Whyalla Railway Station

I was in Whyalla on business this month and took the opportunity to visit the remains of the former Whyalla passenger Railway Station.

I am a bit sketchy on the exact closing date, but my understanding is that the station closed in December 1990 along with the passenger services from Adelaide to Whyalla (via Port Augusta).

The railway line itself is still in active use today by Arrium Steelworks mining operation in Whyalla, and the trains run past the former Whyalla station on their way to/from the Steelworks facility.

It seems a real shame that we can't have a passenger service from Adelaide to Whyalla any more, especially when the line servicing Whyalla is still in active use today, unlike many of the closed country lines in South Australia.

The station itself is no longer signposted anywhere, and there is one dirt road from the main road into Whyalla leading to it, also unmarked. I needed to use Google Maps to locate the station, since without any signage (and being hidden away from the road behind trees) it was hard to find.

It is not that close to the Whyalla township, which seems a strange decision given the rails go much closer than this to Whyalla. I found the station eventually though, and parked nearby.

Here is the view towards the station platform, with the wooden fence (and iron mesh) on the platform intact but obviously no longer maintained.

As I walked onto the station platform I could see the Station sign, plants and concrete chairs were still present.

Here are some close up photos of the Whyalla Station platform signage:

This is the view from the Platform towards Port Augusta end:

Some motorcyclist has clearly decided to use the platform for doing burnouts at some point...

 
This is what is left of the former Whyalla Railway Station building. Sadly it was demolished sometime between 2009 and 2012 so I didn't get to see it...you can see the large station building that was there on Johnny's pages website here.

 
Some alternative photos of the former station building site:

Some remnants still remain of the flooring - I guess the toilets?

Here is the view from the Whyalla station platform towards Whyalla:

Turning around and looking back towards Whyalla I took a few more shots from the platform - I am guessing no one is likely to sit in this chair:

View across the platform towards the running track:

Some last views of the Whyalla platform looking towards the Port Augusta end:

Some running track shots to finish up:

I was keen to see this station having not been to Whyalla before, and I was glad to be able to finally see it. Would be better if you could still catch trains at it of course...

Former Manseibashi Station Platform Reopened in Tokyo

In 2013 the remaining section of the old Manseibashi Station platform in Tokyo was renovated and reopened to the public as a shopping destination. It has plenty of reminders of it's past left in situ, and a new glass covered viewing platform on the former Manseibashi Station platform for a very up close view of passing Tokyo trains! I heard about it from NHK news before coming to Japan and I had to take a look!

First, a little history. Manseibashi Station was a substantial railway station built in the early 1900's between the present JR Akihabara and Kanda Railway Stations in Tokyo. Not only did it service train lines as the terminus, but served as an interchange for streetcar trams as well. Inside the restored platform building structure, there is a nice diorama that shows this past appearance and use quite well. The building looks like a smaller version of the current Tokyo Railway Station:

During the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, Manseibashi Station was destroyed and was not rebuilt. The platform area was re-used for the train lines going through this area, leaving a small stop over section for trains and disused platform as the only hint to it's past use as a station. Coming to the present day, the remaining platform section is visible from the Manseibashi bridge nearby, which used to serve trams too until they were stopped:

The view of the former Manseibashi Station from the nearby Manseibashi bridge:

 Once at the old structure, you can see the original 1912 era staircase which leads to the original Manseibashi station platform on top of it. Today, there is a cafe and viewing area built on it:

And here is the Manseibashi Station platform viewing area, which is free to enter. but flash photography is not allowed as it is blinding for the passing train drivers!

Every few minutes a JR commuter train travels down one side or the other of the platform, which is quite exciting as of course they don't stop or slow down! Here is some photos of the trains passing Manseibashi Station:

Coming back outside Manseibashi station again down the 1912 era original stairs, the photo below is taken from a position where the original Railway Station would have stood all those years ago...Under the platform today is a bunch of arts and craft shops, some restaurants and even a railway souvenir shop!

Near here is a plaque which explains a little more about the Earthquake and Manseibashi Station History in Japanese and English (click to expand):

Here is some closeups of the Manseibashi bridge structure today:

You can see Manseibashi inscribed into the structure:

I really wanted to see this on my trip to Tokyo, and I am really glad that I did!

Adelaide Railway Station

Adelaide Railway Station is a beautiful building, with a long history. Yesterday I visited it and took a few photos around the station.

Originally built around the 1920's (an earlier original railway building was demolished to build this station), it originally had all the Adelaide metro, country South Australia and Interstate railway lines running from this station. It was a very busy place.

Since the SA Government sold off the rights to the interstate passenger and freight railway operations to the federal government (Australian National) in the 1980's, interstate services moved to a separate railway station in keswick (these days called the Adelaide Parklands Terminal), and these services were reduced dramatically to run only The Ghan (Alice Springs/Darwin), Indian Pacific (Perth, Sydney) and The Overland (Melbourne) interstate train services today. (All other SA country rail services were stopped for economic reasons)

Reflecting this change, Adelaide Railway Station emptied the top floors as staff moved to the other location and the cessation of SA country rail services, and ultimately the top floors became what is now the Adelaide Casino. The main station entrance hall is still intact, as is the platforms (heavily modified and reduced in number from it's heyday). Indeed, the platforms are now underground, allowing for the construction of the Riverside building and Convention Centre which sit over the top of the platforms today.

There used to be a train servicing facility next to the Adelaide Railway Station, but this was demolished and relocated to a brand new Dry Creek facility in Adelaide's north, to make way for the new Royal Adelaide Hospital and medical research facility now under construction. Even more buildings are planned in that area in the coming years!

As North Terrace is a busy main thoroughfare, a subway walkway tunnel exists underneath North Terrace to allow passengers to enter/exit the station on the other side of North Terrace. This entrance is shown below inside the Roma Mitchell House Building:

Here are the escalators leading down to the subway walkway to the station:

Here is the view looking up toward the entrance to the subway. This section was renovated earlier this year and looks much better than it did:

Moving along the subway walkway under North Terrace heading towards the station:

As you enter the Adelaide Railway Station, you see a beautiful entrance hall, with the recently installed escalators making life easier for passengers wanting to exit the station on this side of North Terrace to catch the tram into the city centre:

Station Kiosk is located at the entry to the subway:

Below is the Adelaide Metro card recharge and card issuing machines in the station. In Adelaide we now use a Adelaide Metro IC card which you tap next to the reader on board a train, tram or bus to validate. You recharge the card with money using one of these terminals:

Originally there used to be ticket windows here - how times have changed. Here is the Adelaide Metro card:

You can also enter the Adelaide Railway Station via a long ramp entrance from North Terrace:

As you come down the ramp you get a simple display showing the railway line schedule. Because the Noarlunga line, Tonsley line and Belair line were closed having maintenance work done this weekend (installing the new electrical cables for the new electric trains), they are not shown here:

Once in the station, it really opens up and looks stunning:

You can see the main entrance hall looking towards North Terrace, with the entrance to the platforms through the gates on the right of the photo:

Zooming in on the railway line schedule screens, clearly showing when the next train is due to depart,  and which platform to go to:

View of the entrance hall towards North Terrace entrance:

Heading towards the Riverbank (Torrens) side of the entrance hall we can see a beautiful wooden Kiosk and clock (just out of shot on the left is the station Info Centre):

Moving further along we can see some very large memorial displays for South Australian Railway workers killed in action fighting for Australia in World War I and World War II:

Next to this, in a sign of the times, empty shelves exist where public telephones used to be located in the entrance hall. Now that pretty much everyone has a mobile phone, public telephones just aren't used much these days and have been removed completely. Honestly I can't remember the last time I used one - it was a very long time ago:

Moving to the other side of the entrance hall, I found a surprise - a display of old photographs showing the history of trains and railways in Adelaide! I had to check this out:

The next photo really interested me, showing a huge number of trams in Grenfell street. So different to the scene today, where Grenfell Street is filled with buses instead of trams...

Next to this display was another war time memorial to South Australian Railway workers killed in action:

Beyond this was another display (I was so surprised by how many displays are here) of old railway memorabilia, from Adelaide Metro, Railway Museum and the Ghan (amongst others):

Zooming in we can see some of the displays:

Dinner Food menu options on an SAR journey:

Next was some Ghan memorabilia - I remember these from when I travelled on the Ghan in the mid 1980's from Adelaide to Alice Springs...must be showing my age since this is historical now!

Stamps and sealing wax presses:

Old tickets that used to be issued in Adelaide Railway Station over the years:

Even some of the old Railway cutlery and glassware is here:

Moving on, there is a simple Xmas display:

There are 2 grand entries like the one below blocked off with no signage (I assume they go to the Casino section of the station):

Finally, there is a board showing founding members and presidents of the Retired Railwayman's Club:

Overall I found the Adelaide Railway Station a fascinating building, with lots of things to look and you can really feel the history of this building, with plenty of reminders everywhere!