Old Ghan Heritage Railway and Museum
 A former Commonwealth Railways diesel-electric locomotive at the Old Ghan Heritage Railway and Museum in 2006 | |
 | |
| Established | 1981 |
|---|---|
| Location | Norris Bell Avenue, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia |
| Coordinates | 23°46′40″S 133°52′05″E / 23.7777°S 133.8681°E |
| Type | Railway |
The Old Ghan Heritage Railway and Museum is an Australian railway museum in Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory. It was attached to a narrow-gauge tourist railway line, now closed. The Road Transport Historical Society, which also owns the adjacent National Road Transport Hall of Fame, operates the museum.
History[edit]
Following the closure of the Central Australia Railway after a new standard gauge line from Tarcoola to Alice Springs opened in 1980, the Ghan Preservation Society was formed in 1981. The society operated from a site at McDonnell Siding, 6.4 kilometres (4.0 miles) south of Alice Springs. A stimulus in the form of an Australian Bicentennial Authority grant of $800,000 was received in 1987, funding the construction of a replica South Australian Railways station building,[1] and a lease arranged with the Australian National Railways Commission made it possible for the society to operate tourist trains from October 1988 on the 25 km (16 mi) track southwards to Ewaninga Siding.[2][3][4][5]
The society's trains – four a week during the early 1990s[6] – were hauled by a former WAGR W class steam locomotive and a Commonwealth Railways NSU class diesel locomotive hauling carriages previously used on The Ghan.[7][8]
In 1995, the society encountered financial difficulties, severed ties with the adjacent Road Transport Hall of Fame (later restored), and lost many volunteers. Train services stopped in 2001 and locomotives and rolling stock were put on static display. By 2005, locomotives and rolling stock had been vandalised and the track was falling into disrepair; press reports described conflict between members who wanted to "[hand] over the attraction to paid staff" and those who wanted to "rekindle interest from volunteer workers".[6] The project was described in November 2020 as "all but forgotten for more than a decade but now the subject of an energetic revival effort" involving support from the local community and businesses to restore locomotives, rolling stock and the railway line. Proponents acknowledged many challenges but said that Alice Springs would "have a huge tourist drawcard and a fun transportation park for locals alike" if they succeeded.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ "Here & There". Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin. No. 598. Redfern, NSW: Australian Railway Historical Society. August 1987. p. 61.
- ^ "Ghan Preservation Society". The Recorder. Adelaide: Australian Railway Historical Society Inc. March 1981. p. 74.
- ^ "A new life begins for the Old Ghan". Network: Railways of Australia quarterly. Melbourne: Railways of Australia. October 1988. p. 53. ISSN 0159-7302.
- ^ "Ghan Preservation Society opens". Catch Point Magazine. No. 69. Port Adelaide: National Railway Museum. January 1989. p. 26.
- ^ a b Chlanda, Erwin (13 November 2020). "All new Old Ghan: revival plan for an icon". Alice Springs News. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ a b Attwood, Elisabeth (16 February 2005). "New life for Old Ghan?". Alice Springs News. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ "Notes and news". Continental Railway Journal. No. 82. London: Continental Railway Circle. June 1990. p. 356.
- ^ McKillop, Robert (1999). Guide to Australian heritage trains & railway museums (7th ed.). Redfern, NSW: Australian Railway Historical Society. p. 120. ISBN 0909650454.
External links[edit]
Media related to Old Ghan Heritage Railway and Museum at Wikimedia Commons