Trains, Trails and Travels

There was a time, within living memory, when several railways survived in the western part of Tasmania because there were no roads. The railways that served these remote areas were not main lines as we understand them but rather artefacts from another era. In early 1961 several of us visited the area, just prior to the construction of roads that soon afterwards eliminated most of these fascinating remnants of earlier times.

New Zealand, in the eary 1960’s, had a very interesting and capable railway. Buried in the middle of the South Island was a big time operation using a small but capable group of powerful steam locomotives. Our month-long travels in NZ around the end of 1963 brought us into contact with this wonderful railway operation, resulting in memories that will never be forgotten. This story tells of that time.

Back in late 1983 we did a train trip from Echuca to Balranald over a two day period in a strange little one car train that was engaged in radio reception tests. Given that the line is to all intents flat, and the scenery is more or less absent, prospects were for a rather boring journey. It was anything but.