OpenTube

Railway to the River | The Morgan Line

Outdoorstype

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South Australia’s first northern railway line opened in 1860 from Gawler to Kapunda to serve the copper mines. It was extended to Morgan in 1878 to become a critical connection between Adelaide and the River Murray paddle steamer trade. In its heyday, up to six trains per day were sent up the line from Morgan to Adelaide.

The paddle steamer trade boomed in the late 1800s but by 1915 it had begun to dwindle. Cars, buses, and trucks, slowly took over and the world began to move in different ways. The section of line across the plains from Morgan to Eudunda eventually closed in 1969. The Robertstown branch line closed in 1990.

The age of railway rationalisation in the 90s saw the line further cut back to Kapunda in 1994.

The last documented use of the line was in 2003 by a light engine though grain trains ended years earlier. It’s still leased to Aurizon but there’s no indication of the line being used again anytime soon.

Let’s dig a little deeper and fly a little higher as we go exploring the locations and landmarks along the route of the old line from Gawler to Morgan.

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ARCHIVE IMAGES AND FOOTAGE:

National Railway Museum - https://nrm.org.au/
State Library of South Australia
Gawler History - https://gawlerhistory.com/index.php/M...
Denisbin - Flickr
Weston Langford Collection

MUSIC:

"33" by Josh Woodward. Free download: https://www.joshwoodward.com/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Angels By My Side - Music I Use: Bensound.com/free-music-for-videos
Artist: Lunar Years
License code: U5LHFBMA10TYIKTC

Unbreakable Resolve - Royalty Free Music: Bensound.com/royalty-free-music
License code: HLDZ1EL7G4M5EQIW
Artist: : Lunar Years

Prism - Music: https://www.bensound.com
License code: YYWUDFRZ0BJREZ47
Artist: Theatre Of Delays

Smile - Music: bensound.com
License code: 6I1KOEKUBWSBSM3A
Artist: : Benjamin Tissot

Acoustic Breeze - Music by https://www.bensound.com
License code: RTDVH4EKPZJ33NK9
Artist: Benjamin Tissot

Namaste by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Artist: http://audionautix.com/

Photo Album - Music by: https://www.bensound.com
License code: PFS0QTU2SLRB1W1N
Artist: Benjamin Tissot

Memories - Music I Use: https://www.bensound.com/free-music-f...
License code: AEPEHMI9EX5T5TQA
Artist: Benjamin Tissot

20 Comments

@richardlubcke9693 4 months ago

my father was the last staffer to sigh out of Morgan, he loved his time there. He told me that if I was to look for him after he died, that is where he will be. I am yet to visit and test his theory. Hey thank for your videos, they keep my mind working. 11/10

@ToxicQ777 5 months ago

Such a wonderful history lesson so well presented it's always a pleasure to watch cheers Mike

@simonstaples7586 4 months ago

What a pleasure to travel with you , you've found your calling . Many thanls

@markmayger166 2 months ago

My parents ran the Kapunda Railway Refreshment Rooms around 1960. Dad would bake pasties early in the morning and the pies came from the local bakery in the main street. They sold the business and moved to Tintinara in about 1961 or 1962. I was about 8 years old. I fondly remember having a pastie and a bottle of Halls Fruita for lunch in the back room at the station. It's sad for me to see the railway so decayed and abandoned. Regards, Mark

@NickSolomon-b9t 5 months ago

Great subject matter and really superbly filmed, narrated and presented. Really impressive. Greatly appreciated, thank you.

@RichardTapp1 5 months ago (edited)

Thank you for that! My great grandfather Thomas Wright Tapp was station master at Morgan from 1878 and lived for a time in the now restored residence at the end of the railway station.
He later went into partnership with Hugh King, owner and operator of paddle steamers, as shipping agents with offices in Morgan and Murray Bridge.
So both the railway, wharf and paddle steamers at Morgan were big parts of his life.
My father remembered dinner being interrupted when the whistle of a paddle steamer arriving ahead of schedule meant that his father had to go and supervise the unloading and loading of their customer's goods at the wharf ...

@darylcheshire1618 5 months ago (edited)

Years ago I drove through Kapunda when the line was still active and saw the wig-wag over the line. Good to see the wig-wag in the local park.

The Port of Morgan reminds me of the Port of Echuca.

@MySteamChannel 5 months ago

Excellent presentation (as usual), thank you very much. I was on the last steam train to Morgan as a young lad with family on board loco 526 Duchess Of Gloucester.

@graemeallan54 5 months ago

thanks, most enjoyable travelling along with you

@o8thman812 5 months ago (edited)

Great footage editing & use of soundtracks. Makes me yearn for a past I never lived!😢

@CinemaEchoesSthOz 5 months ago

Very enjoyable. I believe that Colin Thiele would catch the train each morning from Hampden to high school in Kapunda. He also mentioned that they used to travel from Eudunda to Port Wakefield once a year for their yearly visit to the sea.

@nothinyaseehere9449 5 months ago (edited)

Did you notice eudunda to hampden is now open for walkers and bikes? I grew up walking to see mates. Yep you saw it haha Bloodh awesome!

@neelix139 2 months ago

Greetings once again my name is Jeff. I live in Melbourne and I’ve always enjoyed your YouTube. I just finished watching the one on Gala to Morgan on the river and I’ve always enjoy Railway archaeology. I’ve done a little bit of it overseas in Europe and England in my younger days, but my body doesn’t let me to do those things so much but I always enjoy your scenery with your drone and your information so well done, sir. Well done if you ever in Victoria, give me a yell and we’ll have lunch to give us somewhere. OK yours Jeff.

@grahamdorey3244 5 months ago

I had no idea the ‘new’STA signalling was installed as early as the last train out to Morgan. I also noted the Signal Fitters road car sitting on the platform at Roseworthy. Great video!

@chrisjohnson808 5 months ago

Great video! Amazed to learn that there was a two story brick station at Roseworthy. Hard to believe this was such a busy line back in the day!

@jasonthompson5256 4 months ago

Thanks matey, awesome video, love Australian Railway history 👌

@brettmanuel3440 5 months ago (edited)

Wonderful video. We had rellies that lived in Morgan (RIP Aunty Gwen). Great to have a better idea of what it would have been like for them back in the day. The museum etc looks great - I’m gonna plan a trip up.