In the 1940s large tonnages of coal were railed from Leigh Creek and heavy demands were placed on the northern railway line that had first been constructed in the 1880s. Double headed T Class locomotives would haul trains of up to 660 tons on the 3 ft. 6 in. gauge line connecting Leigh Creek to Hawker, Quorn, Peterborough and Terowie. At Terowie a coal tippler transferred the coal from narrow gauge to broad gauge wagons to be onforwarded to the Osborne Power Station in Adelaide. In many ways the original line was inadequate; sharp curves and heavy gradients limited train loads, whilst light track and bridges restricted speeds and axle loads. Consequently, when the new power station was constructed in Pt Augusta a new railway, of 4 ft. 8½ in. gauge, was also constructed, along a more suitable route that enabled much larger quantities of coal to be carried. The new line was constructed to carry trains of 5,500 tons, more than eight times the capacity of the old line. By the time the last trains delivered coal to Pt Augusta in 2016 their capacity was double again at around 12,000 tonnes.

The Coal Tippler - Terowie

Construction work on the new Stirling North to Marree standard gauge railway line in the early 1950s

Crushing rock to form the track bedding (Gordon Longstaff)

Pick-a-Back Train - 1955

In 1955, when construction of the new standard gauge railway had reached Brachina Siding, a ‘Pick-a-Back’ system was invented. Narrow gauge coal trucks from Leigh Creek were loaded on top new standard gauge carriages for the remainder of the journey to Pt Augusta. This system transported coal until June 1956 when the standard gauge rails to Leigh Creek were completed. Pick-a-Back trains continued a little longer for general freight and cattle until a transfer station was constructed at Copley.