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jimmy_2486 wrote:Question for anyone who knows.....Are there any other cities in Aus that operate broad gauge, or is it just us?

What is the advantage of operating broad gauge anyway? Was it just because we wanted those trains that are ment for broad gauge lines??

Melbourne still runs broad gauge suburbans and inter-urbans. Brisbane runs narrow gauge suburbans and inter-urbans.

The original advantage of broad gauge was stability - you could run trains faster because they were more stable. Brunnel's original broad gauge was 7 feet (2.1metres). In modern times that is no longer a concern.

Narrow gauge could be built a lot cheaper and was able to handle tight curves etc better, but was not as stable. Once again, this is no longer relavent, as Queensland Rail is now running enormously heavy coal drags on the skinny gauge. They are world leaders at narrow gauge heavy haul.

When I said undergrounding one or two platforms under North Terrace at the Railway Station I should have added that it may be possible to add a further platform underground on the Torrens River side. This tunnel would serve the line going down King William Street because of its better curve radius. It would run just north of the old Railway Station building under the road between the Festival Centre and the southern plaza adjacent to Parliament House. The other one or two platforms under North Terrace would serve a line down North Terrace. It could corner into Pulteney Street or Rundle Park (East Terrace) to corner again into one of the east-west thoroughfares and then join up at Mile End or Keswick. Thoughts?

Cheers

For those of you playing at home, Today i took some pictures of the train stations on the gawler line where there is nothing around them.
First up, Munno Para:
I should also mention there where houses behind me in these two photos



Munno Para bus interchange :wank:



now here is Kudla, outside of the Adelaide urban growth boundary and no life forms in sight:

The road to Kudla station :wank:


Near broadmedows train station things are starting to happen (i will soon call this area home )


So really they can do whatever they want to the train lines but at some stations you cant increase patronage where no one lives.

Wow, how bare are those places. And are those gravel tracks actually roads?? hehe Ud need a 4WD to goto those stations.

I think we should do a head count on how many patrons use those stations every day....is it really worth having them there? Ud probably save time getting to and from gawler if they were removed.

jimmy_2486 wrote:Wow, how bare are those places. And are those gravel tracks actually roads?? hehe Ud need a 4WD to goto those stations.

I think we should do a head count on how many patrons use those stations every day....is it really worth having them there? Ud probably save time getting to and from gawler if they were removed.

one train passed while i was there no one got on or off (execpt at broadmedow, smithfield and Evanston South)
So yes jimmy i to would knock down these stations.
But seriously i didnt even see any livestock near Kudla, And the gravel track is the road to train station. and one small rundown house.

My ideal solution if money was no object ... would be to have a dual subway system.
Make a city loop coming from the north terrice train station. Have the loop go around the CBD stoping at each square.
Also in the same underground system I would take the o-bahn busses off the street and make it enter the subway from the end of the current track.

jimmy_2486 wrote:Wow, how bare are those places. And are those gravel tracks actually roads?? hehe Ud need a 4WD to goto those stations.

I think we should do a head count on how many patrons use those stations every day....is it really worth having them there? Ud probably save time getting to and from gawler if they were removed.

That's why I removed them off my Long Distance Trains map. There is just nothing there, there is no point having them.

But if they want to keep them, they could at least fix up the road, that is just disgraceful.

duke wrote:My ideal solution if money was no object ... would be to have a dual subway system.
Make a city loop coming from the north terrice train station. Have the loop go around the CBD stoping at each square.
Also in the same underground system I would take the o-bahn busses off the street and make it enter the subway from the end of the current track.

See my sig

I agree that Kudla station should be removed. Being in the middle of a country section between Munno Parra and Tamblin with almost dead straight track, it would save a great deal of time in stop start time. Not only that but it is at the crest of a small hill.

However, Munno Parra must stay. I live on the Gawler Central line and regularly travel the whole line just to have a look in and Munno Parra is reasonably well used during the peak periods. The platforms were recently extended also to take longer trains. If more accomodating shelters were put in as well as a better interchange, it would certainly see greater traffic.

That 'bus interchange' is embarassing

I think that bus interchange will be redeveloped once the Playford North development takes off

Just had a thought here uz might be interested in...

How about we just use our current city railway station as a interstate rail station, to replace keswick station. That way we can make new stations underground through the city for suburban trains only. Reason being is that I believe having any station on the perimeter CBD streets is a waste. Id say we DO set up a loop, but make it loop around the squares (hurdle sq, light sq, hindmarsh sq, and witmore sq) if uz would look how the CBD is set up, these 4 stops are within easy walking distance to any part of the CBD. Also these stops would be 1km from each other if set up in the right parts nearby the square.

NormanGerman, try and do a prototype with a setup like I said and see how it looks. Maybe the lines coming into the city from the north to go under the new hospital and go under ground around those squares and come back out near the etsa building to go south...Instead ot going through the north tce station and continuing through.....ill leave it upto u.

Also would be good to widen the O-bahn (or replace it) to allow a train service to modbury/Golden Grove that would continue underground from the o-bahn to this loop.

If we had something like this, then electrification would see definate increases in speeds and amounts of services for our trains. Id say something like an every 10 min service is quite reasonable.

jimmy_2486 wrote:NormanGerman, try and do a prototype with a setup like I said and see how it looks. Maybe the lines coming into the city from the north to go under the new hospital and go under ground around those squares and come back out near the etsa building to go south...Instead ot going through the north tce station and continuing through.....ill leave it upto u.

Also would be good to widen the O-bahn (or replace it) to allow a train service to modbury/Golden Grove that would continue underground from the o-bahn to this loop.

If we had something like this, then electrification would see definate increases in speeds and amounts of services for our trains. Id say something like an every 10 min service is quite reasonable.

If you have a look at the current setup I've made it already goes through 2 of the squares. I believe there is not as much demand for having a train line on the southern squares as most of the buildings there are residential and already have a subway going there. The northern part of the city, I believe, needs more attention than the soutern ones.

Also, my project incorporates replacing the O-Bahn with a train to Greenwith (through-running to Belair). Both lines L1 and L2 meet in Hackney and merge as they go under the city, and at Goodwood they split to the other 2 routes, Aldinga and Belair.

jimmy_2486 wrote:How about we just use our current city railway station as a interstate rail station, to replace keswick station. That way we can make new stations underground through the city for suburban trains only. Reason being is that I believe having any station on the perimeter CBD streets is a waste. Id say we DO set up a loop, but make it loop around the squares (hurdle sq, light sq, hindmarsh sq, and witmore sq) if uz would look how the CBD is set up, these 4 stops are within easy walking distance to any part of the CBD. Also these stops would be 1km from each other if set up in the right parts nearby the square.

I had thought of this too. It's not a bad option, but there must also be good feeder and shuttle services to Keswick for this to work at its fullest. That loop or loops in the city would have to be built before Keswick becomes our central metropolitan station. I also would like to see that area around Keswick developed for mixed used with several residential towers. We need people and life down there. I can already see the Keswick station with that steel and glass canopy over its platforms (and electrified to boot). What potential!

NormanGerman, try and do a prototype with a setup like I said and see how it looks. Maybe the lines coming into the city from the north to go under the new hospital and go under ground around those squares and come back out near the etsa building to go south...Instead ot going through the north tce station and continuing through.....ill leave it upto u.

Yeah, why not.

Cheers

One that I produced a while back, but has been sitting and gathering dust until I found it:



If anyone can work out what is going on in what I produced, I will pull out something else more detailed.

All well and good with that map but the only minor issue that I would like to point out is the Barossa service. Probably be better to extend it to Angaston. Simply use the 'main line' to Nuriootpa where there is another railway station (and a rather attractive though slightly decaying timber structure might I add). At Nuriootpa, there is a junction, one line going left to the quarry and one to the right to Angaston which hasn't seen a train since 2004 (a railfan tour which I was part of). The track is still inplace upto Angaston as is the railway station. Probably the best section of the entire Barossa line.