Sunday was a special day for Sedan, as it was the 100 year anniversary of the town’s railway.
Whilst the railway hasn’t actually operated for over 50 years, a group of Sedan residents are keen to preserve the town’s history.
The very first public mention of bringing a railway line to Sedan was back in 1881.
After 30 years of meetings and rallying for the railway line, first ground was broken in August, 1915.
By the end of that year there were 111 men working from the Sedan camp, with most of the work being done by hand.
By 1917 a large reservoir was built to be able to supply water for the steam engines.
The Sedan Railway was finally completed in 1919, with the first train arriving at the station on October 13 and 12.34 p.m.
Whilst there was no official opening, 200 people were there to meet the first train.
The line ran from Monarto South through Sanderston, Cambrai and to Sedan.
The train serviced the town for the next 45 years, with trains two or three times a week.
Over the years thousands of tons of wood, grain and goods were carted to Adelaide, and superphosphate and heavy goods were brought to Sedan.
Better roads and trucks were the cause of the line closing, with the final train running on November 23, 1964.
In December, 1966 the line was re-opened for a year to cart the pipes and water for the Swan Reach-Stockwell pipeline, before closing for good.
Peter and Sue Grieger and John Kain, are part of an organising committee who hope to remind Sedan residents of their railway history at the town’s 150 year celebrations in October next year.
John believes there are a group of residents that feel Sedan is not unlike hundreds of other small towns like it, and that Sedan is ‘slowly dying a little bit’.
To him it is partly due to the school closing, football/netball no longer being played there, banks closing, farms getting bigger, families involved in fewer farming properties, drought and more.
“Why do we want to celebrate 100 years of the first train in Sedan? It is a good question when you think about it, especially as the train hasn’t actually run in 50 years,” said John.
“What is so significant about the railway and many other historical sites around the town such as the hall, the church, the school, the recreation park, is that the community as a whole, drove these projects themselves.
“It took 30 years of town meetings and rallying by the community to get the railway here, and the benefits to not only business but to the community was achieved by them working together.”
“I’m not saying we need to go and lobby for the railway to be re-opened, but the only way for the town to move forward in these changing times is to take a lesson out of history and work together as a community.”
Sue added, “I love the history. I’ve lived in the town for 30 years. In another 100 the water tower here may be gone.
“Some people that have only lived here a few years or are new to the town may not know the history or that we’re celebrating 100 years of railway. People don’t realise how important the train was to the community.”
If anyone has any further information or photographs of the railway or township they can contact Sue Grieger on 0400 084 894 or Margie Kruger on 0401 818 474.
