G’day. After posting the video, I had a discussion with “Barcoola”. He informed me that I was a bit inaccurate in saying that the Commonwealth Railways (C.R.) was closed and replaced by the Australian National Railways Commission (ANRC). A more accurate description is that the C.R. was restructured and renamed the ANRC. This occurred on the 1st of July 1975, and not in 1976 as I stated, however, the date for the effective closure of the NAR I stated in the video is correct. Since posting our video, we’ve also found a short video by the Friends of the North Australia Railway which is called Back to Birdum. While it is more about the members day out and operating gangers trollies, there is one scene where the water tower is shown. Here’s a link to the video th-cam.com/video/Zz4xnsUHV3k/w-d-xo.html Cheers Doug.
Gentlemen, what a brilliant and thoroughly entertaining video on the NAR..... I just loved those scenes with the old rail carriages, the NSU loco's and the old remains of the rail tracks . many many thanks again gentlemen. gerhard , eltham, victoria
Your presentation is excellent! I love the side bar with camera direction. It's something I've never seen before, but it makes everything crystal clear. Thanks.
Maybe not completely relevant, but my wife and I drove to Alice from Melbourne in 2015 in the trusty VZ Commodore. I was talking to the guy who ran the BP servo in Coober Pedy and he told me that the new SG line to Darwin had cut a massive 500 kilometres off the journey from Adelaide to Darwin!
What a treate to watch this video of N.A.R. and Larrimah. As a Norwegian doing research hopefully yet for another trip down under, I find your video very interesting and informative. There are hidden gems all over and Larrimah with its history are one of my points of interests to where I would love to spend a week exploring. Thank you for posting, you have put a lot of effort into this and it came out excellent. Well done, Helge
Hi Helge, Thanks for your kind words. Glad to hear that the video is being viewed around the world, very nice. If you’re going to visit Darwin and the rest of the top end, do so during the middle of the year during the dry season. The wet season around Christmas is very humid and uncomfortable. I hope you enjoy your trip. Our visit to Larrimah wasn’t planned. Since doing this video, if I was to go back, I’d spend a lot more time looking around Larrimah and make the effort to go to Birdum now that I know what I missed.
@@DougRail Mate, thank you for responding. I've done Darwin a few times and you are spot on. There are this outback kinda free camping or BLM land in the area around Mataranka , its situated on the right side turn off when coming from Alice. I once bumped into an older gentleman there - telling him I was about to return to Brisbane for some gathering and then later on returning to the Northern Territory having a go at one of the national parks there. He looked at me and told me straight out - then Mate, I'm not here due to humigation and you won't be here ether. I did not understand at the moment. I had recently done the Cape doing the old Telly going up - then the developmental road going back down again and honestly it was a breeze . Even the Gunshot where pretty low on water. I tell you this- as a Viking used to lower temperature like 25 or more below zero Celsius, I'm pretty familiar with higher temperatures as well. Like one time riding my bike from Coober Pedy and my thermometer gave me the chills at 54'C In the sun of course - but what I'm trying to say that my body cope rather well after a day or two in the heat. This time I hadn't met the nasty two, the temperature and the humidity - together. Boy - was I put in place.I rode my bike from Alice to Mataranka in one day. Temperature where rather nice when leaving but finally at arrival I took my helmet off- nobody there. It was wicked as anything - deserted, no sound, light or any sign of humans - nothing, just me the frogs and the Roo's having a go at this place. Then it hit me - big time. The humidity and the temperature nearly knocked me off the bike. It is a very unpleasant place to be during the rainy season - another lesson learned as the older gentleman where indeed just right. I was in need of a go with the washing machine, I put my clothes on the hanger out in the sun to dry out. After 3 days - they where still wet due to the humidity . I ended up wearing them wet - walked them dry as the humidity was that bad and even hanging in the sun during daytime wasn't enough. Mate, your country is my favorite place of travel. I have done more than 80.000km on my bike and have been fortunate to have been able to stay periods of six months at the time.. I love the outback, the people and the smell of the desert - Australia is just one of its kind, fair dinkum. Thank's Mate for posting and again thank you for making the doku, I will have have a go at Larrimah as there are to much history to the place not to give it a visit. Best regards, Helge
@@helgaairhead Hi Helge, Hell, you know more about this part of the world than I do!! That humidity has to be experienced to be appreciated. It’s the only time I have felt dryer having a shower, than out of it!! I hope you get to Larrimah. The whole area between Larrimah and Darwin is particularly interesting. Cheers
@Doug Rail - Rado Mate, you'r dead on with the humidity - it has to be experienced especially for us living on top of the globe to really understand the effect it can have and cause during rain season. To me it was a shocker and one episode comes to mind - I was trying to get a hold of myself staying in the pool belonging to one of the caravan parks in Coober Pedy. I started to walk on the dry hot tiles and as my wet feet started to dry the heat from the tiles hit me big time causing me to turn around and desperately running back for me life - aiming for the pool again. Same up in Litchfield National Park - the heat and humidity was so bad I had more than enough coping with life. I have visited the Tree Ways and Daily Waters pub ( where all the ID's and nicker's where hanging as witnesses of a good time Down Under) - but again never Larrimah. On one of my trips from Alice to the Gold Coast I decided to take the Plenty Hgw yet again. At this stage I had done the Plenty two times on Helgaairhead , my Norwegian girl with 43l HPN petrol tank - this time i was riding my Aussie girlfriend which only provided me with 32 l petrol and some 14l of water. I was in a hurry ( normally at this time of the year i would have taken the paved road from Tree Ways going east) and drove from my favorite caravan park in Alice up to where the A87 turns right into the Plenty and just gave it a go. I had to stop at the Jervois Station Roadhouse for fuel. The woman there looked at me and said - you are the Norwegian, aren't you? Well, mam, yes I am. We have met two times before and she replied - you'r not going to Boulia , are you?. I told here so and she replied that there is nothing between here and Boulia as Toobermoorey have closed they're petrol pumps. What's the k's on your tank?. About 500 I replied -she put here eyes into me, shaking her head telling me there is 465 km between us and Boulia - sure you wanna go Mate?. ended up me baying some more petrol, filling up whatever can I had and she told me that the road had been closed for months due to rain and the wet season up north and no one have been trough the Plenty since they closed it when the rain season started.. Road condition unknown. I grabbed my fuel, my gps, sat-phone an my PLB - thank'd here for here support and just went on with my exploring. We made this deal that I had to call here within two days which would put me att Boulia or before if need bee. I had my rented sat-phone, plenty of water and newly served bike with extra fuel - as long as I where driving on the road according to condition - within the time set , I should be fine. I started a string on the GPS and compared to the map and they where k's apart from each other. What a shocker. It made me sober there and then. No room for gearshift in that episode I tell ya. I had to spend the night on the Plenty hgw, out in the bush with my Billy and my swag - a wonderful meeting with the shooting stars whilst laying in the warm desert sand connected to mother earth. What a feeling and lucky me to actually being able to meet all this nice people and they're culture, what a treat. Next day I packed the bike and headed for the border. After some hours of riding trough some magnificent terrain I finally met up with some road workers which where pretty surprised to see me chugging along - alone. We ended up having tee - talking about the road condition and they're hard work fighting the corrugation. I then told them about the old Telly and all the corrugation on the developmental road up towards the Cape - how it where chewing up suspension, leaving all sorts of vehicles beside the roads for dead. Now I have to stop writing, otherwise I would be sitting here pestering everybody with my travels Down Under- for a very long time. Thank you - all of you Aussies that took care of me and where a big part of my adventures Down Under. And yes - I did call here about my whereabouts. Blessings from Norway, Helge
Excellent and well produced video! As a Pom who has been lucky enough to visit downunder several times, I have never managed to get to the NT or to see what remains of the old NAR. So it was great to see how much remains at Larrimah and to hear your informative narrative. Many thanks for posting.
This was absolutely fascinating! I drive through Larrimah each way every week doing 2up road trains. You would never know any of that is there from the road.
Excellent video, I really enjoyed the history segment on Birdum, we have a lot of abandoned and forgotten railways in NSW too, history vanishing before our eyes. Out of sight out of mind? Great coverage of Larrimah too, overall top narration. I did The Ghan round trip to Darwin in 2019 which was most enjoyable. Thank you for the history revival!
Hi Diesel Dave Trains, Thanks for your positive comment. I am glad you enjoyed the video, particularly the historical parts, it’s the part that I enjoyed the most. The history of the NAR is fascinating and little known. It deserves a longer video in its own right. I also appreciate your comment about the narration. I’m still learning and trying to improve on that. And yes, out of sight is out of mind, and probably part of the reason why the history of Australian railways is not well covered on TH-cam. Cheers, Doug
@@DougRail All my video posts have a history of the location, amazing how many people actually appreciate that as I thought I was wasting my time and they are only interested in locomotive data. Good value Doug!
Very interesting video, a bit of the history and some trains. We're planning to be on the Ghan in almost exactly 2 years for our 15th wedding anniversary and then spenda few weeks driving back to Adelaide before flying back to NZ. I will be looking at more of your videos, Anthony.
@@DougRail November 1 is our anniversary, for our 10th we were on the Savannahlander. A quick Google calls November as "the build up." Hopefully in the next 2 years i can find some live train tracking software plus timetables and photograph/video some trains on the way back. Anthony
I travelled on the old Ghan from Marree to Alice in 1979 but regretfully the NAR was before my time. I also regret not travelling on the chaser which was a mixed and had an end platform carriage and pulled by an NSU. I also didn’t travel on the Tea and Sugar train which was listed on the public timetable at the Port Pirie station as a “Slow Mixed”. I recall at the time through passengers were not allowed, you had to travel to an intermediate station.
Hi Daryl, Wow, Marree to Alice in 1979! That would have been some trip. Great memories to have. I hope you took some photos. Pity about the other trips you missed out on. They’re all history now.
@@DougRail Yeah, I have some photos, they are slides. It ran at something like 12mph for 500 miles, I left Marree on Monday about 3am (late) and arrived at Alice Wednesday around 1pm or so. I remember the train had a high water mark from the floods and the sides of the track was lined with beer cans and twisted rails from earlier incidents. Instead of clackity-clack-clackity-clack-clackity-clack, it was more like ta-da-dum……ta-da-dum……ta-da-dum… It rocked like a boat. The meals were excellent and the aircon was good. The loco was a single NT65 called “Gordon Freeth”. Many of the rollingstock had the cursive CR logo.
At the Tennant Creek show in either 1984 or 85, I was one of 3 winners of a trip on the new line which was due to begin construction later that year. Lucky I didn't wait! Paul Everingham (chief minister) and local member Ian Tuxworth were promising the lines completion in 4 years. The issue was simple, the route that was chosen went through so many sacred sites, the line was never going to leave Alice! It is in fact one of the reasons the trains are so far out of Tennant and Katherine, with too many hurdles in the towns. Still laugh when you see a globe and Birdum is clearly on the map!
That’s politicians for you. Make the announcement then sort out the details later. I’m just thankful that the standard gauge to Darwin got built at all.
@@DougRail A lot more politically than that, Hawke told Everingham that the Commonwealth would partially fund the railway from Alice to Darwin (50 per cent) at the completion of the Alice springs standard gauge line, Everingham demanded that the Commonwealth pay for it all. while we often hear the Sacred sites furphy, this was before Mabo and was literally not a gamechanger at that time. The joke is that it cost the NT Government much more money in the long run than if Everingham had have paid for it, and the Federal Labor Government would have increased the NT Budget which at the time it was almost 100 percent funding anyway to allow for the Payment of the railway! It should be noted the Federal Government spent millions. upgrading the Stuart Highway during that time period I suggest you also look at the railway yard disaster where they had a runaway ore train in the Darwin port area November 1972. Photos are rare as the Commonwealth Railways tried to cover it up, going to the extent of confiscating employee photos! The railway was shutdown by the Frazer Razor gang as a cost cutting exercise. My schoolfriends can vividly remember a school excursion where they caught the train from Darwin to Katherine in 1972/3 where the train trundled along so slowly that one could jump of the back carriage rub alongside the train and climb back in the front carriage.
You may like to know that the RAAF transported the NSU engines to larimah in 1956 to haul rock from their quarry 45 miles from Darwin and the wagons came from Queensland.I wasthere to help unload the first of many trains.
Hi Ronald, Thanks for your comment. I knew about the quarry work for the RAAF, but had forgotten about the RAAF being involved in delivering the NSUs to Larrimah. Thanks again for leaving a comment. Cheers Doug
As I am only used to North American railroading, I was curious about the two passenger cars behind the locos on the freight that you caught switching in a small town. Are these mixed trains that passengers can buy a ticket for? I enjoyed the video very much!
Hi Marty, Those are crew cars. There are two sets of drivers. On pair drive while the other crew rest up. They charge over about every eight hours l think. The crew cars are not available for the public to ride on. Why there were two on this train is unknown to me. Possibly it was an empty movement. There was military equipment being railed to Darwin at the time of our trip so they may have been bringing an empty crew car up to Darwin ready for the Army guys to use on the return trip, but that's only a guess on my part. Cheers Doug
Sorry Noel, I have no idea. These things are done through brokers. The brokers would try to consolidate your goods with other goods they needed to ship. Depending on what was being shipped, they would try and consolidate the loads of several customers into one container. If you literally owned your own personal 20 foot container that you wanted to ship from Sydney to Perth, that might be quite difficult to organise as a one off shipment. In fact, they may not be interested in doing it, or they might treat your container as a “load” and place it on one of their own container flats, like they might do for shipping a large piece of machinery. As to the cost, I’d suggest it would cost you several thousand dollars, but that’s only a guess on my part. A broker would probably be paying a lot less than that to ship one of his containers but in turn they may well be supplying all the containers on a particular train so that would drive the unit cost down. This is quite a complex topic, and I only have a very basis, layman’s understanding of it.
G’day. After posting the video, I had a discussion with “Barcoola”. He informed me that I was a bit inaccurate in saying that the Commonwealth Railways (C.R.) was closed and replaced by the Australian National Railways Commission (ANRC). A more accurate description is that the C.R. was restructured and renamed the ANRC. This occurred on the 1st of July 1975, and not in 1976 as I stated, however, the date for the effective closure of the NAR I stated in the video is correct.
Since posting our video, we’ve also found a short video by the Friends of the North Australia Railway which is called Back to Birdum. While it is more about the members day out and operating gangers trollies, there is one scene where the water tower is shown. Here’s a link to the video th-cam.com/video/Zz4xnsUHV3k/w-d-xo.html
Cheers Doug.
Gentlemen, what a brilliant and thoroughly entertaining video on the NAR..... I just loved those scenes with the old rail carriages, the NSU loco's and the old remains of the rail tracks . many many thanks again gentlemen. gerhard , eltham, victoria
Great video. Well done Doug! 🙂
Your presentation is excellent! I love the side bar with camera direction. It's something I've never seen before, but it makes everything crystal clear. Thanks.
Maybe not completely relevant, but my wife and I drove to Alice from Melbourne in 2015 in the trusty VZ Commodore. I was talking to the guy who ran the BP servo in Coober Pedy and he told me that the new SG line to Darwin had cut a massive 500 kilometres off the journey from Adelaide to Darwin!
What a treate to watch this video of N.A.R. and Larrimah. As a Norwegian doing research hopefully yet for another trip down under, I find your video very interesting and informative. There are hidden gems all over and Larrimah with its history are one of my points of interests to where I would love to spend a week exploring.
Thank you for posting, you have put a lot of effort into this and it came out excellent.
Well done,
Helge
Hi Helge, Thanks for your kind words. Glad to hear that the video is being viewed around the world, very nice. If you’re going to visit Darwin and the rest of the top end, do so during the middle of the year during the dry season. The wet season around Christmas is very humid and uncomfortable. I hope you enjoy your trip.
Our visit to Larrimah wasn’t planned. Since doing this video, if I was to go back, I’d spend a lot more time looking around Larrimah and make the effort to go to Birdum now that I know what I missed.
@@DougRail Mate, thank you for responding. I've done Darwin a few times and you are spot on. There are this outback kinda free camping or BLM land in the area around Mataranka , its situated on the right side turn off when coming from Alice. I once bumped into an older gentleman there - telling him I was about to return to Brisbane for some gathering and then later on returning to the Northern Territory having a go at one of the national parks there. He looked at me and told me straight out - then Mate, I'm not here due to humigation and you won't be here ether. I did not understand at the moment. I had recently done the Cape doing the old Telly going up - then the developmental road going back down again and honestly it was a breeze . Even the Gunshot where pretty low on water. I tell you this- as a Viking used to lower temperature like 25 or more below zero Celsius, I'm pretty familiar with higher temperatures as well. Like one time riding my bike from Coober Pedy and my thermometer gave me the chills at 54'C In the sun of course - but what I'm trying to say that my body cope rather well after a day or two in the heat.
This time I hadn't met the nasty two, the temperature and the humidity - together. Boy - was I put in place.I rode my bike from Alice to Mataranka in one day. Temperature where rather nice when leaving but finally at arrival I took my helmet off- nobody there. It was wicked as anything - deserted, no sound, light or any sign of humans - nothing, just me the frogs and the Roo's having a go at this place. Then it hit me - big time. The humidity and the temperature nearly knocked me off the bike. It is a very unpleasant place to be during the rainy season - another lesson learned as the older gentleman where indeed just right. I was in need of a go with the washing machine, I put my clothes on the hanger out in the sun to dry out. After 3 days - they where still wet due to the humidity . I ended up wearing them wet - walked them dry as the humidity was that bad and even hanging in the sun during daytime wasn't enough. Mate, your country is my favorite place of travel. I have done more than 80.000km on my bike and have been fortunate to have been able to stay periods of six months at the time.. I love the outback, the people and the smell of the desert - Australia is just one of its kind, fair dinkum.
Thank's Mate for posting and again thank you for making the doku, I will have have a go at Larrimah as there are to much history to the place not to give it a visit.
Best regards,
Helge
@@helgaairhead Hi Helge, Hell, you know more about this part of the world than I do!! That humidity has to be experienced to be appreciated. It’s the only time I have felt dryer having a shower, than out of it!!
I hope you get to Larrimah. The whole area between Larrimah and Darwin is particularly interesting.
Cheers
@Doug Rail - Rado Mate, you'r dead on with the humidity - it has to be experienced especially for us living on top of the globe to really understand the effect it can have and cause during rain season. To me it was a shocker and one episode comes to mind - I was trying to get a hold of myself staying in the pool belonging to one of the caravan parks in Coober Pedy. I started to walk on the dry hot tiles and as my wet feet started to dry the heat from the tiles hit me big time causing me to turn around and desperately running back for me life - aiming for the pool again. Same up in Litchfield National Park - the heat and humidity was so bad I had more than enough coping with life.
I have visited the Tree Ways and Daily Waters pub ( where all the ID's and nicker's where hanging as witnesses of a good time Down Under) - but again never Larrimah.
On one of my trips from Alice to the Gold Coast I decided to take the Plenty Hgw yet again. At this stage I had done the Plenty two times on Helgaairhead , my Norwegian girl with 43l HPN petrol tank - this time i was riding my Aussie girlfriend which only provided me with 32 l petrol and some 14l of water. I was in a hurry ( normally at this time of the year i would have taken the paved road from Tree Ways going east) and drove from my favorite caravan park in Alice up to where the A87 turns right into the Plenty and just gave it a go. I had to stop at the Jervois Station Roadhouse for fuel. The woman there looked at me and said - you are the Norwegian, aren't you? Well, mam, yes I am. We have met two times before and she replied - you'r not going to Boulia , are you?. I told here so and she replied that there is nothing between here and Boulia as Toobermoorey have closed they're petrol pumps. What's the k's on your tank?. About 500 I replied -she put here eyes into me, shaking her head telling me there is 465 km between us and Boulia - sure you wanna go Mate?.
ended up me baying some more petrol, filling up whatever can I had and she told me that the road had been closed for months due to rain and the wet season up north and no one have been trough the Plenty since they closed it when the rain season started.. Road condition unknown. I grabbed my fuel, my gps, sat-phone an my PLB - thank'd here for here support and just went on with my exploring. We made this deal that I had to call here within two days which would put me att Boulia or before if need bee. I had my rented sat-phone, plenty of water and newly served bike with extra fuel - as long as I where driving on the road according to condition - within the time set , I should be fine. I started a string on the GPS and compared to the map and they where k's apart from each other. What a shocker.
It made me sober there and then. No room for gearshift in that episode I tell ya. I had to spend the night on the Plenty hgw, out in the bush with my Billy and my swag - a wonderful meeting with the shooting stars whilst laying in the warm desert sand connected to mother earth. What a feeling and lucky me to actually being able to meet all this nice people and they're culture, what a treat. Next day I packed the bike and headed for the border. After some hours of riding trough some magnificent terrain I finally met up with some road workers which where pretty surprised to see me chugging along - alone. We ended up having tee - talking about the road condition and they're hard work fighting the corrugation. I then told them about the old Telly and all the corrugation on the developmental road up towards the Cape - how it where chewing up suspension, leaving all sorts of vehicles beside the roads for dead.
Now I have to stop writing, otherwise I would be sitting here pestering everybody with my travels Down Under- for a very long time.
Thank you - all of you Aussies that took care of me and where a big part of my adventures Down Under.
And yes - I did call here about my whereabouts.
Blessings from Norway,
Helge
Great video. Never realized just how expansive Australia is.
Excellent and well produced video! As a Pom who has been lucky enough to visit downunder several times, I have never managed to get to the NT or to see what remains of the old NAR. So it was great to see how much remains at Larrimah and to hear your informative narrative. Many thanks for posting.
Hi Barney. Glad you enjoyed the video. It's also great to know it's getting views outside Australia.
Cheers Doug
This was absolutely fascinating! I drive through Larrimah each way every week doing 2up road trains. You would never know any of that is there from the road.
nice work there Doug Rail inspirational bit on Larrimah NT
Excellent video Doug. Extremely informative.
Thanks Ezra, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Cheers Doug
Excellent video, I really enjoyed the history segment on Birdum, we have a lot of abandoned and forgotten railways in NSW too, history vanishing before our eyes. Out of sight out of mind? Great coverage of Larrimah too, overall top narration. I did The Ghan round trip to Darwin in 2019 which was most enjoyable. Thank you for the history revival!
Hi Diesel Dave Trains,
Thanks for your positive comment. I am glad you enjoyed the video, particularly the historical parts, it’s the part that I enjoyed the most. The history of the NAR is fascinating and little known. It deserves a longer video in its own right. I also appreciate your comment about the narration. I’m still learning and trying to improve on that. And yes, out of sight is out of mind, and probably part of the reason why the history of Australian railways is not well covered on TH-cam.
Cheers, Doug
@@DougRail All my video posts have a history of the location, amazing how many people actually appreciate that as I thought I was wasting my time and they are only interested in locomotive data. Good value Doug!
Cool thanks mate
Very interesting video, a bit of the history and some trains.
We're planning to be on the Ghan in almost exactly 2 years for our 15th wedding anniversary and then spenda few weeks driving back to Adelaide before flying back to NZ.
I will be looking at more of your videos,
Anthony.
Hi Anthony. Glad you enjoyed it. I think you'll really enjoy your trip. Make sure you go in the dry season. Darwin is great place.
@@DougRail November 1 is our anniversary, for our 10th we were on the Savannahlander. A quick Google calls November as "the build up."
Hopefully in the next 2 years i can find some live train tracking software plus timetables and photograph/video some trains on the way back. Anthony
my dad back in the early 2000's late 1990's used to drive the old Ghan on the line.
and eventually we will be on a trip back to Alice springs.
Hi Aussie Gamer, It’s a trip every Aussie should do at least once, even better if you can do it on the GHAN. Cheers
@@DougRail i agree but you can't travel at the moment can you.
if your in Act and you want to travel but you can't. one day we will get there
I travelled on the old Ghan from Marree to Alice in 1979 but regretfully the NAR was before my time. I also regret not travelling on the chaser which was a mixed and had an end platform carriage and pulled by an NSU.
I also didn’t travel on the Tea and Sugar train which was listed on the public timetable at the Port Pirie station as a “Slow Mixed”. I recall at the time through passengers were not allowed, you had to travel to an intermediate station.
Hi Daryl, Wow, Marree to Alice in 1979! That would have been some trip. Great memories to have. I hope you took some photos. Pity about the other trips you missed out on. They’re all history now.
@@DougRail Yeah, I have some photos, they are slides. It ran at something like 12mph for 500 miles, I left Marree on Monday about 3am (late) and arrived at Alice Wednesday around 1pm or so. I remember the train had a high water mark from the floods and the sides of the track was lined with beer cans and twisted rails from earlier incidents. Instead of clackity-clack-clackity-clack-clackity-clack, it was more like ta-da-dum……ta-da-dum……ta-da-dum… It rocked like a boat. The meals were excellent and the aircon was good. The loco was a single NT65 called “Gordon Freeth”. Many of the rollingstock had the cursive CR logo.
At the Tennant Creek show in either 1984 or 85, I was one of 3 winners of a trip on the new line which was due to begin construction later that year. Lucky I didn't wait! Paul Everingham (chief minister) and local member Ian Tuxworth were promising the lines completion in 4 years. The issue was simple, the route that was chosen went through so many sacred sites, the line was never going to leave Alice! It is in fact one of the reasons the trains are so far out of Tennant and Katherine, with too many hurdles in the towns. Still laugh when you see a globe and Birdum is clearly on the map!
That’s politicians for you. Make the announcement then sort out the details later. I’m just thankful that the standard gauge to Darwin got built at all.
@@DougRail A lot more politically than that, Hawke told Everingham that the Commonwealth would partially fund the railway from Alice to Darwin (50 per cent) at the completion of the Alice springs standard gauge line, Everingham demanded that the Commonwealth pay for it all. while we often hear the Sacred sites furphy, this was before Mabo and was literally not a gamechanger at that time. The joke is that it cost the NT Government much more money in the long run than if Everingham had have paid for it, and the Federal Labor Government would have increased the NT Budget which at the time it was almost 100 percent funding anyway to allow for the Payment of the railway! It should be noted the Federal Government spent millions. upgrading the Stuart Highway during that time period I suggest you also look at the railway yard disaster where they had a runaway ore train in the Darwin port area November 1972. Photos are rare as the Commonwealth Railways tried to cover it up, going to the extent of confiscating employee photos! The railway was shutdown by the Frazer Razor gang as a cost cutting exercise. My schoolfriends can vividly remember a school excursion where they caught the train from Darwin to Katherine in 1972/3 where the train trundled along so slowly that one could jump of the back carriage rub alongside the train and climb back in the front carriage.
A nice little video
Thanks Robert, I'm glad you enjoyed the video
Rather like the term “A sudden gust of gravity.”
Fascinating walk through the history of the railway. What make are the trucks shown at 09:45 and 11:23? Thanks.
Hi Harry, I'm not a truck person but it may be a Foden of some description possibly a S20 with what looks like a steel cab sleeper.
Cheer's Doug
@@DougRail Hi Doug. Yes, I think you're right, the badge shape on the front grille is 1960s Foden.
You may like to know that the RAAF transported the NSU engines to larimah in 1956 to haul rock from their quarry 45 miles from Darwin and the wagons came from Queensland.I wasthere to help unload the first of many trains.
Hi Ronald,
Thanks for your comment. I knew about the quarry work for the RAAF, but had forgotten about the RAAF being involved in delivering the NSUs to Larrimah.
Thanks again for leaving a comment.
Cheers Doug
As I am only used to North American railroading, I was curious about the two passenger cars behind the locos on the freight that you caught switching in a small town. Are these mixed trains that passengers can buy a ticket for? I enjoyed the video very much!
Hi Marty, Those are crew cars. There are two sets of drivers. On pair drive while the other crew rest up. They charge over about every eight hours l think.
The crew cars are not available for the public to ride on. Why there were two on this train is unknown to me. Possibly it was an empty movement. There was military equipment being railed to Darwin at the time of our trip so they may have been bringing an empty crew car up to Darwin ready for the Army guys to use on the return trip, but that's only a guess on my part.
Cheers Doug
The 2 Passenger Carriages behind the Locos, one Crew Car would be for the Resting Crew, I say the 2nd Crew Car would've been a Spare in Darwin
What cost to rail a cntainer accross Australia?
Sorry Noel, I have no idea. These things are done through brokers. The brokers would try to consolidate your goods with other goods they needed to ship. Depending on what was being shipped, they would try and consolidate the loads of several customers into one container.
If you literally owned your own personal 20 foot container that you wanted to ship from Sydney to Perth, that might be quite difficult to organise as a one off shipment. In fact, they may not be interested in doing it, or they might treat your container as a “load” and place it on one of their own container flats, like they might do for shipping a large piece of machinery. As to the cost, I’d suggest it would cost you several thousand dollars, but that’s only a guess on my part. A broker would probably be paying a lot less than that to ship one of his containers but in turn they may well be supplying all the containers on a particular train so that would drive the unit cost down. This is quite a complex topic, and I only have a very basis, layman’s understanding of it.