Introduction:
Just a few years ago, RVR Member, Byron Littlewood, flew out to Australia to visit his family, which also served as an opportunity to explore some of the unique railways in this vast continent.
For our purposes, the aim was to travel from Sydney to Adelaide and Perth on the Indian - Pacific, and then using The Ghan to traverse the continent from Adelaide to Alice Springs and Darwin,
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Prior to each main journey, time was spent visiting the Thirlmere Rail Heritage Centre, and exploring the Zig Zig Railway and Picton - Mittagong Loop Line Railway and several others,
For all these journeys, photographic records were compiled, which RVR are now privileged to reproduce below:
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| Updated 23 Aug 2009 |
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Quick Links:
Indian - Pacific
The Ghan
Zig Zag Railway
Thirlmere Heritage Rail Centre
Picton - Mittagong Loop - Line Railway
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To view information about
Fares, Timetables, Special Promotions, etc
for travel on the
Indian-Pacific, The Ghan, & The Overland
click here
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Sydney - Adelaide - Perth |
Journey Overview
Route: xxxxx Sydney - Adelaide - Perth
Duration:xx x 3 nights in either direction
Distance:xx x 4352 kilometres ( 2720 miles )
Frequency:xx Twice weekly in both directions
Climate Statistics:
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Mean Monthly Temperatures |
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Max ºC |
Min ºC |
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Min (mm) |
| Sydney |
28.3 |
7.8 |
130.6 |
69.4 |
| Adelaide |
29.3 |
7.4 |
80.6 |
12.6 |
| Cook |
33.0 |
4.3 |
18.1 |
12.0 |
| Kalgoorlie |
33.6 |
5.0 |
31.2 |
14.0 |
| Perth |
31.3 |
7.8 |
153.1 |
6.4 |
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The Indian Pacific links two oceans on one of the world's longest and greatest train journeys.
Most of the cruising is across the vast continent of Australia, where the unique landscapes unfold from the spectacular Blue Mountains to the treeless plains of the Nullarbor Desert, along which the train traverses the world's longest straight stretch of railway track (478 kilometres).
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Sydney to Adelaide |
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The iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge.
but unfortunately the Indian-Pacific departs from Sydney Station in the opposite direction and so does not traverse the bridge.
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Sydney Station
Note the Double-Deckers
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Clock at Sydney Station
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Two diesel locomotives used on the Indian - Pacific
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Ready for departure at Sydney |
Examples of double-decker rolling stock |
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Indian - Pacific leaving Sydney Station en-route to Adelaide |
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| Adelaide to Perth |
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Byron with his daughter, Emma, at Adelaide |
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Kangaroo Class Lounge & Bar |
The Kangaroo Gold Dining Car |
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Two views of the arid Nullarbor Plain, once part |
of the sea bed, millions of years ago, according to geologists |
Kalgoorlie at night
Right: Station poster
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At Kalgoorlie, the trains are re-stocked, engines re-fueled, coaches are cleaned, whilst passengers are treated to a tour of the world's largest gold mine, which is opencast.
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Cook has a population of four, which is not uncommon for these interior towns, and which is one of the most isolated of Australian towns.
Cook is over 600 miles from Adelaide, 700 miles from Perth, and there isn't anything in between these two points !!
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At Cook, Byron is pictured at the halfway point of the journey. |
At Cook, locomotives are refuelled, and the train re-stocked |
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Byron pictured at Perth with one of the old mainline steam trains running from Perth to Adelaide.
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The GHAN |
Adelaide - Alice Springs - Darwin
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Journey Overview
Route: xxxxx Adelaide - Alice Springs - Darwin
Duration:xx x 2 nights in either direction
Distance:xx x 2920 km ( 1825 miles )
Frequency:xx Twice weekly in both directions
Climate Statistics:
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Mean Monthly Temperatures |
Mean Monthly Rainfall |
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Max ºC |
Min ºC |
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Min (mm) |
| Sydney |
28.3 |
7.8 |
130.6 |
69.4 |
| Adelaide |
29.3 |
7.4 |
80.6 |
12.6 |
| AliceSprings |
36.4 |
4.0 |
41.3 |
8.1 |
| Darwin |
32.7 |
19.2 |
420.3 |
1.3 |
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The Ghan was originally built about 1930 to link Adelaide with Alice Springs.
The Alice Springs to Darwin extension was completed during 2003, with the first train departing Adelaide on 15 January 2004, and arriving in Darwin on 17 January 2004 with 48 carriages ! |
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Adelaide to Alice Springs
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Postcard |
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At Adelaide Station
Outside the temperature was 45 C - hot!
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Kangaroo Class Lounge & Bar |
Kangaroo Class Dining Car |
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Other view of the Kangaroo Class Lounge & Bar |
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On the approach to Alice Springs |
Alice Springs Station |
Thirlmere Rail Heritage Centre
in the Blue Mountains |
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Zig Zag Railway |
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The Zig Zag Railway is a heritage railway at Lithgow in New South Wales , Australia on the site of the famous Great or Lithgow Zig Zag which operated between 1869 and 1910. As built, the line formed part of the Main West line from Sydney across the Blue Mountains and served to lower the line from its summit into the Lithgow valley on the western flank of the mountains.
In 1975, it was decided to restore the Lithgow Zig Zag as a heritage railway, albeit on a different gauge (3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) instead of the original 4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm)). Rolling stock for the museum thus comes from states other than New South Wales – Queensland and South Australia in particular. This was due to the difficult nature of obtaining standard gauge rollingstock from the NSW Government of the time.
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As of 2005, the railway is operated as the Zig Zag Steam and Diesel Tourist Railway.
The line has gradually been extended:
- Bottom Points (depot) to Top Points.
- Top Points to the first Clarence railway station .
- Clarence to Newnes Junction (under construction in 2008).
In 1944 the tunnel was used to store chemical weapons. [ 1 ]
The railway currently has 4 operational steam locomotives, BB18 1/4 1072 "City of Lithgow", C17 934, DD17 1049 and the most recently restored, AC16 218A.
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Fourteen days prior to the visit, there was a serious bush fire but the overhead cables were replaced with a minimum of delay.
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A burnt-out station in the Blue Mountains |
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The remains of the above burnt-out station in the Blue Mountains |
Ziz Zag Station but no trains call |
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Whilst crossing the Blue Mountains, the Indian-Pacific passes close to the Ziz Zag Railway at a lower level.
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Both are pictured above.
The haze is attributed to the forest fires.
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In this shot, the main line is on the lower left, above the tunnel and the ZigZag
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Bottom Points Station
At the approach to the station is Bottom Points Signal Box . This signal box was formerly beside the main line not far from the main line Zig Zag Platform. It was gradually leaning towards the main line because of vibration from heavy coal trains. NSW State Rail sold the signal box to Zig Zag Railway for a dollar in the early 1990s and it was moved to the present site. Previously it had been moved from an earlier site to its site beside the main line.
Bottom Points Station is at an altitude of 994m. (3260'), the difference between Bottom Points and Top Points being 31m. (102'), and the difference between Bottom Points and Clarence being 121m. (398').
Down the hill is the Zig Zag Railway Depot where engines and carriages are maintained and overhauled. Visitors are welcome to walk around the Depot but are asked to remain on the designated paths, and not climb on any of the equipment.
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