quote:

Originally posted by Ed Bommer:
My trip on Australia's Great Southern "Gahn" from Darwin to Alice Springs in October 2006 seemed quite a bit nicer than the one reported about the "Indian Pacific" between Sydney and Perth.

I had Golden Kangaroo accomodations and was the only US citizen aboard the train that day. The ll bedroom sleeping carriage I was in, built under Budd license in 1970, was immaculate and comfortable. The restaurant carriage (named "Queen Adelaide") was well-appointed. Even the fastidious, late Lucius Beebe would have liked it.

Food was excellent with reasonable portions. There was a choice of three entrees. Aussies tend not to have American-size portions. In general their physiques are also trimmer than ours. A glass of wine was included at no extra cost with dinner, which like breakfast the next day was included with the Golden K fare. Table service was a bit slow though. But where else would one be going on that nearly two-day run to The Alice, with but one other stop along the way? Fascinating to talk with one's tablemates!

In the lounge carriage just before our call to dinner, Golden K passengers were provided with some free Aussie champaign (not bad!) if so desired; juice or a soft drink instead. Breakfast the following morning was quite good: eggs fixed several ways, sausage, toast, jams, juice, coffee (a flat-white, please!) and fruit. It was all far superior to any Amtrak ride I'd taken.

There were 26 cars or carriages as Aussies call them, on the Gahn train I rode. A full baggage, two dormatory, two lounges, three diners, nine coaches and eight sleepers with an auto-rack tacked on beind; rather like the B&O did in the 1960's. Take your car along for and extra $90 AU. It would sure beat driving, as gasoline there at the time was $ 1.25 AU/litre (roughly $5.00 gal/US).

The Gahn cars had US-type knuckle couplers as well as European-style corner buffers. They were also equipped with vacuum brakes. Stops were smooth and quiet. The ride also was incredibly smooth and quiet, running at about 110K/Hr (65 MPH or so) with none of the jostling and noise when passing between cars as one finds in the US.

But then, that rail line between Darwin and the Alice was new, completed in 2002 with concrete ties and welded rail set on rubber pads with heavy tie-down clamps. Termites in northern Australia are quite a thing so railroad ties must be concrete and all poles are steel. No wood.

Two 4,000 HP English-built Clyde-GM diesels were up front. One was used to haul the train. The second unit, not running, rode along as a spare in case of a break-down. This route is a long, lonely, single-track line with very few passing sidings. We spent about three (scheduled) hours waiting in one siding at Katherine NT for several north-bound freights to pass by. Side trips into town or to the national park nearby were available. Teatime was served (no cost to GK passengers) for those who remained on board. Once out of Darwin, the nearest railroad shop is hundreds of miles south at Alice Springs or several more hundred miles yet to Adelaide or Melbourne. "The Gahn" I rode arrived at Alice Springs 15 minutes ahead of time.

In all it was one of the best train trips I had ever taken. The Colonial Restaurant tram in Melbourne was the very best streetcar ride ever for me, but that one's for another time.

Ed Bommer