Regarding a railway museum in Port Augusta...

" For me the idea is to start small but with a bit of class and add on when additional funding becomes available."

What about the Tassie Street Roundhouse?

The concrete floor and tracks are still there.
To start off you don't need a working turntable.

If you could build a steel framed replica of the roundhouse, maybe four stalls to start with and expand it if further exhibits become available. You'd have to build longer stalls than were there originally to fit the Budd car.

It is very close to the business district and next to the Gulf. It would be visible from the highway bridge.

You'd have to get G&W to give you use of the land, but I haven't seen anything move in that part of the yard in decades...

If converted to dual gauge, you could display relevant items from Pichi Richi from time to time.

And insisting that the building looks like the original might reduce the temptation of the architects to get carried away.

Peter

Hi Peter

Regarding your comments above and in no particular order.

Between about 2007 and 2012 we had discussions with Council regarding a Railway Heritage Centre in Port Augusta.

The following was conducted:

A Feasibility Study into who would run the Feasibility Study !
A Feasibility Study
A Scoping Study
A Design Study
A Costing Study

I won't go into the costs of all that but it seemed a little wasted when you look at the end result.

As a result the end plan was that far removed from our original plan and too expensive to gain any traction to continue on!

I'll give you a hint as to why it got derailed (pun there by the way) - "Consultants" and those in tourism positions that had no idea.  

The Roundhouse was our first choice but that was quickly dismissed as being too expensive and not well located !!!!  True story!

The Study came down on the side of expanding the Wadlata Outback Interpretive Centre (Council run)

We continue to wait.................

The Ooldea firewood tramway is well documented in "Light Rail", Dec 2013. It was 2' gauge, five and a bit miles long, and provided fuel for CR condensing plants. Motive power is speculated to have been camels...

I've found a photo of the "head of the line" at https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+45287/8

It doesn't show an awful lot, but there wasn't a lot there to start with...

The Ooldea firewood tramway is well documented in "Light Rail", Dec 2013. It was 2' gauge, five and a bit miles long, and provided fuel for CR condensing plants. Motive power is speculated to have been camels...

I've found a photo of the "head of the line" at https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+45287/8

It doesn't show an awful lot, but there wasn't a lot there to start with...

Thanks Allan.
Interesting.
No doubt there will be CR files (both HO and Branch) 'somewhere'.
If only ..................