Cockle train, Victor Harbor

The wide sandy beaches around Goolwa are well known for cockles, so the train that carries passengers along the coast of the Southern Ocean from Victor Harbor to Goolwa is known as the Cockle Train. The section of track between Port Elliot and Goolwa was the first public railway with steel tracks built in Australia, laid in 1854. The track was extended to Victor Harbor 10 years later. Horses were used to pull the carriages until steam engines were introduced in 1884. The Cockle Train now uses a steam engine and carriages built in the early 20th century and operates during school holidays, on public holidays and most weekends.