History
The line from Adelaide to Belair/Bridgewater opened in 1883. The Bridgewater line departed from the main Belair line east of Belair, and headed east, parallel to the northern side of Belair National Park. The line then turned south through the national park and then turned east again, where the National Park station used to be. It continued east past Long Gully and Nalawort stations to the Upper Sturt station, 28.9km by rail from Adelaide Railway Station. 500m later the track turned north east and continued to Mount Lofty station, 31km from Adelaide. After that it turned south and reached Heathfield station (33km), just after the line turned north east. It reached the village of Aldgate just as it passed the Madurta station, then the track reached the Aldgate station (34.5km). The line continued east, passing the Jibilla and Carripook stations and finally, the line terminated at Bridgewater station, 37.3km by rail from Adelaide Railway Station.
The Bridgewater line had a fairly steep grade for most of the journey, sometimes resulting in derailments due to the tight bends. Services from Adelaide to Bridgewater usually took an average of one hour (stopping all stations), and about 50 minutes (express). Only one train per two hours operated during off-peak and weekends (most trains terminated at Belair) and no more than two trains per hour in either direction during peak-hours. This was because the line was single track (which is still the case today) with crossing loops located at Belair, Long Gully, Mount Lofty, Aldgate and Bridgewater.
Read more about this topic: Bridgewater Railway Line
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