Broken Hill floods February 1997 - track restoration

On Friday February 7 1997 the Indian Pacific train became stranded at Olary as a result of extensive flooding on both sides of the town. This flooding was the result of severe thunderstorm activity centred on Olary. The run off from these storms resulted in extensive damage to the track formation and structures from Mannahill to Mingary, a distance of over 60km. Initial estimates of damage and likely traffic disruption varied wildly however within a few days a plan had been developed with the objective of reopening to traffic within 4 weeks. The first train eventually passed through the section on Saturday 8 March one day behind target. The achievement of restoring the track was a team effort bringing together resources from Adelaide, Tailem Bend, Port Augusta, Port Pirie and the locals from Peterborough. Earthmoving contractors mobilized at very short notice supplemented these extensive AN resources. I would like to congratulate and thank every body who contributed.

• Record URL:
  https://railknowledgebank.com/Presto/content/Detail.aspx?ctID=MTk4MTRjNDUtNWQ0My00OTBmLTllYWUtZWFjM2U2OTE0ZDY3&rID=NDU5NA==&qrs=RmFsc2U=&q=KEJvb2suQWxsVGV4dDooIkJyb2tlbiBIaWxsIGZsb29kcyBGZWJydWFyeSAxOTk3IC0gdHJhY2sgcmVzdG9yYXRpb24iKSkgT1IgKFBhcGVyLkFsbFRleHQ6KCJCcm9rZW4gSGlsbCBmbG9vZHMgRmVicnVhcnkgMTk5NyAtIHRyYWNrIHJlc3RvcmF0aW9uIikpIE9SIChQcmVzZW50YXRpb24uQWxsVGV4dDooIkJyb2tlbiBIaWxsIGZsb29kcyBGZWJydWFyeSAxOTk3IC0gdHJhY2sgcmVzdG9yYXRpb24iKSkgT1IgKFJlcG9ydC5BbGxUZXh0OigiQnJva2VuIEhpbGwgZmxvb2RzIEZlYnJ1YXJ5I
• Authors:
  • Jaehne P
• Conference:
  • Permanent Way Institution (PWI) NSW 1997 Annual Convention: Challenging the Next Millennium
• Publication Date: 1997

Media Info

• Pagination: 7p. ; PDF
• Monograph Title: Permanent Way Institution (PWI) NSW, 1997 annual convention

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Floods; Railroad rails; Repairing
• ATRI Terms: Flooding; Railway track; Repair
• Subject Areas: Hydraulics and Hydrology;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01711429
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: ARRB
• Files: ATRI
• Created Date: Jul 19 2019 2:24PM