SAR Peterborough

A major manned station, servicing depot and junction on the  Port Pirie-Broken Hill Line , the  Peterborough-Quorn Line  and the  Peterborough-Terowie Line .

Multiple loops and sidings for the station, goods, grain facility and stockyard. Two loco servicing facilities with turntables.

From the 1880s to the late 1970s Peterborough was the busiest railway hub in South Australia. It was the headquarters for the Northern Division and responsible for train control and maintenance. The maintenance centre employed over 1,000 workers to service and maintain over 100 train movements each day.

The Port Pirie-Broken Hill Line was converted to standard gauge (4ft8.5in) during 1969-1970 and the Peterborough-Terowie Line was converted to dual gauge by the addition of broad gauge (5ft3in) in 1970. The Peterborough-Quorn Line was left as an isolated narrow gauge line making Peterborough a triple gauge location until the eventual closure of the two non-standard gauge lines.

Peterborough is now just a passing loop. The main loco depot has been taken over by the Steamtown Railway Preservation Society as a static museum and most other facilities have been removed. The railway station has been retained and until a few years ago was serviced by the luxury Indian-Pacific passenger train running between Sydney, Adelaide and Perth. In the current timetable, the service no longer stops at Peterborough.