Major manned station and junction on the Hawker Line and the Peterborough-Quorn Line and until 1932 a vital part of the Transcontinental Railway from Sydney to Perth.
Multiple Loops and sidings for station, goods, grain and fuel depot plus loco servicing facilities.
Quorn was originally the junction between the Great Northern Line (Port Augusta to Oodnadatta) and the Peterborough-Quorn Line, both operated by the SAR. In the 1920s the Great Northern Line was transferred to the Commonwealth Railways (CR) and was extended to Alice Springs. It then became known as the Central Australia Line .
In the early 1950s the Central Australia Line was converted to standard gauge (4ft 8.5in, 1435mm) and diverted away from Quorn. As a result traffic through Quorn declined significantly. In 1956 the old narrow gauge Central Australia Line was closed except for the section between Quorn and Hawker (the Hawker Line). The CR continued to operate a single weekly freight service on the line until 1972 when it was also closed.
In 1974 Quorn became the operations centre for the Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society, a narrow gauge steam preservation railway.
The Peterborough-Quorn Line closed in 1987. The Pichi Richi Railway is still in operation on the restored narrow gauge line between Quorn and Port Augusta.
|