| System: | South Australian Railways |
| Status: | Partially closed and removed, remaining section dormant |
| Start: | Hamley Bridge |
| End: | Gladstone |
| Continuesfrom: | Roseworthy-Peterborough line |
| Continuesas: | Wilmington line |
| Open: | Hamley Bridge-Balaklava: 15 January 1880 Balaklava-Blyth: 14 March 1876 Blyth to Gladstone: 2 July 1894 |
| Close: | Gulnare-Gladstone: 11 May 1988 Balaklava-Gulnare: 29 March 1989 Balaklava-Hamley Bridge: 2004 |
| Operator: | South Australian Railways Australian National |
| Linelength Km: | 147.7 |
| Map State: | collapsed |
The Hamley Bridge–Gladstone railway line was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network. It extended from a junction at Hamley Bridge on the Roseworthy-Peterborough line (which provided connection through to Adelaide) through Balaklava and Brinkworth to Gladstone.
OPENING
The earliest part of the narrow gauge Hamley Bridge-Gladstone line opened from Balaklava to Blyth on 14 March 1876 as part of the Port Wakefield line. On 15 January 1880, the line opened from Hamley Bridge to Balaklava.[1] It was extended north from Blyth to Gladstone on 2 July 1894 where it joined the Port Pirie-Cockburn and Wilmington lines. The line was gauge converted to on 1 August 1927.
PARTIAL CLOSURE AND REMOVAL
The Gulnare to Gladstone section closed on 11 May 1988, followed by the Balaklava to Gulnare section on 29 March 1989.[2] The section track between Balaklava and Gladstone was removed in late 1989, and the 10 km section between Halbury and Balaklava has now been converted into the Shamus Liptrot Cycling Trail.[3]
The last train to Balaklava was a bulk grain train in 2004.
As Balaklava railway station was originally on the Port Wakefield to Blyth line, before the railway from Hamley Bridge was built, and the new line entered the town from the south-east, trains using the route between Gladstone and Adelaide needed to change direction at Balaklava, as both the north and south lines entered the station from the east, with Port Wakefield being to the west.[4]
The "Western System" included the railway from Hamley Bridge to Gladstone, along with the lines from Balaklava through Port Wakefield, Kadina and Wallaroo, and the line from Kadina through Snowtown to Brinkworth. All of these lines were prepared for conversion from narrow to broad gauge in the mid-1920s,[5] with the switch made on 1 August 1927.[2] [6]
| Shamus Liptrot Cycling Trail | |
| Length Km: | 11 |
| Location: | Mid North, South Australia |
| Trailheads: | Balaklava, Halbury |
| Use: | Hiking, cycling, horse riding |
| Season: | all |
| Sights: | Dunn's Bridge, Devil’s Garden |
| Hazards: | some at-level road crossings |
| Surface: | sealed |
| Row: | Hamley Bridge-Gladstone railway line |
The Shamus Liptrot Cycling Trail is a rail trail following the course of the disused line. It is open to pedestrians and cyclists, and runs for 11 km from Balaklava to Halbury.[7]
The Trail was completed 2012. It was developed in memory of a local elite cyclist Shamus Liptrot who died in 2011, several years after suffering injuries in a cycling accident.[8] The terrain of the trail is generally flat and it runs through a well vegetated corridor. It begins on the north side of the former railway line north of the intersection of War Memorial Dr and Railway Tce. Then it follows the path east along the back of Christopher St. The trail crosses Dunn's Bridge 1.5 km from Balaklava. It metal bowstring arch bridge which was constructed in 1880 and was heritage listed in 1995. Further 3 km along the trail is a small bridge built over a creek. The trail ends at Halbury with a well signed back roads trail which can be followed over the range to Leasingham and to the Riesling Trail.[9]