SteamRanger opened their first purpose-built depot at Dry Creek railway station, 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) north of Adelaide in 1980.

Since the first choice would break the society's financial viability, in a huge project all of SteamRanger's locomotives and rolling stock were moved.

A new depot was built at Mount Barker railway station, at the northern end of the broad-gauge line to Victor Harbor.

As part of the move, the District Council of Mount Barker renovated the station building, derelict at the time, to become SteamRanger's headquarters.

Following that most of South Australia's broad-gauge tracks have been closed, the line has become the last operating memory of locomotive-hauled trains on the broad gauge.