found this article regarding the opening of the line .1915 , posted it here as its hard to read on the page as very narrow columns.
WILLUNGA RAILWAY
THE FIRST PASSENGER TRAIN.
A TEST TRIP.
LINE TO BE OPENED TO-MORROW.
Many of the legislators who by their votes sanctioned the building of the rail-way to Willunga were mere youths when the agitation in favor of the line began;indeed, some of them were not born when
the claims of the district in the matter were first put forward. Over forty years ago the more enterprising residents of Willunga talked of the advisableness of opening up the district by means of the iron
horse, and for the last 35 years the construction of a line with Willunga as the terminus has been a subject of discussion both in and out of Parliament. The men of to-day who were born and bred in the
locality have from their school days looked forward hopefully to the time when they would be able to travel to Adelaide behind an engine in a comfortable railway car, instead of on the top of a coach drawn by horses, and this week the height of their ambition will be attainable. The railway so long looked for is now an accomplished fact, and from Thursday next trains will run regularly between Adelaide and Willunga. Later on—and probably it will not be long before an extension is sanctioned it will be possible to proceed still farther than Willunga, but for the present that town forms the terminus of the railway.
An Official Trip.
A test trip is invariably made by an official party over a new railway before it is opened for traffic, and in accordance with the desirable practice a special passenger train, consisting of an engine, tender,five bogie coaches, bogie brake-van,and the departmental observation car,weighing in all about 180 tons, left the Adelaide station at 12.30 p.m. on Monday with a party of officials. The object of the trip was to enable the various officers to make observations and take steps to have any defects remedied before the line is thrown open on Thursday. The train was a heavy one, and the test was a practical one, but to-day the only bridge on the railway—that over the Onkaparinga at Noarlunga—will be subjected to another severe trial.
The line just past the big cutting, descending to McLaren Vale, this section was more or less completely treeless when the line was built in 1915, Pedlar creek is on the right and the line crosses the creek about another mile down the hill.
The Stations.
There are 17 stopping-places on the line—Keswick, Goodwood, Clarence Park, Edwardstown, Ascot Park, Oaklands, Middle Brighton, Brighton, Seacliff, Marino, Marino Rocks, Hallett's Cove, Reynella, Morphett Vale, Noarlunga, McLaren Vale, and Willunga, and the train arrived at Willunga fairly punctually, 2 hours and 14 minutes after leaving Adelaide. The return journey occupied only an hour and 35
minutes, but there was a great difference in the duty imposed on the engine. The "down" journey is virtually all up hill from Brighton to Willunga, and the ruling grade is 1 in 45, so that in the matter of hill-climbing the line compares evenly with the line to Mount Lofty. The journey cityward therefore is nearly all on the down grade. When the train reached Adelaide the Railways Commissioner said he considered the line was in fair order for a new railway. There were little details to be attended to, but, generally speaking, he was satisfied with the track, and he hoped some day to see the railway carried further.
An Extension.
"I am one of those who look forward," he said, "to the time when Kangaroo Island will be the great sanatorium of South Australia, and people will flock to it in thousands for holiday and health purposes. I would like to see the railway carried on to Second Valley, and a fast line of steamers plying between that point and Hog Bay, or Kingscote, so that people could be taken over to the island without having to spend more than an hour or an hour and a half at the most on the sea. I am satisfied that if such speedy means of communication were provided Kangaroo Island would become one of the most popular resorts in Australia. Down south tourists can get the rugged beauty of the rough coast, with the mountainous seas sweeping in, and on the north coast the placid waters of American River, Nepean Bay, the Bay of Shoals, Emu Bay, and the many other beautiful places there forming an attraction.
These parts of the State ought to be more easily accessible. So far as an extension of the line to Normanville and Yankalillais concerned we have already made an examination of the proposed route, and approved it, but nothing has been done with respect to the section between that point and Second Valley. From Second Valley to Hog Bay is only 22 miles by water, and the Valley would be 67¼ miles from Adelaide by rail. Kingscote is 34 miles from the Valley, but it is 75 miles from the Outer Harbor, where steamers begin to feel the movement of the ocean. The day will come, I hope, when my visions will be realised.''
Through Bare Country.
The extraordinary character of the season is illustrated on either side of the line as far as the eye can reach. The land is parched and dry, grass is conspicuous by its absence, the vines and fruit trees in
the gardening districts nearer Willunga are not healthy looking, and the roads are mere byways of dust, which vehicles,horses, and motor cars raise for the breezes to scatter. Everything is covered with
dust.
When the proposal for building the railway was being considered the Brighton Cement Company wanted the line to pass near the works so that the output of the establishment could be put into trucks
with one handling, or that a siding should be run into the property, but the cost of both schemes was prohibitive. The company has to cart its product about a quarter of a mile by motor trains, but probably some more speedy and effective method will be devised later on.
Pedlar Creek Bridge, today its surrounded by trees and shrubs .
Over the Hills.
At Brighton the up-hill work begins in earnest, and Brighton is only 9¾ miles from Adelaide. The distance to Willunga is 34¼ miles. After Brighton come Seacliff (10½ miles), Marino (11½), MarinoRocks (11¾), and Hallett's Cove (13¼).
These are merely suburbs in the embryo.The through trains will stop there, but whether stops will be justified for some time remains to be seen. At present the prospects are not in favor of big traffic from either of the places. From Hallett's Cove to Reynella is a run of 4¼ miles, and at the latter township the country becomes more interesting, as the passengers will get their first glimpse of the wine-producing fields of the district. Two miles farther on the rich soil of the hillsides and flats may be seen, and on the inland side the timber on the adjacent hills is an acceptable change from the bare hills previously passed all the way from Brighton. The run from Reynella to Morphett Vale is only 2½ miles. Still nearer Noarlunga the rich alluvial country is thirsting for moisture, and before one appreciates the geography of the country the train crosses the Onkaparinga over a steel girder bridge about half a mile nearer the sea than the Noarlunga. Hotel. When making their examination of the district the engineers endeavored to find a route near the town, but the gradient made it impossible to get closer than the pre sent situation of the station, which has still to be built. The site of the stopping-place is exactly 24¼ miles from Adelaide. McLaren Vale (30¼ miles) is the next station, and this is by far the most interesting part of the country traversed.
The Vale is distinguished from all the other stations by having the railway running right through the middle of the town. Compared with the whole of the rest of the country McLaren Vale is an oasis in the desert. On the rich flats extending from the creek at the foot of the hills there is a luxuriant growth of sorghum and other fodder plants, the vegetable and fruit gardens look beautifully green and fresh, and the appearance o£ the immediate district makes it hard to believe the residents have experienced the full extent of the drought. "This is going to be a very busy station. I believe," said the Railways Commissioner.
"The opening of the railway is bound to have an important bearing on the development of the rich flats and slopes in the hills, and I am satisfied it won't be long before the traffic is heavy." Al-
ready, it was stated by some of the officials, there are about 300 hogsheads of wine awaiting dispatch by the first luggage train. From McLaren Vale to Willunga the distance is 4 miles, and the
station at the terminus is only a few yards from the lower boundary of the show ground. The station offices are in course of construction, and the ballasting of the line and spreading of screenings on the platforms, pathways, and permanent way were in progress on Monday; indeed, similar work was being carried out at each of the stopping places. Top ballast is also being distributed, but that is what might be described as one of the formalities of railway construction, although an important one.