Whyalla Railway Station

I was in Whyalla on business this month and took the opportunity to visit the remains of the former Whyalla passenger Railway Station.

I am a bit sketchy on the exact closing date, but my understanding is that the station closed in December 1990 along with the passenger services from Adelaide to Whyalla (via Port Augusta).

The railway line itself is still in active use today by Arrium Steelworks mining operation in Whyalla, and the trains run past the former Whyalla station on their way to/from the Steelworks facility.

It seems a real shame that we can't have a passenger service from Adelaide to Whyalla any more, especially when the line servicing Whyalla is still in active use today, unlike many of the closed country lines in South Australia.

The station itself is no longer signposted anywhere, and there is one dirt road from the main road into Whyalla leading to it, also unmarked. I needed to use Google Maps to locate the station, since without any signage (and being hidden away from the road behind trees) it was hard to find.

It is not that close to the Whyalla township, which seems a strange decision given the rails go much closer than this to Whyalla. I found the station eventually though, and parked nearby.

Here is the view towards the station platform, with the wooden fence (and iron mesh) on the platform intact but obviously no longer maintained.

As I walked onto the station platform I could see the Station sign, plants and concrete chairs were still present.

Here are some close up photos of the Whyalla Station platform signage:

This is the view from the Platform towards Port Augusta end:

Some motorcyclist has clearly decided to use the platform for doing burnouts at some point...

 
This is what is left of the former Whyalla Railway Station building. Sadly it was demolished sometime between 2009 and 2012 so I didn't get to see it...you can see the large station building that was there on Johnny's pages website here.

 
Some alternative photos of the former station building site:

Some remnants still remain of the flooring - I guess the toilets?

Here is the view from the Whyalla station platform towards Whyalla:

Turning around and looking back towards Whyalla I took a few more shots from the platform - I am guessing no one is likely to sit in this chair:

View across the platform towards the running track:

Some last views of the Whyalla platform looking towards the Port Augusta end:

Some running track shots to finish up:

I was keen to see this station having not been to Whyalla before, and I was glad to be able to finally see it. Would be better if you could still catch trains at it of course...