Port Adelaide is home to Australia’s largest railway museum. Focused primarily on the Commonwealth and South Australia Railroads, the museum was originally founded in 1963 by a group of rail preservationists after having convinced the Commissioner of the South Australia Rail System to grant them land on the site of the former “Mile End Roundhouse.” The first steam locomotive arrived at the end of August 1964. Being a mostly open-air site much of the museum’s collection began to experience problems being exposed to the weather. Realizing that they needed a larger site with buildings to protect the exhibits, the museum staff in 1987 began renovations of the Port Dock Goods Terminal. This opened in early December of 1988 under its new name, “The Port Dock Station Railway Museum” (now more commonly known as the National Rail Museum). By this time, its collections had grown to include examples of the three gauge systems used throughout Australia (i.e. Narrow, Standard, and Broad). In addition to its collection of historic rolling stock, the museum now also includes a number of historic buildings, such as the 1878 “Goods Shed” and the 1951 “Collington Shelter Shed and Booking office” (a typical example of South Australia’s small country stations). “Catch Point” has been the museum’s magazine since 1982. You don’t have to be a “Rail Fan” in order to enjoy this attraction.
... the formal kitchen car...
Introduced in 1934, “The Murray Car” was used by the Railway Commissioners duringv their annual inspections of the Commonwealth Railroads gauge lines. At the time, it was the most modern car on the Commonwealth Rail System.