Southern & Silverton Rail

Southern & Silverton Rail was an Australian rail operator founded in 1886 as the Silverton Tramway Company. The company operated the Silverton Tramway, conveying silver-lead-zinc concentrates 58 km from Broken Hill to the South Australian border. In 1970, its main line was bypassed by the newly standardised, government-funded line from Broken Hill to Port Pirie. It then diversified to operating hook-and-pull services and in the mid-1990s rebranded to Silverton Rail. In 2006, it was purchased by South Spur Rail Services and rebranded again as Southern & Silverton Rail, before both entities were sold to Coote Industrial. In June 2010 it was sold to Qube Logistics and absorbed into that brand.

Inauguration

The Silverton Tramway Company was incorporated in New South Wales in 1886 by a consortium led by newspaper owner, editor and "mover and shaker" businessman James Smith Reid after the Government of New South Wales enacted the Silverton Tramway Act 1886. The Act granted to the backers the rights to build and operate the Silverton Tramway, a 58 km-long narrow-gauge railway to run from the New South Wales–South Australia state border to Broken Hill. Headquartered in Melbourne from 1894, the company was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1897,[1]

Redundancy

Following a new line being opened in February 1970 by the Australian federal government, the line was made redundant and the company concentrated on operating shunting and track maintenance services to the mines industry in and around Broken Hill with its remaining two diesel locomotives.[3][4][1] Under the 1886 Act, the Government of New South Wales had an option to buy out the company for 21 times the annual divisible profits of the preceding seven years. Silverton calculated it was entitled to $5.8 million, but through legislation this was removed, the company having to settle for a $2 million payment.[5]

In 1969, the Dillingham Corporation of Honolulu bought a 33% shareholding, later increasing to 50%. In 1972, it was then taken over by T & G Mutual Life Assurance Society and delisted. It was included in the 1983 purchase of T & G Mutual by National Mutual, and in 1986 was sold in a management buyout to Graham Clements.[1]

Having purchased a number of locomotives from FreightCorp and AN Tasrail, in 1995/96 Silverton Rail leased six locomotives to National Rail for use on Adelaide to Melbourne services as bankers to Tailem Bend.[6][7] With the introduction of an open access regime in New South Wales the business was rebranded as Silverton Rail, and in August 1999 began operating iron ore services from Cobar to Narromine as a subcontractor to National Rail and relocated the majority of its fleet to Parkes Roundhouse.[8][9] In August 1999, it also began operating trip workings in Sydney.[10] In August 2000, Silverton began operating grain services from Nyngan to Sydney.[11]

During the early 2000s, a new depot was established in Newcastle at the Broadmeadow Yard rail facilities. This small crew provided train crewing and logistics for the Southland (Pelton) Coal Mine near Cessnock to Pacific National until its 2003 closure due to underground fires. Other services from the Broadmeadow Depot included the daily containerised freight service from Tolls Carrington to Port Botany and return, as well as crewing both ends of the Wee Waa to Port Botany export cotton trains. Crewing services were also provided to Interail and Pacific National Rural & Bulk, Pacific National Coal and Railcorp for AK track recording cars and maintenance and emergency recovery trains.

industry	Railway operator
foundation	1886
defunct	2010
location city	Broken Hill
parent	Qube Logistics
homepage	www.silverton.net.au

Southern & Silverton Rail

Inauguration

Redundancy

Corporate dispersal

Locomotives

Further reading

External links

References