Snowtown. The railway yards beside the station. Only freight trains The Ghan to Darwin and the Indian Pacific to Perth and Sydney pass through here.
The town of Snowtown was established in 1878 being named after Mr. Thomas Snow, the secretary of the Governor of the day, Sir William Jervois. Jervois named many SA towns after his family and friends. The town site was selected to be located at the end of the railway being built from Kadina through Bute and Barunga Gap. The railway line reached Snowtown in 1879 providing a great stimulus to development. A flour mill was built almost immediately in Snowtown. The railway meant passengers could travel to Adelaide via Kadina and Port Wakefield. The town’s role as a transport hub was further strengthened when the railway was extended across the plains to the east, through the small settlement of Condowie to the newly created town of Brinkworth in 1894. Snowtown got a direct broad gauge connection from Adelaide in 1923 and this line terminated in Redhill. In 1937 it was extended to Port Pirie. Once this line was completed all interstate trains to Perth started using this new route. Snowtown then had several trains daily to and from Adelaide as well as a daily rail car service to Moonta and to Brinkworth. This rail car service to Moonta and to Brinkworth ceased in 1968. Passenger trains to Port Pirie ceased in the early 1980s after the SA government sold South Australian Railways to the Commonwealth Railways. They rationalised services by stopping all passenger services. Rail freight services had already almost ceased once the SA government passed an act in 1963 removing the necessity for freight to be carried by rail if a rail line existed in a town. The railway yards were always busy with bagged wheat being shipped to Wallaroo or Port Adelaide but in 1956 the first bulk handling silos were built in Snowtown. It was one of the first half dozen towns in SA equipped with silos.
Snowtown. The railway yards beside the station. Only freight trains The Ghan to Darwin and the Indian Pacific to Perth and Sydney pass through here.
The town of Snowtown was established in 1878 being named after Mr. Thomas Snow, the secretary of the Governor of the day, Sir William Jervois. Jervois named many SA towns after his family and friends. The town site was selected to be located at the end of the railway being built from Kadina through Bute and Barunga Gap. The railway line reached Snowtown in 1879 providing a great stimulus to development. A flour mill was built almost immediately in Snowtown. The railway meant passengers could travel to Adelaide via Kadina and Port Wakefield. The town’s role as a transport hub was further strengthened when the railway was extended across the plains to the east, through the small settlement of Condowie to the newly created town of Brinkworth in 1894. Snowtown got a direct broad gauge connection from Adelaide in 1923 and this line terminated in Redhill. In 1937 it was extended to Port Pirie. Once this line was completed all interstate trains to Perth started using this new route. Snowtown then had several trains daily to and from Adelaide as well as a daily rail car service to Moonta and to Brinkworth. This rail car service to Moonta and to Brinkworth ceased in 1968. Passenger trains to Port Pirie ceased in the early 1980s after the SA government sold South Australian Railways to the Commonwealth Railways. They rationalised services by stopping all passenger services. Rail freight services had already almost ceased once the SA government passed an act in 1963 removing the necessity for freight to be carried by rail if a rail line existed in a town. The railway yards were always busy with bagged wheat being shipped to Wallaroo or Port Adelaide but in 1956 the first bulk handling silos were built in Snowtown. It was one of the first half dozen towns in SA equipped with silos.