2 August 1873 Glenelg Railway

On 2 August 1873 the Adelaide, Glenelg and Suburban Railway Company opened a line between Adelaide and Glenelg via King William Street and South Terrace to Moseley Square, Glenelg on the route of the present tramway. There was some delay in starting the operation as the locomotives to be used had not arrived and horses were substituted to take officials on an inspection run on the 29 May.

Another company, the Holdfast Bay Railway opened a line from the North Terrace Railway Station to Glenelg via Richmond and Plympton on 25 May 1880. The two companies were amalgamated in 1881 and formed the Glenelg Railway Company and this in turn was taken over by the government on 15 December 1899. What were termed ‘P’ class engines were imported from England for use on these passenger lines as they could run at 60 mph and later more were built locally by James Martin of Gawler.

The last train from South Terrace to Glenelg ran on 2 April 1929 and from North Terrace on 16 December 1929. The new tramway system began operations on 14 December 1929 on the same route from King William Street to Moseley Square and is still running.

R.E. Fluck, R. Sampson and K.J. Bird, Steam Locos and Railcars of the South Australian Railways, Railway Museum, 1986, p.47.