The Cockle Train

The Cockle Train travels along the oldest steel railed railway in Australia dating back to 1854 when it was constructed to provide a link between the River Murray and the ocean wharfs at Pt Elliot and later at Victor Harbor. Tickets are available at the Goolwa, Port Elliot & Victor Harbour Railway Stations on day of travel. The Cockle Train commences its run each day at Goolwa station, in the historic Wharf Precinct alongside the River Murray. Leaving Goolwa, the line heads off across the plains to Middleton, picking up or dropping off passengers on request, and then to Port Elliot where it reaches the Encounter Bay coast. After leaving Port Elliot the train climbs to the top of the coastal cliffs and passengers experience some of the most picturesque coastal scenery on the Fleurieu Peninsula, with nothing separating you from the beach below and a perfect view of the Southern Ocean - in winter the home of Southern Right Whale. After a 30 minute journey the train edges into Victor Harbor station, right in the centre of the town and surrounded with its iconic pine trees. Here, the locomotive is detached from the carriages and turned on our specially retained 30m long electric turntable before rejoining the carriages for the return journey to Goolwa.