The History of the Limestone Coast Railway

The Society was formed in February 1997 by a small group of people interested in the future of railways in the South East of South Australia. The Society's objectives are:-

[1] To ensure that the railway infrastructure in the South East is retained so that it may be possible for full railway operations to return to this region.

[2] To set up a tourist rail service, based in Mount Gambier.

In August 1997 the Limestone Coast Railway took delivery of its first passenger vehicle, namely #405. The Mount Gambier City Council donated some of the delivery costs for this vehicle. It is an ex TransAdelaide suburban railcar affectionately known as a "Red Hen".

During September 1998 "Red Hen" railcars #424 and #334 were also delivered to the South East and these were followed by carriage #874 one year later.

#874 is currently being used as an office / mess room. It was intended that this carriage would be converted into a lounge/dining car at some stage, but #424 is now undergoing refurbishment for this purpose.

To date, most monies to run the Society's operations have been raised internally via memberships, fares, raffles and members' loans. In September 1999 the Mount Gambier R.S.L. sub branch made a tied interest free loan to the Society of $10,000 to buy carriage #874. They subsequently donated the same amount in 2005, to assist with the refurbishment of carriage #424.

The Public Liability Insurance crisis, in the early years of this decade, has forced us to look further afield for funding. We are currently value adding to our product, to ensure our patrons have the most enjoyable experience we can offer.

In February 2000, a forest fire damaged the Wandilo station and approximately 2½ kilometres of timber sleepers. Monies were raised via a public appeal plus a $10,000 grant was donated by the South Australian Tourism Commission to help restore the fire damaged track.

Our dedicated band of volunteers, Work for the Dole and Community Service Workers have logged thousands of hours on railcar restoration, growth control, track inspections and maintenance. This does not reflect the unlogged hours also contributed in home offices, workshops and travelling to attend meetings.

Some pictures of the Mothers' Day trip in 2005 may be seen here.

We always welcome offers of help and encourage new members. Enquire about membership here.