The Penfield Railway Line - Part One

The Penfield line opened in 1941 to bring thousands of workers from all around to massive new WWII munitions factories and trains continued to run along the line until 1991. It started just north of Salisbury station and ran north-east then north for nearly six km, ending with a balloon loop just south of Bellchambers Road. It had four stations: Hilra, and the imaginatively named Penfield One, Penfield Two, and Penfield Three. Plenty of sidings branched off the line, the largest of them headed into what’s now RAAF base Edinburgh. The story of the Penfield line can’t be told without an introduction to the history of the Salisbury Explosives Factory. It was why the once well-appointed line was built after all. Construction began in late 1940. Up to 3000 labourers and tradesmen worked seven days a week to complete the four and a half square mile complex (BIG – more than 1000 buildings) and it was in production by mid-1942. This massive factory complex employed over 6500 people - working six-day weeks around the clock in three shifts. The area was semi-rural back then, so a special train line was built to connect to the city corridor. Up to 25 passenger trains served the line daily, including six trains a day from as far away as Angaston and Kapunda, via a specially constructed curve north of the current site of Nurlutta Railway Station. Freight trains brought materials in and shipped armaments out, but I haven’t found anything about those movements. At its height, the line was moving over 6000 people to and from the complex every day - building thousands of rounds of small arms ammunition, shells, bombs, and mines. Patronage plummeted after 1943 and continued to decline over the years. Trains ended in 1991 and the line was dismantled in 1993. An ever more limited peak-hour passenger service continued after the war to serve what was to become the DSTO. The loop closed in 1983 after the derailment of Redhen railcars. Services continued to Penfield 3 but through a series of closures, the branch was reduced to single track by the end of the 80s. The last train of Redhen’s ran in January 1991. The line was dismantled in 1993. About 200m of track was retained so trains from Adelaide terminating at Salisbury could change direction back to Adelaide. It’s still there but unrecognisable as a modern electric line. The next section through Hilra is now an industrial estate. Hilra railway station opened in 1941 and is apparently named after a local word for wind. It had exposed 61-metre-long stepdown platforms and a small shelter. Apparently, similar facilities existed on the adjacent and parallel Port Pirie Line. It closed in 1988 and the site is now smothered by factories. Penfield 1 opened between 1940 and 1942. It had a 213.4 metre long platform and closed along with the other Penfields in 1991. Penfield 2 opened was likely identical to Penfield 1. Penfield 3 was opposite the eastern entrance to RAAF Base Edinburgh between East and West Avenues, south of Taranaki Road. The canopy and the crumbling remains of the platform are all that’s left. Not sure if Penfield 3 is still accessible. It’s behind a 1200mm fence designed to apparently keep sheep off the surrounding roads. Can we track down some of the old rails? Apparently, some of the rail that was removed from a DSTO siding was used on the St Kilda tramway Museum line in St Kilda. How can you follow the line these days? The Penfield rail trail mostly follows the old line, albeit at a distance. It begins at Salisbury Railway Station and follows a range of trails to link with the northern industrial and Defence precincts. ********************************************************* CREDITS: https://www.railtrails.org.au/trails/... https://www.salisburyhistory.com.au/h... https://playfordspast.recollect.net.a... Weston Langford: Penfield Line Opposite projection of Compton Street Looking towards Penfield 1996 Comrails - 1st January 1986 Red Hen 318 derailed Adelaide (Chris Drymalik - 35mm) https://www.comrails.com/sar_locos/r_... Australian Rail Maps – Facebook   / 2465114096876207   Australian Government Photographic Collection: Men and women working at Salisbury Munitions Factory (GN13533A) Women working at Salisbury Munitions Factory (GN13532) Men and women arrive by train to work at the Salisbury Munitions Works, January 1943. (GN13529) State Library of South Australia: Explosives and filling factory No.2, Penfield 1960. [PRG 1611/20/125] SLSA A young woman arc welding in a munitions factory 1943. B-7798-432 A group of women munition workers finishing off and testing fuse caps at Penfield 1942. B-7798-412 Trove: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/ar...