Morkalla railway line

Morkalla railway line
	Meringur Railway Station, relocated to Meringur Pioneer Village
Overview
Status	Closed
Owner	Victorian Railways
Locale	Millewa
Coordinates	34°18′28″S 142°11′10″E
Termini	Red Cliffs; Morkalla
History
Opened	1924 (to Werrimul)
Extended to Meringur	October 1925
Extended to Morkalla	1931
Closed	1988
Technical
Line length	97.4 km (60.5 mi)
Number of tracks	Single track
Track gauge	1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Morkalla railway line
	Mildura railway line
	To Melbourne
	353 1⁄4 miles (568.5 km)
	10 miles 66 chains (17.4 km) local
	reversing triangle
	(1928-1968)

The Morkalla railway line was a railway line in the Millewa region of northwestern Victoria, Australia.[1] It extended west from Red Cliffs railway station on the Mildura railway line into the wheat farming areas established as soldier settlements after World War I.

The line opened initially to Werrimull in 1924 and was later extended to Meringur in October 1925[2] then Morkalla in 1931. As the towns along the line shrank with reduced populations due to increased farm size and mechanisation, the line became less used and was eventually closed completely in 1988.

There were several proposals to extend the line across the border into South Australia to connect with the Mallee railways either on the line to Renmark near Paringa or to extend the Peebinga railway line, however none of these proposals eventuated to extend the line beyond Morkalla.[3] There was support from South Australians in the Riverland region to gain this connection for trade, however it appears not to have been supported by the state government of the day.[4]

Route

The line began at Red Cliffs, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) south of Mildura. It ran roughly west, 10–12 km south of what is now the Sturt Highway.

Towns and settlements along the line included:[1]

References

Andrew Waugh (March 2003). "Redcliffs – Meringur" (PDF). Victorian Signalling Histories No 58, Version 1.0. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
"NEW MALLEE RAILWAY". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 31 October 1925. p. 27. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
"THE MAN ON THE LAND". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 24 August 1928. p. 16. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
"PARINGA- MILLEWA CONNECTION". Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record. Renmark, SA: National Library of Australia. 30 June 1932. p. 4. Retrieved 24 June 2014.

External links

Media related to Morkalla railway line at Wikimedia Commons

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[Waugh-1] Andrew Waugh (March 2003). "Redcliffs – Meringur" (PDF). Victorian Signalling Histories No 58, Version 1.0. Retrieved 24 June 2014.

[2] "NEW MALLEE RAILWAY". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 31 October 1925. p. 27. Retrieved 13 June 2014.

[3] "THE MAN ON THE LAND". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 24 August 1928. p. 16. Retrieved 24 June 2014.

[4] "PARINGA- MILLEWA CONNECTION". Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record. Renmark, SA: National Library of Australia. 30 June 1932. p. 4. Retrieved 24 June 2014.