Sturt Reserve steam train is about to get moving
The locomotive RX 160 will be shifted to make way for a new shelter.
For the first time in more than 50 years, the steam engine parked at Sturt Reserve is about to get moving.
Sadly, it won’t be able to do so under its own steam.
A crane will pick it up and move it about 100 metres closer to the rail bridge, to a spot near the old Shell depot, to make room for a shelter to be built.
It will then be restored by members of the Murray Bridge Riverboat, Rail and Steam Group – not to working order, but to a more presentable state.
The locomotive, RX 160, was built by South Australian Railways at Islington in 1913 and hauled both passengers and freight in its early days, then for shunting trucks prior to its retirement on August 21, 1969.
The shelter being built in its place will shade tourists as they wait to board river cruises, and may also be used to stage events such as Murray Bridge’s Christmas carols.
Its design will be similar to a smaller shelter which was recently finished next door to the Murray Bridge Club.
Riverfront redevelopment continues
The shelter project was anticipated at the launch of the Murray Bridge “make it yours” campaign in 2019, funded by the federal government in 2020 and given a definite shape with the publication of concept pictures in 2021.
It will not be the last upgrade in the area, however.
The federal government has already committed $1.5 million to the replacement of the wharf itself, to benefit the tourist boat operators who use it and, by extension, the local economy.
The wharf is due to be rebuilt by the end of 2023.
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