"Pichi Richi Railway - A Brief History & Guide"
By Steve McNicol
Paperback cover 32 pages colour photos
INTRODUCTION
In the mid 1800s, as pioneering settlers and miners moved further north, transport became a necessity to service these newly established but remote outback communities. Unlike the burgeoning Adelaide region, whose population was large enough to support a 'full size' railway, the distance and sparseness of the settlements in the north meant any railway would have to be built cheaply. To reduce costs the narrow gauge of 3 foot 6 inches (1,067 millimetres) was chosen. This gauge had already been used further south between Port Wakefield and Hoyles Plains (Hoyleton), which opened in 1870 as a horse drawn tramway.
The first problem to face the engineers was which route whould the new line take as it went inland from Port Augusta? The two basic options were on the plains to the west of the Flinders Ranges or go through the rugged Pichi Richi Pass. After much debate and lobbying the Pichi Richi Pass route was chosen.