known as Palmerston, to [[Birdum, Northern Territory|Birdum]], just south of [[Larrimah, Northern Territory|Larrimah]].