International Railroad Discussion > Outback Australia

My wife and I spent the past three weeks in outback Austrlia west of Alice Springs. The 1,900 mile Adelaide to Darwin standard gauge link was completed in 2004. I hoped to see some rail action in the Alice Springs area, approximately at the midpoint of the route. I did manage to catch two northbound freight trains, though after dark. One of the trains I watched was pulling 85 cars mostly domestic containers in a single stack mode. Three cars back from the engine was a passenger car, a setup which seems common in this region. I'm guessing that it is for train crew because for the most part the line traverses very sparsely populated country where crew changes could otherwise be a problem. You can just make out the passenger carriage one car behind the locomotive in photo below.

The train in the first photo was caught after a lengthy chase just west of Port Augusta. It must have been doing about 60 mph and I never managed to get a good shot. I'm guessing from the consist that this train was heading for Perth, some 1,500 miles to the west.

The second photo has shots take near the Port Augusta yard.

I never saw any tanker cars but did see a number of tanker road trains, 62 wheel behemoths, heading for Alice Springs which made me wonder if bulk fuel is transported by road not rail. On the face of it this seems odd. See third photo.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/15 02:39 by mukinduri.

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At remote locations even  on minor roads rail crossings are well signposted, even so further warning is sometimes provided. Sometimes roadsigns provide some pretty basic additional advice. See next two photos.

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In the first photo the flat car imediately behind the locos with the two 20' ISO tanks is the locos fuel supply

http://www.refuelin.com/products/innovative-systems/rail-connect-system-inline-refuelling/
http://www.selectron.ch/en/news/newsletter/themen/newsletter-3-2014/locomotive-inline-refuelling-system.php


 

Thanks for the info about the refuelling tanks. I've never seen this system before. I wonder if it's used elsewhere besides Austalia.

The "Drive on Left in Australia" sign is interesting.
As far as I know, Australia's Northern Territories have few highway regulations.
There is an interesting "cottage industry" between Canada and Australia. Full size North American pickup trucks are not easily available in Australia, and some Australian States require they be converted to right hand drive at a cost of about $10,000. However, the Northern Territories have no such regulation.
There are many ex-pat Australians living in Canada. When a vehicle has 17,000 kms on the odometer, and is owned by an Australian or New Zealand citizen, it is considered used in terms of import duties to Australia. What takes place is that an Australian in Canada buys a Ford,GMC or Dodge pickup, drives it until it has 17,000 miles on the clock, puts it in a container bound for Australia and a "friend"  buys it when it arrives in Oz. Sometimes there is a return movement involving gently used Toyota 4x4 vans and mini-buses not available on the North American market.

BC has no restriction on right hand drive vehicles, so there are lots of hippies driving strange looking vehicles with large mirrors here.



 

I think the "drive on the left" sign is for the benefit of European and American tourists. Many tourists fly to remote attractions such as Urulu (formerly Ayer's Rock) and rent a vehicle. With very little other traffic on the roads to provide a visual cue I assume that some tourists have pulled onto the road and started driving on the wrong side. These signs are placed immediately after every roadside rest area in the Urulu area.

mukinduri Wrote:
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> I think the "drive on the left" sign is for the
> benefit of European and American tourists. Many
> tourists fly to remote attractions such as Urulu
> (formerly Ayer's Rock) and rent a vehicle. With
> very little other traffic on the roads to provide
> a visual cue I assume that some tourists have
> pulled onto the road and started driving on the
> wrong side. These signs are placed immediately
> after every roadside rest area in the Urulu area.

Many a 'rent-a-vehicle' has been involved in head-on collisions in these parts of Australia.

Michael McInerney
Marion, South Australia,

Boy, can I relate to being a "tourist" and forgetting to change lanes when entering a former Commonwealth country.

I drove to India from (West) Germany in 1967 via the Khyber Pass in a 1963 VW.  I spent the night at Torkham, just inside of Afghanistan, and set out at morning's first light through the Pass into Pakistan.

As I rounded the second curve, I spotted a large military truck headed right for me in MY lane.  As the distance between our vehicles diminished I could see the truck driver waiving his hands and then he began blowing his horn and flashing his lights

I was thinking to myself, okay... is this guy just being a jerk and playing a game of "chicken" or is he just trying to kill me.

When our vehicles were about a hundred feet apart, I suddenly had a flash in my brain that, hey, Pakistan has left-hand driving  -- duh!

So at the very last second before the head-on, I did a quick maneuver into the left lane as the truck blasted by in a cloud of smoke and dust, with the driver's clenched fist waiving at me as we passed.

I never again forgot which lane was which... LOL.

-- Greg



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/12/15 22:36 by E25.

Greg, I'm getting off topic here but your story reminds me of a near death experience which still haunts me. As you note, Pakistani truck drivers would rather have a head on collision than give way.

I had left before dawn to drive from Islamabad to Peshawar. There was little traffic on the road. There was just a hint of morning light. An oncoming truck was dazzling me with his high beam headlights so I just focused on the two red lights ahead of me in my lane which I took to be the tail lights of a vehicle in front of me. I was closing in fast on the tail lights so I assumed the vehicle ahead must be moving slowly or stopped. I slowed down but I still the red lights were getting close very quickly. I braked hard but the lights kept getting closer. I couldn't understand what was happening. Just before hitting the red "tail lights" I instinctively swerved off the road onto the grass  (luckily no tree of ditch at that point) as a truck which was overtaking the first truck zoomed past missing me by inch. The overtaking truck had the two decorative red lights in front. Its headlights were tuned off and I couldn't see the truck because I was dazzled by the first truck.

I realized as I sat in quaking in my car that I had automatically assumed that red lights means a vehicle is moving away from you or stationary. A dangerous assumption.

Speaking of accidents a newly arrive colleague In Islamabad has a minor accident with taxi which was driving without lights. the taxi driver said he had turned his lights off to save money.

Or the accident which happened before my time in Pakistan, again on the Peshawar-Islamabad highway. A farmer had loaded some lengths of rail onto his bullock cart and was crossing the road after dark. A car with four Australians in it hit the overhanging rail. All were decapitated.

Greg,so I'm glad to learn you obviously made it out of Pakistan alive.

BTW I just saw the movie "Last Taxi to Darwin". An excellent movie with many central Australian railway scenes as backdrop. Recommended

You are so right about light traffic causing problems for tourists.  A couple of years ago we flew into Auckland hopped in the rental car and drove to Russell.  No problem staying in the correct lane in the heavy traffic.  The further north we went the less traffic but I was still doing good.  We decided to take a break and turned onto a residential street with no traffic, after a few seconds my wife said, "you know you are on the wrong side of the street."  Thankfully, no Kiwi's were harmed as I drove through their country.

mukinduri Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think the "drive on the left" sign is for the
> benefit of European and American tourists. Many
> tourists fly to remote attractions such as Urulu
> (formerly Ayer's Rock) and rent a vehicle. With
> very little other traffic on the roads to provide
> a visual cue I assume that some tourists have
> pulled onto the road and started driving on the
> wrong side. These signs are placed immediately
> after every roadside rest area in the Urulu area.

Great story, mukinduri, and thanks for the movie recommendation.

BTW, in India, I found the water buffalo to be a huge problem on country roads (... i.e., most of India, at least in 1967).  At night they would just plod slowly out onto the road with their nose held high and not caring about what the traffic situation was.  No "running lights", bells, horns or anything to warn an unsuspecting driver.  And it was almost always "lights out" if you hit one.  Especially in a VW.  Basically, just like running into a locomotive boiler sitting on a pair of 3-foot-high "shop supports."

Cheers,

-- Greg



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/15 16:33 by E25.