Jubilee Exhibition Railway
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| Jubilee Exhibition Railway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Map of the railway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Closed and removed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Adelaide, South Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System | South Australian Railways | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | South Australian Railways | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1887 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | 1927 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Jubilee Exhibition Railway was a railway spur in Adelaide, South Australia. It was built in 1887 from where the Adelaide station currently is to the Jubilee Exhibition Building which stood near Frome Road on what is now part of the University of Adelaide. The line used an existing tunnel under King William Road which had been built in 1854 for horses and cattle to cross the road without disrupting traffic.[1][2] The tunnel is likely the origin of rumours about rail tunnels located under the city of Adelaide.[3] Much of the land where the line once ran has been reused as parts of the University of Adelaide and the Adelaide Festival Centre. There were no stations built. No known evidence of the line remains today.
The line was built for the Jubilee International Exhibition held in 1887. It was used to transport exhibits including heavy machinery and a locomotive and tender built in Ballarat. The line was not used to transport people to the exhibition so did not have a station platform at either end. Following the exhibition, the line continued to be used for transporting exhibits to the Exhibition building, and building materials for university buildings.[4]
It later served the Adelaide Showgrounds which were located on the east side of what is now the grounds of University of Adelaide. In 1927 when the Adelaide Showgrounds moved to Wayville the line was seen as redundant. The line was closed and the tunnel under King William Road filled in.