Semaphore Train Ride Review – Semaphore to Fort Glanville Tourist Railway
The Semaphore to Fort Glanville Tourist Railway is a scenic 2km long 457mm gauge railway operated by the National Railway Museum and is a fun activity to enjoy with your family and visitors from interstate or overseas.
The train can be boarded from the Semaphore Jetty Railway Station located on the Semaphore Foreshore near the foot of the jetty. We had Steam Locomotive No.6 ‘Bill’ pull along our open carriages on a gorgeous sunny day in April. Once all passengers are seated, the train travels along parallel with The Esplanade and the sand dunes, overlooking the pristine waters of the beautiful Semaphore coastline.
The little ones love to wave at people passing by and the open carriage view is a joy for all on board. From Semaphore’s beautiful swimming beaches you then pass through the dunes near historic Fort Glanville at Point Malcolm. South Australia’s first fort, Fort Glanville was built to guard both the entrance to Port Adelaide and the anchorage at Semaphore. It was built on sand hills near Glanville Hall at Semaphore Park known as Point Malcolm, an area chosen to guard shipping sailing to both the Port River and the Outer Harbour.
On returning to the station you can also watch the train be unhooked from the carriages before being manually turned around and re-attached to head off again in the right direction. It’s a fun, relaxing ride for the whole family.
Railway Notes:
Tickets for the Semaphore to Fort Glanville railway are sold separately from Museum admission. Admission to the Museum can be purchased separately – see our post here for the National Railway Museum.
Semaphore Steam Train Rides – CLICK HERE FOR INFO
What to see in Semaphore
Semaphore has loads of summer attractions including the beach and jetty, water slides, the Semaphore Carousel, playgrounds and the popular Semaphore Road cafe strip with shops and restaurants.
For more information and all enquiries please visit the National Railway Museum website.
All photographs by Play & Go Adelaide 2012.
At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.
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We travelled from Marion to Semaphore today (Thursday 8th October) with our grandchildren of 6 and 3 to ride on the train. The children were very excited.
Much disappointment as train not running as per the hours stated above.
That is very disappointing. Their website states that they are running during the holidays: http://www.natrailmuseum.org.au/rides.php