on the narrow-gauge route to Gladstone, from 1929 until an unknown date before 1970, when it closed
on the same route (by then standard-gauge), from 1989 to the early 2010s, when it was the final locality in a series of six successive stations for passengers to board and alight trains at Port Pirie.
Quick Facts General information, Location ...
Coonamia "provisional stopping place"
Site of the former Coonamia provisional stopping place in 2020. Trains no longer stopped there; the sign marked the boundary of two train control districts. The round structure houses railway signalling and communication equipment.
Until 2000: Passenger boarding and alighting on request by alerting train crew 2000–2010s: by pre-booking only.
Opened
1929
Closed
After 1937
Rebuilt
1989
Closed
Early 2010s
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Thestoppingplace was on Railway Terrace South, near its intersection with Old Race Course Road (now called Hillview Road). The South Australian Railways included it in timetables from about 1929 on the narrow-gauge railway line leading into the hinterland from Port Pirie. It was instituted for local passengers to board and alight trains without having to walk to the station at Port Pirie South.
Map including Coonamia provisional stopping place, the now-closed railway stations that preceded it, and the evolution of Port Pirie's three railway gauges (clicktoenlarge)
More information Articles about Port Pirie's six railway stations, Known as ...
Articles about Port Pirie's six railway stations
Known as
Duration
Gauge
1
Port Pirie (name changed to "PortPirieSouth" in 1902)
* In 1937, one of the two narrow-gauge tracks along Ellen Street was made dual-gauge as far as the station by the addition of a broad-gauge rail.
Track gauges: narrow, broad and standard.
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More information The "multi-gauge muddle" in Port Pirie ...
The "multi-gauge muddle" in Port Pirie
At various times during a period of close to 140 years, Port Pirie had six railway stations – never more than two concurrently. During the 45-year period 1937–1982, the city became well known as one of the few locations in the world having three railway gauges.[note 2] This situation was a result of South Australia's transitioning from lightly constructed narrow gauge to heavy-rail broad gauge (which predominated in the state at the time), then to standard gauge when lines between the mainland state capitals were at last unified. As a consequence, all Port Pirie stations that succeeded the inaugural station of 1876 were either built to accommodate a change of gauge or were affected by one. The timeline, reasons for change, and gauges involved are shown in the following graphic.
Timeline of Port Pirie's six railway stations (click to enlarge):
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Infrastructure was meagre: only a waiting shed and sign. There was no platform, as for all stations in the Mid North of South Australia at the time. Trains did not stop there unless a passenger signalled the driver to stop or notified the guard to be let off – indicated by an asterisk on timetables and its classification as a "provisional stopping place".[2]
In 1937 a new, more direct, broad-gauge line from Adelaide followed a different route that bypassed Coonamia. The number of passengers using the stopping place declined further and it was eventually closed.[3]
In 1989, the last major Port Pirie station (Mary Elie Street) closed. It was necessary to provide a facility for Port Pirie passengers — not for services to Adelaide, since all South Australian intrastate country passenger services were discontinued that year — but for interstate trains that passed through. The trains involved were The Ghan, Indian Pacific and (until June 1991) the Trans-Australian.[4]:1‑659[note 3] As shown on the map, having a stop at Coonamia would allow trains to pick up and drop off Port Pirie passengers without having to reverse 3.8km (2.4mi) from the stub terminal to the mainline.[note 4] A small ATCOdemountable building, a public telephone booth and a car park were therefore put in place in 1989.[5] The distance between the ground and the lowest step on passenger cars, however, caused difficulty for passengers who were not able-bodied.[6]
Under the new arrangements, passengers had to pre-book to board or alight at Coonamia. Although the stopping place was also utilised by Crystal Brook passengers, since trains no longer stopped at that town,[7][8] in the early 2010s the two remaining interstate trains no longer stopped and the infrastructure was removed. Only the Coonamia sign and car park remained at the locality as of 2019.
Final significance
Coonamia was never more significant than any other provisional stopping place, but its status in its final years was historic: it was the last of the six "stations" that had served Port Pirie and the last provisional stopping place in South Australia outside the Adelaide metropolitan area. The first Port Pirie station had opened 1876 when the only alternative transport was horse-drawn over unmade roads; Coonamia closed in the era of near-universal availability of motor vehicles.
Operationally, Coonamia is the place where ARTC train controllers in Adelaide (who oversee operations between Broken Hill and Coonamia, and Coonamia southwards) hand over to controllers in Port Augusta (who oversee the line to Port Augusta and points west); the sign remains so that train crews can identify the change-over point,[9] which is also the "0km" datum point for routes to Port Augusta, Broken Hill and Adelaide.[10]:70 The location has a crossing loop 1638m (1791yds) long on the south side of the double mainline from Crystal Brook.[10]:66,69
Subsequent station: none (passenger services ceased). Bulk freight, in unit trains, continued at the simplified Port Pirie Junction railway station site.
Photograph by Alco961 (November 1989). "Coonamia Station Nov 89". flickr. Retrieved 6 January 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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