Tailem Bend. The old railway turntable and the site of the 14 bay Roundhouse with its radiating railway tracks.
Tailem Bend transformations.
The town of Tailem Bend was not surveyed until 1887. It happened then because the Intercolonial Railway to Melbourne passed through the area and it had opened. Despite the railway arriving in 1887 and a Murray River ferry crossing Tailem Bend only started to develop in the 20th century. Growth was very slow in the town until Commissioner Webb decided to move the railway marshalling yards and the rail engine workshops from Murray Bridge to Tailem Bend in 1925. A government school had opened in 1902 but it was a tiny town. The only church built before the Webb era was a tiny Methodist church. But once Webb’s plans for Tailem Bend were announced the Catholics built a church in 1924, the Anglicans opened a church in 1926 and the Methodists opened a new stone church in 1927. Before the Webb era the finest building in Tailem Bend was the 1914 built Art Nouveau style railway station. The Tailem Bend hotel was also an early structure built in 1902 like the government school. That school was enlarged to cater for the new students from Tailem Bend North in 1927 when a two storey section was built.
Commissioner Webb mainly moved railway operations to Tailem Bend for the reasons above – good flat land, further from Adelaide, starting point of the Murray Mallee rail lines, good areas for marshalling yards, and plentiful water. Webb also wanted and built his new American style roundhouse (14 bays) for engine repairs and storage at Tailem Bend. He had electrified signalling from Adelaide to Tailem Bend to improve efficiency and speed of trains, especially goods trains through the Adelaide Hills and he moved train control to the despatch room at Tailem Bend. Although he was not in favour of it parliament did force him to build another Murray Mallee railway line from Wanbi to Yinkanie near Moorook in 1925. He was, however in favour of a line and bridge across the Murray River to Renmark and Barmera in 1927. As his operations moved from Murray Bridge he installed an electricity generator for the railways and for use by the town residents in 1927. This provide electricity until ETSA took over supply in 1957. Webb’s hub at Tailem Bend was also where train crews changed and slept over as necessary. This required barracks. Webb also built a new coaling station at Tailem Bend and moved administrative staff from Murray Bridge to the town.
Webb did not forget about his workers despite the union opposition to him. He had already undertaken major building of railway workers cottages at stations around the state but at Tailem Bend he was able to create a rail and the new marshalling yards. The main streets included Webb Street and Railway Terrace and the railway siding that took Tailem Bend North students by train to Murray Bridge High School- Wurtun Station. Webb favoured good housing for railway workers as he said they were always being moved to new locations. Webb liked Greek Ionic columns and volutes which he used on the Adelaide Railway Station. The workers cottages in Tailem Bend also had Ionic volutes on their veranda posts and 25 had been partially built by the end of 1925. Houses were of similar design but there was a hierarchy and more skilled workers got bigger and slightly better houses. More railway houses were erected elsewhere in the town. The town population swelled from a couple of hundred residents to several thousand in a year or so. Today the Webb era housing remains, the roundhouse has been demolished but the turntable and some track remain and the marshalling yards are seldom used. The Art Nouveau railway station of 1914 is no longer used by railway passengers. It is the Information Centre.
Tailem Bend. The old railway turntable and the site of the 14 bay Roundhouse with its radiating railway tracks.
Tailem Bend transformations.
The town of Tailem Bend was not surveyed until 1887. It happened then because the Intercolonial Railway to Melbourne passed through the area and it had opened. Despite the railway arriving in 1887 and a Murray River ferry crossing Tailem Bend only started to develop in the 20th century. Growth was very slow in the town until Commissioner Webb decided to move the railway marshalling yards and the rail engine workshops from Murray Bridge to Tailem Bend in 1925. A government school had opened in 1902 but it was a tiny town. The only church built before the Webb era was a tiny Methodist church. But once Webb’s plans for Tailem Bend were announced the Catholics built a church in 1924, the Anglicans opened a church in 1926 and the Methodists opened a new stone church in 1927. Before the Webb era the finest building in Tailem Bend was the 1914 built Art Nouveau style railway station. The Tailem Bend hotel was also an early structure built in 1902 like the government school. That school was enlarged to cater for the new students from Tailem Bend North in 1927 when a two storey section was built.
Commissioner Webb mainly moved railway operations to Tailem Bend for the reasons above – good flat land, further from Adelaide, starting point of the Murray Mallee rail lines, good areas for marshalling yards, and plentiful water. Webb also wanted and built his new American style roundhouse (14 bays) for engine repairs and storage at Tailem Bend. He had electrified signalling from Adelaide to Tailem Bend to improve efficiency and speed of trains, especially goods trains through the Adelaide Hills and he moved train control to the despatch room at Tailem Bend. Although he was not in favour of it parliament did force him to build another Murray Mallee railway line from Wanbi to Yinkanie near Moorook in 1925. He was, however in favour of a line and bridge across the Murray River to Renmark and Barmera in 1927. As his operations moved from Murray Bridge he installed an electricity generator for the railways and for use by the town residents in 1927. This provide electricity until ETSA took over supply in 1957. Webb’s hub at Tailem Bend was also where train crews changed and slept over as necessary. This required barracks. Webb also built a new coaling station at Tailem Bend and moved administrative staff from Murray Bridge to the town.
Webb did not forget about his workers despite the union opposition to him. He had already undertaken major building of railway workers cottages at stations around the state but at Tailem Bend he was able to create a rail and the new marshalling yards. The main streets included Webb Street and Railway Terrace and the railway siding that took Tailem Bend North students by train to Murray Bridge High School- Wurtun Station. Webb favoured good housing for railway workers as he said they were always being moved to new locations. Webb liked Greek Ionic columns and volutes which he used on the Adelaide Railway Station. The workers cottages in Tailem Bend also had Ionic volutes on their veranda posts and 25 had been partially built by the end of 1925. Houses were of similar design but there was a hierarchy and more skilled workers got bigger and slightly better houses. More railway houses were erected elsewhere in the town. The town population swelled from a couple of hundred residents to several thousand in a year or so. Today the Webb era housing remains, the roundhouse has been demolished but the turntable and some track remain and the marshalling yards are seldom used. The Art Nouveau railway station of 1914 is no longer used by railway passengers. It is the Information Centre.