Bowden Railway Station - History

History

Bowden was one of the original stations on the Adelaide to Port Adelaide railway when the line opened in April 1856.

In 1871, sidings were constructed at the Woodville end of the station for delivery of coal from Port Adelaide to the adjacent gas works.

With increasing traffic, the single track Adelaide to Port Adelaide line was doubled in 1881, and the sidings at Bowden were extended as the gas works grew.

Two signal cabins were in operation at Bowden between 1884 and 1930, one at East Street (at the Woodville end), the second at Gibson Street (at the Adelaide end). The East Street cabin was closed when colour light signalling was introduced on the Port line in the 1930s.

The S.A. Gas Company sidings were closed in June 1973 and Bowden’s goods yard was closed completely from September 1977 along with the Gibson Street signal cabin. The site of the gas works sidings is still visible on the north side of the line near the Chief Street underpass.

With falling passenger numbers, the station has been unattended since November 1979, which was a far cry from the middle years of the 20th Century when usage was high enough to justify two staffed ticket offices at Bowden – one on the up platform and one on the down.