| Eudunda | |
| Address: | Railway Parade, Eudunda |
| Country: | Australia |
| Coordinates: | -34.1751°N 139.0853°W |
| Elevation: | 409m |
| Operator: | South Australian Railways 1860 - 1978 Australian National 1978 - 1994 |
| Line: | Morgan line Robertstown line |
| Distance: | 111 kilometres from Adelaide |
| Platform: | 1 |
| Tracks: | 3 |
| Structure: | Ground |
| Status: | Closed |
| Opened: | 23 September 1878 |
| Closed: | 15 December 1968 (passenger) 11 March 1994 (freight) |
Eudunda railway station was located at the junction of the Morgan railway line and the Robertstown railway line. Situated in the town of Eudunda, South Australia, it was located 111 kilometres from Adelaide by rail.
Eudunda railway station opened on 23 September 1878 as part of the final extension of the Northern Railway from the existing terminus at Kapunda. The extension helped to provide a connection to the Murray River.[1] The station facilities included a stone station building on a passenger platform and a goods shed. Infrastructure to provide water to steam locomotives was also provided, including a water column and water tank at the southern end of the station, and a large dam that held nearly 4 million gallons of water.[2] The dam burst on 3 separate occasions in 1903, 1913, and 1915 due to heavy weather events.[3] [4] [5] [6] The most serious of these was in 1913 as a large thunderstorm caused the town to flood and significant damage to the dam, as the dam burst was unable to be stopped early.[7] Goods trains often hauled grain and livestock from the station, and grain would become the sole commodity transported in later years.Eudunda became a junction station on 9 December 1914, with the opening of the railway line to Robertstown.[8] The junction was located east of the town. During the 1950s-1960s, grain silos were provided at the station yard, allowing bulk handing of grain for goods trains without the need for bagging.[9]
The station closed for regular passenger use on 15 December 1968, but some special train tours used the station afterwards. It ceased to be a junction station on 2 November 1969, with the closure of the line between Eudunda and Morgan.[10] [11] In 1978, the station and all associated infrastructure were included in the transfer of South Australian Railways non-metropolitan assets to Australian National.[12] The last passenger train to use the station was a tour run by Train Tour Promotions to Robertstown on 20 May 1989.[13] [14] Eudunda became the terminus of the line with the closure of the Robertstown line on 25 September 1990. On 11 March 1994, the Kapunda-Eudunda section of the line was closed after the last grain train was run from Eudunda.[15] This section was pulled up the following year. In 2003, the railway yard land was transferred to the Regional Council of Goyder.[16]
The ganger's shed was relocated to the National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide around 1990, where it has since been on display.[17] A scaled down 2D replica of the first locomotive to pass the town, the Pioneer is placed next to the station building, which is privately owned and fenced off. The water tower and water column at the southern end of the yard are intact. Most of the non-grain goods infrastructure has been demolished, except for the base of the goods crane. The grain silos were painted in 2022 by artist Sam Brooks, becoming a part of the Australian Silo Art Trail.[18] The project, known as 'Eudunda: The Storytime Silos features art based on local author Colin Thiele's book 'The Sun on the Stubble,' and the Ngadjuri story book made in collaboration with local Ngadjuri elder Quentin Aeguis.[19] In 2024, the section car placed on the weighbridge was cosmetically restored. It was originally donated to the Eudunda community in 1997.[20]