A survey of calcareous sandstone in the neighbourhood of Lucindale was requested by the Chief Engineer of the South Australian Railways (Mr Bridgland). Specimens of the material had been submitted to him through the Resident Engineer in charge of gauge widening operations in the south-east (Mr Joyce) by Mr R.J. Turner, c/o Lucindale Post Office, According to Mr Bridgland it is probable that work in connection with the broadening of the Naracoorte - Kingston railway line will commence in the near future and the question of ballast was an important one. The requirements of ballast (information obtained from Mr Joyce) would be about 50-60,000 cubic yards for the Naracoorte - Lucindale section and 70-80,000 cubic yards for the Lucindale - Kingston section. This would make a total of approximately 140,000 cubic yards. Daily requirements during gauge-widening operations would be about 200 cu. yds. At this rate, 2-3 years work would be available for a crushing plant. Up to the present, a hard, reddish coloured fossiliferous (mainly rugose corals) dolomite has been used as ballast in the area, carted from Tantanoola. There is more than sufficient stone at Tantanoola to meet the ballast requirements of the broadening of the Kingston line but cartage costs are considerable (road distance from Tantanoola to Lucindale is 45 miles). It would therefore naturally be advantageous to obtain the services of a contractor to undertake quarrying and crushing of suitable material near Lucindale. Mr R.J. Turner has formed a company called the "Lucindale Crushing Co., Ltd.," with Messrs. G.A. Schloithe and J.W. Copping as partners. At present, the firm possesses only a tractor and large and small jaw crushers but it is intended to supplement the existing equipment to enable quarrying operations to be carried out in the near future. The most suitable size of material for use as railway ballast is about 2 ½ ins. On 2/8/55, the writer visited Section 63, Hd. Townsend, in company with Messrs. Joyce, Turner and Schloithe. After a short discussion, a reconnaissance of the area was made. On 3/8/55 a detailed pace/compass survey was carried out. The sketch-plan produced accompanies this report. Five hand auger holes were put down to determine the thickness of superficial deposits overlying hard rock. In addition, a reconnaissance of the area to the north and south of the locality was made to determine the extent of possible future reserves.