Rolling – on the Indian Pacific from inSYDnificant to PERfection

[jrfsp]

Correct with freight, more demand going west and north with freight charges priced accordingly. Even for cars it’s much cheaper to go south on the ghan or east on the IP

Also @JohnM, unless you see the IP arrive or leave east Perth you probably won’t see the car carriers as they are detached and shunted into the loading bay behind where cars can drive straight off into the car park

 

[JohnM]

Also @JohnM, unless you see the IP arrive or leave east Perth you probably won’t see the car carriers as they are detached and shunted into the loading bay behind where cars can drive straight off into the car park

I know exactly what you mean and I'm familiar with the adjacent location of the car loading dock at the N end of the platform. However, my observation has been that by Sunday morning when the IP is just about ready to roll (scheduled departure is 1000h), the loco is already hitched up and the car wagon - if there is to be one - is hitched between the loco and the first main carriage. That just hasn't been the case of late, leading me to conclude that the ride one way, drive back option is far less popular than it once was.

It was an observation triggered by my ride to PER not hauling a car-carrying wagon.

BTW, when I drove past at 1700h on Saturday the train was absent, so obviously running at least two hours late incoming last week.

 

[OATEK]

Th IP is today languishing in Wagga wagga on quite a cold day. Passengers have had to resort to coaches to complete the journey to Sydney as the Main South is closed due to the flood damage near Cootamundra. The train was sent the long way round from Adelaide to avoid the flooded Broken Hill to Parkes section, but could not get beyond Wagga. No doubt some logistical issues for those heading West on this service.

 

[CaptJCool]

Th IP is today languishing in Wagga wagga on quite a cold day. Passengers have had to resort to coaches to complete the journey to Sydney as the Main South is closed due to the flood damage near Cootamundra. The train was sent the long way round from Adelaide to avoid the flooded Broken Hill to Parkes section, but could not get beyond Wagga. No doubt some logistical issues for those heading West on this service.

A couple of lads took photos of the IP pushing up through the Adelaide Hills and coming off the Murray Bridge railway bridge on the day it was re-routed 1st November...
they’re in a private group so I can probably forward the photos privately if anyone’s into that.

 

[JohnM]

A couple of lads took photos of the IP pushing up through the Adelaide Hills and coming off the Murray Bridge railway bridge on the day it was re-routed 1st November...
they’re in a private group so I can probably forward the photos privately if anyone’s into that.

Yes, please.

 

[antycbr]

Adelaide was noted upthread as the HQ (aka home), but Adelaide itself seems to be minor in the grand scope of the IP being an '...epic transcontinental crossing...' (Official Site of the Indian Pacific | Journey Beyond Rail).

Adelaide is certainly a logical HQ (admin and logistics) for Journey Beyond rail, being in the middle of the continent and for servicing both the IP and The Ghan signature journeys. But the majority of pax seem do the full SYD-PER or PER-SYD journey. Certainly that's how it's most strongly marketed. Only a few pax on my journey got off/on in ADL.

I was curious as to whether you had (or anyone else has) information on whether there is generally an equality of pax demand for the E-W and W-E journeys, given your reference to 'backloading' which implied one was more in demand than the other. I imagine an inequality might apply to freight services, probably being more heavily loaded E-W than W-E?

The Ghan and IP were run by Australian National when it was a Commonwealth agency, and before that Commonwealth Railways.

The Howard Government privatised the passenger rail service component out of AN, freight rail ended up in National Rail which became todays Pacific National and the network itself ended up in todays Australian Rail Track Corporation which with some additions from NSW, the North East line in Vic and standardisation in western Victoria/SA became the core ARTC interstate network.

AN was based in Adelaide.

 

[CaptJCool]

Yes, please.

 

[RB]

Interesting deal came through on my emails this morning
Imagine Holidays - All-Inclusive Australia Cruise & Indian Pacific Rail Journey

 

[BAM1748]

Next two Wednesdays the Indian going to Goulburn, broken hill line shut due to water.

 

[JohnM]

Interesting deal came through on my emails this morning
Imagine Holidays - All-Inclusive Australia Cruise & Indian Pacific Rail Journey

That certainly looks like a good deal for peeps from the East who wanted to 'do' PER as well as have a ship and train experience.

 

[JohnM]

Righto, this could be the last word on the car-carrying option on the IP, and a pertinent final round-out of the TR.

This morning, instead of driving past, I swung into East Perth station to check out the goings-on. It coincided with them just opening check-in for the PER-SYD departure at 1000h.

There was no car-carrier wagon in the side-slip loading area and I asked one of the IP crew has he walked by whether it was still offered. He said that it has not been happening for a while, but was not completely sure whether it has been permanently removed or whether it may be offered sporadically. He seemed fairly convinced that it was eventually going to be done away with, even if the current absence was not permanent.

A few pics of the scene and some historical train stuff for the buffs:

 

[jukebox333]

View attachment 306217
View attachment 306218

Hmmm - curiously the train in the upper shot appears to be wrong line running, @CaptJCool.

(unless that's a standard gauge and broad gauge pair of tracks, which on closer inspection it might be, given the empty cribs next to the left hand rail on the right hand line)

Any commentary from the chat group on that?

Cheers

JB

​

 

[CaptJCool]

Hmmm - curiously the train in the upper shot appears to be wrong line running, @CaptJCool.

(unless that's a standard gauge and broad gauge pair of tracks, which on closer inspection it might be, given the empty cribs next to the left hand rail on the right hand line)

Any commentary from the chat group on that?

Cheers

JB

​

Yes, standard for interstate along side single broad (with several station or passing loops) local

 

[JohnM]

Yes, standard for interstate along side single broad (with several station or passing loops) local

Que? Translation for the ignorati, please.

 

[cove]

It stops at Kalgoorlie on the Perth-Sydney journey: Indian Pacific Off Train Experiences - Journey Beyond Rail

That is why I suggested that anyone considering the journey look closely at the off-train offerings, as the trip is not a simple mirror-image each way. It's all about crossing the Nullarbor during the day.

I don't know that you can join in Kalgoorlie. Remember, the Indian Pacific is now entirely a tourist 'experience' train. It is not really for commuting. For example, it no longer has the old 'Red' class, which was recliner seats.

The crewing system all operates out of Adelaide (Journey Beyond HQ is there.) Part (I guess half) of our crew from SYD-ADL departed and their replacement, I believe, would do ADL-PER-ADL-SYD-ADL then swap out for a week off. I presume the other half would do ADL-SYD-ADL-PER-ADL, then swap out for their week off.

Adelaide was noted upthread as the HQ (aka home), but Adelaide itself seems to be minor in the grand scope of the IP being an '...epic transcontinental crossing...' (Official Site of the Indian Pacific | Journey Beyond Rail).

Adelaide is certainly a logical HQ (admin and logistics) for Journey Beyond rail, being in the middle of the continent and for servicing both the IP and The Ghan signature journeys. But the majority of pax seem do the full SYD-PER or PER-SYD journey. Certainly that's how it's most strongly marketed. Only a few pax on my journey got off/on in ADL.

I was curious as to whether you had (or anyone else has) information on whether there is generally an equality of pax demand for the E-W and W-E journeys, given your reference to 'backloading' which implied one was more in demand than the other. I imagine an inequality might apply to freight services, probably being more heavily loaded E-W than W-E?

Seeing you live over that side of town East Perth railway is not something we really go past too often. Looks like using the IP to move a car to Adelaide or Sydney is not happening now.

 

[jukebox333]

Que? Translation for the ignorati, please.

Yes, standard for interstate along side single broad (with several station or passing loops) local

So the track on the left is standard gauge - the rails are 4' 8.5" apart in old money - and runs between Adelaide and Melbourne.

The track on the right is broad gauge - the rails are 5' 3" apart - and just serves South Australian locales.

The sleepers - the concrete 'cross ties' that hold the rails in place - on the right have a space inside where the rails could be set at 4' 8.5"

Here in WA, John, we use 3' 6" - 'narrow gauge' - and at East Perth you can see the dual gauge track that runs out to Northam, where the tracks split into their respective gauges. Our Narrow Gauge runs to the various wheat silo bins around the state, whilst the standard gauge heads to Kalgoorlie and points east.

(I just had a quick look on line - there's not a great map to show this... if I find one, I'll add it here)

 

[antycbr]

Yes, standard for interstate along side single broad (with several station or passing loops) local

So the track on the left is standard gauge - the rails are 4' 8.5" apart in old money - and runs between Adelaide and Melbourne.

The track on the right is broad gauge - the rails are 5' 3" apart - and just serves South Australian locales.

The sleepers - the concrete 'cross ties' that hold the rails in place - on the right have a space inside where the rails could be set at 4' 8.5"

Here in WA, John, we use 3' 6" - 'narrow gauge' - and at East Perth you can see the dual gauge track that runs out to Northam, where the tracks split into their respective gauges. Our Narrow Gauge runs to the various wheat silo bins around the state, whilst the standard gauge heads to Kalgoorlie and points east.

(I just had a quick look on line - there's not a great map to show this... if I find one, I'll add it here)

The gauge muddle in Australia has held back rail development since the first trains ran in 1854. If we had one standard gauge (even narrow gauge would have been fine) our rail network would be completely different and in my view much more heavily used.

 

[Mwenenzi]

Some info on the mess that is AU rail gauges.
In times long gone were many more rail tracks in AU

Rail gauge in Australia - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Click on the image on the right , then the arrow

And Australian Rail Maps, Timetables & Bookings | Australian Rail Maps

This may be out of print

Australia Railway Tourist Map.

Scale 1:5,500,000. Size 28"x39". Hema maps edition.

maps2anywhere.com

The critical need for standard gauge rail | Committee For Melbourne

melbourne.org.au

 

[Gladstone Tim]

Just wondering, does Journey Beyond or a separate provider, have a “service status” page? After hearing about services terminating at Lithgow, delays, traveling via Wagga etc, I’m interested to know what happens with the train. Six weeks until I’m on it

 

[CaptJCool]

Just wondering, does Journey Beyond or a separate provider, have a “service status” page? After hearing about services terminating at Lithgow, delays, traveling via Wagga etc, I’m interested to know what happens with the train. Six weeks until I’m on it

Notices, Waivers and Alerts - ARTC

The information on this page is for Rail Infrastructure Maintainers, Rolling Stock Operators, Third Party’s, Contractors, or ARTC employees seeking to access our rail corridors. SAFE Notice Provides notice […]

www.artc.com.au

and this today as well