Mt Lofty Railway Station.

After a week and nearly 2500 km, I arrive at my destination, Mt Lofty railway station in the beautiful Adelaide Hills suburb of Stirling. The station was opened in 1883 and remained so until 1987 when passenger services stopped. The main line between Adelaide and Melbourne was converted to Standard gauge in 1995 and at over 500m in elevation, is the highest point on the interstate mainline!

The station fell into disrepair and in the 90's was rebuilt with the help of Stirling Council and the local Emmett family, who still manage it today! Stirling is a beautiful township and the surrounding bush covered streets are a joy to walk around, even in 8 deg days!

Trains struggling up the 2.2 % grade n either direction are down to a crawl through the platform, which make for great action and occasionally  one will stall and need help! My bed for the week was in the old Signal box, in the "Club Saloon" side of the residence, and was literally 4m from the platform edge....almost close enough..LOL . Needles to say, many videos were shot during my stay!

Jim, the host was fantastic and even if you're not a diehard railfan, Mt Lofty is a beautiful spot to stay due to its central location , not to mention close to South Australia's world famous wineries.
I'll be back for sure.
Hooroo for now,
Gregg.

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