QR National Freight at Mt Lofty - Australian Trains, South Australia

Queensland Railway National 6008 & 6009 pass through Mt Lofty Railway Station with the Melbourne to Perth freight. Mount Lofty railway station is a railway station in South Australia, on the former Adelaide-Bridgewater railway line, located in the Adelaide Hills suburb of Stirling. The station opened in 1883 and it is located 31.0 km (19m41c) by rail from the Adelaide Railway Station. It is the highest railway station between Adelaide and Melbourne. Two platforms were provided. The north or 'Down' platform is 125.0 metres long and the south or 'Up' platform is 103.6 metres long. Both platforms are still in place, although no longer in use. The wooden steps leading down to the station building is still in place, but has been fenced off and is very fragile. The station signs on both platforms, which were mainly used at stations in the hills and near the beach (eg Belair and Semaphore respectively) from early in the 1900s to the 1980s, are also still in place. Until 1987, Adelaide suburban trains serviced the station and went further east to Bridgewater. The trains were withdrawn in that year because of high cost of operating the trains and low passenger numbers. All railway stations beyond Belair, including Mount Lofty railway station were closed to suburban trains, and most of the other stations have since been demolished . In 1995 the main railway line from Adelaide to Melbourne was converted from Broad Gauge (1600mm) to Standard Gauge (1435mm), thus preventing any restoration of local trains to Mount Lofty and beyond, as the Adelaide suburban system remained as broad gauge. At the station there are three standard gauge railway tracks, two for interstate freight, and the third is used to stable track machines. The southern track is the main line and the northern track is the crossing loop. As the length of the crossing loop is 629 metres, the crossing of trains at Mount Lofty is rare. Today, Mount Lofty railway station is a private hotel. Bookings can be made during most of the year. A substantial number of interstate freight trains pass through the station each day.