New at my Patreon... From Brisbane's Roma Street Station, I travelled 1,325km into western Queensland aboard a classic sleeper train - the Spirit of the Outback:
Made it to Longreach aboard the Spirit of the Outback, hooray! Great journey, even arrived early. Will be writing about the experience for the patrons of my Patreon, feel free to join: https://www.patreon.com/timrichards
Brief stop at Emerald Station aboard the Spirit of the Outback train. Enough time to step out and walk around. Beautiful old timber station, very well preserved considering it only sees two passenger trains each way, each week.
Good morning from the Sprit of the Outback train! Somewhere west of Rockhampton, heading for Longreach. Here's the dining car just before breakfast this morning - note the rustic corrugated iron ceiling.
OK all, I'm off on this long sleeper train to the outback Queensland town of Longreach (about 26 hours travel). I'll be writing up the experience in detail for the lovely patrons of my Patreon, so please feel free to join the gang. :) https://www.patreon.com/timrichards
New at my Patreon... An old sleeper train carriage on a section of track next to Violet Town railway station summons memories of a terrible tragedy of the past:
New at my Patreon... I spent two days in the middle of nowhere, rolling across the Nullarbor Plain aboard the Indian Pacific train. Here's what it was like:
New at my Patreon... Travelling on the Indian Pacific train through the locality of Ooldea, I managed to snap a photo of a monument to a great rail achievement:
Here we go! I'm off to Perth on the Indian Pacific, two days through the desert and lots of lazy time reading and eating. :) Will write this experience up next week at my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/timrichards
Now free for all to read... I board the Winelander, a heritage sleeper train exploring wineries in the Goldfields region of Victoria... along with its historic towns:
New at my Patreon... As we approach the end of 2023, I've been counting. I've done a lot of sleeping on sleeper trains this year, and here I recount them all:
A new sleeper service between Berlin and Paris arrived in the French capital on Tuesday 12 December, reflecting a growing drive for night trains as an alternative to short-haul flights.
The 14-hour nocturnal trip from the German to the French capital is to run three times a week, and is scheduled to become daily from October next year.
New at my Patreon... I board the Winelander, a heritage sleeper train exploring wineries in the Goldfields region of Victoria - along with its historic towns:
Now free for all to read... In November I boarded the Grainlander, a heritage train heading to the Mallee region for silo art, movies projected on silos, and art made from spanners:
New at my Patreon... At Muckleford, Victoria, I stood on a platform to see three Y-class locomotives pulling the Winelander train. And I wasn't the only spectator:
New at my Patreon... when I stepped out this morning at Castlemaine Station, I noticed a selection of marvellous heritage rail travel posters - especially this one featuring the Overland. What was the story behind its bold claim?
"Why can’t Australians enjoy such a pleasant way to travel, given sleeper trains are going through a major resurgence in Europe, partly in response to climate change? It’s a good question, and there’s a simple answer: because the New South Wales government doesn’t want you to."
For Traveller, I discuss the impending removal of sleeper trains between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane - and imagine what could exist instead, based on the European experience.
FYI I'll be talking soon on two ABC radio stations about my vanishing sleeper trains article. I'll be on ABC Radio Adelaide around 4pm Adelaide time (4.30pm AEDT), then on ABC Radio Sydney at about 5.15pm AEDT. Links to listen in below:
New at my Patreon... I board the Grainlander, a heritage train heading to the Mallee region for silo art, movies projected on silos, and art made from spanners: