1977 December - South Australia & Semaphore Railway

Bert Scales Rail Archive - Digitally transferred from Movie film to HD.

Over Christmas holidays of 1977 Bert Scales and wife Heather travelled from Sydney to Adelaide in their VW combi camper van to experience Adelaide City and and South Australia in general. Bert was an avid film rail enthusiast, taking film of rail history where ever it presented itself. Berts combi which can be spotted in various scenes in this home movie film.

Opening film scene demonstrates the engineering marvel of multiple gauge tracks, to support the movement of broad and standard and narrow gauge rail vehicles, ironically the result of the Australian colonies (later to be known as states) building railways to suit each's own individual needs, prior to Australian federation in a 1901.

Port Augusta was host to multiple stabled maintenance worker accomodation trains which housed perway maintenance crews whom worked in remote areas of the state, often away from their families and homes for periods of time.

Moving to the South Australian capital of Adelaide in the final days of 1977 we see a variety of trains typical of the late 1970s; goods trains with guards vans and self propelled diesel rail cars.

The new year of 1978 is celebrated by visiting the railway sea port of Semaphore, a unique railway branch line where where rail traffic and motor vehicles share the road, with the branch line terminating at the sea side platform of Semaphore.

On the 7th of January 1978 the Semaphore Railway line celebrated its Centenary.

Celebrations were lead by an offical train train from Adelaide City to the branch line with steam engine 224 in the lead. Celebration push pull services were then conducted on the line.

Semaphore railway line was located in the north-west of Adelaide servicing the suburbs of Semaphore and Exeter.

The line closed 29 October 1978.

Priceless scenes of South Australian Railway history.