Hi all, Thanks for making this our most popular video! Don't forget to subscribe as we have plenty more videos like this one. Check out another edition of this line featuring more of the longest straight section and Nullarbor Plain below. Heart of the Trans Australian Railway: ua-cam.com/video/N29a2koVJNw/v-deo.html Matt - M&S Trains
As a child I was travelling with my family by car in west Texas. It is a hot, arid region. We had gone for a long time without seeing typical signs of life as we knew them. Then our road paralleled a train line with a freight train on it. We were riding beside it. The driver of that train was the only life we had seen in that isolated region. I don't remember if we waved to each other or not. We couldn't quite tell if that was the case due to distance and window glare. Anyway, our vehicle was going slightly faster than the train so we slowly pulled away from it. It is amazing the things you appreciate in such a remote, isolated environment!
My granddaughter was married for a time to a driver of these trains. He told us that the biggest fear that needed much training was braking such a massive load. It took a special skill not to cause shunting and the caterpillar effect which could derail part of the train.
Thanks for a very interesting video, and it is especially interesting to see some locations that are rarely seen/photographed. You have obviously travelled 'off track' to some remote facilities.
I also enjoy your style of photography, let the whole train pass through the scene you’ve composed, versus chasing it with the zoom lense as some like to do.
I took that trip, in a compartment, in 1967, there's nothing to see for days. When we reached Kalgoorlie we changed to an old coal driven engine and bolted down the mountain into Perth. That part was an exciting trip. When we arrived in Perth and I walked outside the station & there was a jewelers shop with my family name on it. I went in and told them who I was and the owner said, "We've been waiting for you." I was puzzled and asked him how he knew about me and he replied that he'd seen me on a TV show and knew that one day I'd come to Perth.
@@capitainebonhomme1609 the old main eastern line had a single tunnel at Swan View, which would not have been necessary if there were no hills. This line was bypassed by the Avon Valley Deviation.
@@capitainebonhomme1609 The elevation of Kalgoorlie is 468 m, so at least there is a 468 m drop down to Perth although I’ve never heard of mountains being in there.
Aussie pom I I live near a CXS railroad tracks and those fast trains are every bit of 5 miles in length. There is usually 3 locomotives leading and at least 2 locomotive in the middle or 3 locomotives at the end. I see around 20 trains per day.
I'll never understand how so man carriages etc can be pulled along with just one or two locos. Whilst I can understand that they are on a track and physics take over. I am still daunted. But I love it anyway. I love all the work and dedication you have for rail. As a kid I loved going and standing over the Morphett St Bridge in Adelaide and all the steam trains went under and my brother and I copped all the steam and smoke and it was great. One day down at Henley Beach I woke up outside my Uncle and Aunty's house and this peculiar thing came down the line without an engine at the front of it. Turned out to be the new "Red Hen" trying out the track to Henley Beach Station. 18 months ago we did a trip through Italy by train and what an experience. Just makes us so sad at what we have got here in OZ
On the straight track these NR class of locomotives are capable of pulling 2500t @115km/h , it's a Dash-9(-40C) locomotives a good product of GE and they serve well over 20 years on MP trains which is a challenge each day
Passenger trains the carriages dont weight as much as a freight train wagons would..Trains like the Indian Pacific and The Ghan have aluminium carriages so are pretty light compared to steel wagons carrying double up containers.
Once again another interesting video I have seen on your channel. Put into context the straight is almost as long as Auckland to Wellington at around 495km as the crow flies. I have subscribed so that I can keep up to date with your vids and I think you should have many more subscribers! Anthony
Another excellent compilation. Top marks for showing the whole train: my pet dislike is videographers who only show the first few passenger cars or freight wagons. May I suggest that you ensure your spellchecker is set to 'UK English' as you incorrectly spell 'kilometre' and one other word with an 'er' (the USA way, not used in Oz) not 're.' Thanks!
@Martin Turner I also care about apostrophes! US English is bastardised English, so not acceptable. It's a good idea to use standardised UK English, the original and the best. Who wants a situation in language such as we have with three different major rail gauges in Australia?
When you cross it on the 'Indian Pacific' (or on a special train as I did years ago), it's actually quite interesting, because it's different to eucalypt forests, mountains or graingrowing areas. The crews often have the comfort of a converted crew car to retire to once their shift is over.
@@edmundcarew7235 I was a U. S. railroader, and I had the comfort of a hotel room after only about 200 miles of a run, not nearly 3,000! That is mind boggling. I believe the longest currently used straight stretch of mainline railroad in the U. S. is a little less than 80 miles.
@@paulw.woodring7304 Great, and well done! The crews typically work Port Augusta (in South Australia) to West Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, so they're not driving for anything near 3,000 miles. Plus in Oz like vast majority of rest of world everything's in metric, so kilometres.
If you're ever in WA do yourself a favor and go for a biiiig road trip and go experience the desert out there. It has a special magic like nothing else.
Greetings from the United States! I noticed that on some of the freight trains, there is a passenger coach and what appears to be fuel containers? I am guessing this is to accommodate an extra crew and fuel for the long journey between depots? That is very interesting as we don't see this on our trains here in the USA. Great videos, thanks for sharing!
Yes that is the crew quarters as there are two crews of two people, and they have a fuel wagon as there's not many places to get fuel along the section of track.
I noticed something while on the Indian Pacific. While crossing the Nullarbor Plain, because there is nothing to see apart from red soil and blue sky, my eyes always focused on the horizon as it was the only focal point.
Believe it or not, there is very much to see on the Nullabor Plain, but you need to get on the ground to see it. Especially the caves/grottos and underground water systems containing blind fish.
There is such a video well two to be exact, not long ago SBS a tv station here in Australia did both The Ghan and The Indian Pacific from various viewpoints around the train.. Both documentaries had two versions of the film, there is a shortened one of about 3 hours long and an extended one that went for 17 hours..
Wow the NR17/NR109 Darwin Passenger train with 36 coaches makes US’s Amtrak look like a dwarf when you compare the average Amtrak Passenger service with 9-11 super/ view liner coaches. Probably the closest comparison would be Amtrak Auto Trains with over 20 coaches.
To the author who posted this video, the Trans Australian Railway does not end at Kalgoorlie as claimed in your video. It in FACT terminates in PERTH, capitol city of Western Australia.
To the author of this comment, the FACT is, the line does terminate at Kalgoorlie. From Kalgoorlie onwards to Perth, trains travel on a railway called the Eastern Goldfields Railway to Northam and then the Eastern Railway through the Avon Valley. Check google, it will tell you the same thing. Matt - M&S Trains
The original TAA was Kalgoorlie to port Augusta standard guage built & run by the Commonwealth railway. Perth to Kalgoorlie was WA rail at 3 feet six and port Augusta to Adelaide was SA railways 5 feet 3 broad guage.
Back in 1917 when this section of the line was completed (from Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta) which includes this 478km straight section there was no official ceremony as it was during the First World War and the country was virtually in mourning. The flag waving and ribbon cutting was held after the war. Many of the former railway stations or sidings are named after former Australian Prime Ministers or prominent figures.
Part of the railroad between Adelaide and Perth is the longest straight stretch of railroad in the world. It is a single track with no branches, points or turntables. A train sets off from each city every morning and they enter the straight stretch at the same time, yet they never crash. Why? “Because East is East and West is West, and ne’er the twain shall meet.”
not realy the loco motives have only a certain amount of tractive effort if every cupaling has a capacity exceeding this dont matter up to point if train to heavy wont go wheel slip
I have been on the Indian Pacific twice, Perth to Sydney in 2000 and Sydney to Perth in 2012 , it a wonderful train journey. I have also been on the Ghan Adelaide to Darwin 2007
Not a very good reputation in Western Australia. When they arrived here, they thought they were going to run the show their way, soon discovered things are done differently here for a very valid reason. They eventually surrendered their contracts and cleared out. Good riddance too I say.
Wasn’t aware double stack cars were used like here in the states, great place for them with no overhead obstructions out in the desert. Are they of Aussie design, or are they purchased second hand from the States?
They're Aus designed ones, we don't have the axel loading for the US ones with the shared truck between sections else they are overweight and heavily speed restricted. Most of the ones in this vid are permanently coupled pairs or sets of '5 packs' which are all essentially fully independent wagons but with a solid drawbar bolting them together
Pretty impressive that Indian Pacific passenger train with 30 cars and only 1 loco. Although the cars did appear to be somewhat shorter(lighter) than passenger cars generally used in Europe and the US.
I'm curious how the crews get paid when their off duty time is spent on their own train in a passenger car. How long does it take before they actually arrive at the away from home terminal? Do they get time in a hotel then before taking another train back or do they turn around and go back only ever resting in the passenger car? Pardon my ignorance and terminology, I am speaking as an American train driver who works in California. I find Australia fascinating and especially the railroads and the innovative way they solve the uniquely Australian challenges. Any info about it would be great!
They alternate driving and resting with other crews on the trip out. They then do a turn around somewhere and then alternate back using the same approach. The regulations are strict and the Unions don't take any crap when it comes to hours and safety. It's a VERY well paid job but you are away from your family for 3-4 days at a time.
Ian Rozzano They stay in a hotel at the destination before the return trip. The crew coach is used on the trip as they rotate shifts. Im a driver, but I’m on the east coast just north of Sydney. We stay at hotels for the longer distance jobs but it’s only one night away luckily.
Matt B - Thanks for the info. I figured they must stay in a hotel at some point. Any idea what they get paid for a round trip? What about you? What does a round trip on your territory pay? How many kilometers is it? For me, I run 234 miles (376 kilometers) from Stockton CA to Bakersfield CA and get paid 504 USD (707 AUD) each way so a round trip gets me over 1000 USD. I’m curious if your union contracts get you similar pay. Also is it true you have CD players on your locomotives? I read that somewhere.
Ian Rozzano We don’t get paid per trip, we get paid an hourly rate. I’m paid $61.98 an hour including the various allowances. The lengths of the journeys at my depot generally vary between about 250-320km. At my previous depot, we ran up to 485km but that was intermodal working and my current depot is mostly coal. When going on an overnight job (we call them barracks jobs) we get untaxed meal allowance of about $30 for each 8hrs (or part thereof) away. That usually means about $120 on top of the normal pay. Also, if we are resting for more than 11hrs, we get paid 170% of the hourly rate until we sign on for the return trip. So a typical barracks job is usually worth about $1400-1500 before tax. Most of our work is local though so we normally just come in for about an 8-9 hour shift. Looks like our pays are very similar. The drivers that do the crew van working across the desert get heaps more in the way of allowances I believe.
What's the speed limit like on a long straight section like that? I suppose most traffic is freight so anything above 100-120 km/h would be pretty useless?
No, that's fuel. It's a system called Inline refuelling which can fuel the locomotives as the train moves along, keeping the locomotive's tanks completely full. SCT Logistics & Aurizon use it so they can go entirely from Adelaide to Perth or Darwin without the need for refuelling. Pacific National, however, don't use it and stop to refuel at Cook in the middle of the Nullarbor Plain. Matt - M&S Trains
trespire Australian steel mills produce 2.6 million tonnes of steel annually. There are about 100,000 people employed in the steel manufacturing industry, so yeah, there is local steel production. Of course they are better at making the steel than bending it, hence the long straight sections of railroad track ;)
Are you aware of how long this been happening ? I've been retired now for 21 years, and we were doing this before I retired way back then, with never any issues. National Rail Locos were specificly designed for these runs.
Hook and Pull, means the folks who own and operate the passenger consist, do not own the locos. They contract companies who posses locos to do the pulling for them. Thus the terminology, "HOOK and PULL".
Hi all,
Thanks for making this our most popular video! Don't forget to subscribe as we have plenty more videos like this one.
Check out another edition of this line featuring more of the longest straight section and Nullarbor Plain below.
Heart of the Trans Australian Railway: ua-cam.com/video/N29a2koVJNw/v-deo.html
Matt - M&S Trains
You live in the middle of nowhere.......
Isn't that beautiful, the lonely outback, the quietness, the sadness. I love the railways
As a child I was travelling with my family by car in west Texas. It is a hot, arid region. We had gone for a long time without seeing typical signs of life as we knew them. Then our road paralleled a train line with a freight train on it. We were riding beside it. The driver of that train was the only life we had seen in that isolated region. I don't remember if we waved to each other or not. We couldn't quite tell if that was the case due to distance and window glare. Anyway, our vehicle was going slightly faster than the train so we slowly pulled away from it. It is amazing the things you appreciate in such a remote, isolated environment!
I LOVE that passenger train....👍👍😁😁
Just loved the sound of the ghan going over the track on most railways now it's continuous welded track and no clickity clack any more
The Trans Australian - Australia's equivalent of Union Pacific - nice!
I have to admit, the scenery is a lot like Western Nebraska/Eastern Wyoming. LOL
Only Better.
Great video. Nice to see some explanations of what’s on screen.
Great work - especially the commentary - reminds me of SBS slow tv series. PN really aren't that fussed about keeping those 5 chime airhorns in tune!
My granddaughter was married for a time to a driver of these trains. He told us that the biggest fear that needed much training was braking such a massive load. It took a special skill not to cause shunting and the caterpillar effect which could derail part of the train.
The women out here are the dedicated people around. It takes a special kind of woman to put up with the Isolation and loneliness
Awesome video. Totally mesmerizing to watch them and in such remote locations. Great work.
Thanks for a very interesting video, and it is especially interesting to see some locations that are rarely seen/photographed. You have obviously travelled 'off track' to some remote facilities.
Impressive Train Hauls - Extremely Long! 👌👌
An excellent video. Hello from the Tracy Mountain Railway in Colorado. ♡ T.E.N.
I also enjoy your style of photography, let the whole train pass through the scene you’ve composed, versus chasing it with the zoom lense as some like to do.
I took that trip, in a compartment, in 1967, there's nothing to see for days. When we reached Kalgoorlie we changed to an old coal driven engine and bolted down the mountain into Perth. That part was an exciting trip. When we arrived in Perth and I walked outside the station & there was a jewelers shop with my family name on it. I went in and told them who I was and the owner said, "We've been waiting for you." I was puzzled and asked him how he knew about me and he replied that he'd seen me on a TV show and knew that one day I'd come to Perth.
"bolt down the mountain to Perth"
We don't have mountains between Kalgoorlie and Perth
Flat terrain
@@capitainebonhomme1609 Being that it was in 1967, I may have the wrong name for the the town where I changed trains.
@@capitainebonhomme1609 the old main eastern line had a single tunnel at Swan View, which would not have been necessary if there were no hills. This line was bypassed by the Avon Valley Deviation.
@@capitainebonhomme1609 The elevation of Kalgoorlie is 468 m, so at least there is a 468 m drop down to Perth although I’ve never heard of mountains being in there.
I liked the bit when the train went past.
I think Australia also has the record for the longest train ever assembled. It was an iron ore train.
@Aussie Pom An American train company, CSX, ran a five mile train
How long in miles?
Aussie pom I I live near a CXS railroad tracks and those fast trains are every bit of 5 miles in length. There is usually 3 locomotives leading and at least 2 locomotive in the middle or 3 locomotives at the end. I see around 20 trains per day.
@@Kathrynyoder-x2j like i said five miles.
Yes...its was 7km
I'll never understand how so man carriages etc can be pulled along with just one or two locos. Whilst I can understand that they are on a track and physics take over. I am still daunted. But I love it anyway. I love all the work and dedication you have for rail. As a kid I loved going and standing over the Morphett St Bridge in Adelaide and all the steam trains went under and my brother and I copped all the steam and smoke and it was great. One day down at Henley Beach I woke up outside my Uncle and Aunty's house and this peculiar thing came down the line without an engine at the front of it. Turned out to be the new "Red Hen" trying out the track to Henley Beach Station. 18 months ago we did a trip through Italy by train and what an experience. Just makes us so sad at what we have got here in OZ
On the straight track these NR class of locomotives are capable of pulling 2500t @115km/h , it's a Dash-9(-40C) locomotives a good product of GE and they serve well over 20 years on MP trains which is a challenge each day
Passenger trains the carriages dont weight as much as a freight train wagons would..Trains like the Indian Pacific and The Ghan have aluminium carriages so are pretty light compared to steel wagons carrying double up containers.
More videos here would be awesome, it’s just a hassle getting there
Now that’s a lot of track!
Once again another interesting video I have seen on your channel. Put into context the straight is almost as long as Auckland to Wellington at around 495km as the crow flies.
I have subscribed so that I can keep up to date with your vids and I think you should have many more subscribers!
Anthony
Actually it bends down - the Earth is not flat.
Great video again! Riverina, NSW.
nice video bro
Text addition is nice. Enjoyed the detail
7:01 that’s the Indian pacific if I’m not mistaken I see going pass my place all the time and I love it
I don't think it the Big Chief. The Big Chief is primarily passenger train.
Another excellent compilation. Top marks for showing the whole train: my pet dislike is videographers who only show the first few passenger cars or freight wagons. May I suggest that you ensure your spellchecker is set to 'UK English' as you incorrectly spell 'kilometre' and one other word with an 'er' (the USA way, not used in Oz) not 're.' Thanks!
@Martin Turner I also care about apostrophes! US English is bastardised English, so not acceptable. It's a good idea to use standardised UK English, the original and the best. Who wants a situation in language such as we have with three different major rail gauges in Australia?
Very nice video!
Greetings from Croatia :-)
Very nice Video, thanks for sharing it...👍👍 The Steel-train must be very,very heavy..💪💪
Great! I love the landscapes!
Someone needs to install a live railcam feed to UA-cam on this line. I'd watch it. :-)
I can tell you when they are leaving I watch them everyday loading a pain in the ass when you're trying to get across the track
Awesome.
Driving trains across Australia must be one hell of a tough job. No civilization, just the desert and the same vegetation for hundreds of kilometres.
When you cross it on the 'Indian Pacific' (or on a special train as I did years ago), it's actually quite interesting, because it's different to eucalypt forests, mountains or graingrowing areas. The crews often have the comfort of a converted crew car to retire to once their shift is over.
@@edmundcarew7235 I was a U. S. railroader, and I had the comfort of a hotel room after only about 200 miles of a run, not nearly 3,000! That is mind boggling. I believe the longest currently used straight stretch of mainline railroad in the U. S. is a little less than 80 miles.
@@paulw.woodring7304 Great, and well done! The crews typically work Port Augusta (in South Australia) to West Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, so they're not driving for anything near 3,000 miles. Plus in Oz like vast majority of rest of world everything's in metric, so kilometres.
P.A. To Kalgoorlie is 1800 km. (19 hours non-stop on the highway)
@@edmundcarew7235 SCT crews work Adelaide to Perth
Very soothing.
Awesome training. Crikey!
THANKS YOU FOR THE VIDEO..SALUDOS FROM NEW YORK.
MUY INTERESANTE y BONITO !.
I dunno where this fascination with trains has come from lately for me.
Great video !!
Awesome
If you're ever in WA do yourself a favor and go for a biiiig road trip and go experience the desert out there. It has a special magic like nothing else.
Great to know about .... Thanks for sharing
Awesome
Greetings from the United States! I noticed that on some of the freight trains, there is a passenger coach and what appears to be fuel containers? I am guessing this is to accommodate an extra crew and fuel for the long journey between depots? That is very interesting as we don't see this on our trains here in the USA. Great videos, thanks for sharing!
Yes that is the crew quarters as there are two crews of two people, and they have a fuel wagon as there's not many places to get fuel along the section of track.
@@aussiefiriePlus it reduces costs for the rail operator, and the crew car makes for easy changeovers of the drivers.
also america not big enough for such trains
@@raypitts4880 well it is about the same size as Australia, so it is certainly big enough, but much more highly populated.
@@robman2095 their population is also more spread out than here
Awesome
History has it that Ptolemy inferred the Earth is spherical when he saw trains disappear in the distance from the bottom-up at this railway line.
When you remember that G&W runs more than just American short lines...
Very Nice Video👌👌
Amazing!
Do you have more information about the tall boxcars at 1:13? I searched for “great freighter Australia”. No relevant results.
That’s a long train wow
Nice video👍👍
Great. (Australian Development)
Awesome.
Am I correct in ASSuming the passenger car behind the tender is crew quarters??
It takes thousands of passengers every year.
Yes that is correct.
Only two engines pulling those long, many car trains. You would think there would be many more.
enough to over come drag no problem.
I imagine qualifying on this territory is pretty STRAIGHTforward? 😎
great video
What's with the passenger car? Crew quarters? Are the tanks on the fat car extra fuel for the locomotives? Just guesses.
YES
I noticed something while on the Indian Pacific. While crossing the Nullarbor Plain, because there is nothing to see apart from red soil and blue sky, my eyes always focused on the horizon as it was the only focal point.
Believe it or not, there is very much to see on the Nullabor Plain, but you need to get on the ground to see it. Especially the caves/grottos and underground water systems containing blind fish.
I never seen this kind of trains
😱
Real snowpiercer train. Without any snow.
Nicely done.
I hope one day there's a cab view 4k video of the entire journey --
There is such a video well two to be exact, not long ago SBS a tv station here in Australia did both The Ghan and The Indian Pacific from various viewpoints around the train.. Both documentaries had two versions of the film, there is a shortened one of about 3 hours long and an extended one that went for 17 hours..
Wow the NR17/NR109 Darwin Passenger train with 36 coaches makes US’s Amtrak look like a dwarf when you compare the average Amtrak Passenger service with 9-11 super/ view liner coaches. Probably the closest comparison would be Amtrak Auto Trains with over 20 coaches.
9iiiuuhgguuiijhguu>hgffyuoijgfio
Fair comment, but 'The Ghan' and 'Indian Pacific' mostly run once a week only in each direction. Many Amtrak trains are daily.
To be fair the Indian Pacific and The Ghan are more like a rolling cruise ship than an A to B train like Amtrak
Nice!
Australia can also lay claim to the longest stretch of straight road. Sydney will never lay claim to having the most straight men in Australia.
Sounds like you know all about Sydney...
@@simonchant761 Only from hearsay.
Beautiful ride did it in 2010 July
To the author who posted this video, the Trans Australian Railway does not end at Kalgoorlie as claimed in your video. It in FACT terminates in PERTH, capitol city of Western Australia.
To the author of this comment, the FACT is, the line does terminate at Kalgoorlie. From Kalgoorlie onwards to Perth, trains travel on a railway called the Eastern Goldfields Railway to Northam and then the Eastern Railway through the Avon Valley. Check google, it will tell you the same thing.
Matt - M&S Trains
The original TAA was Kalgoorlie to port Augusta standard guage built & run by the Commonwealth railway. Perth to Kalgoorlie was WA rail at 3 feet six and port Augusta to Adelaide was SA railways 5 feet 3 broad guage.
Back in 1917 when this section of the line was completed (from Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta) which includes this 478km straight section there was no official ceremony as it was during the First World War and the country was virtually in mourning. The flag waving and ribbon cutting was held after the war. Many of the former railway stations or sidings are named after former Australian Prime Ministers or prominent figures.
Very long journey.adventures job of crew but still interesting
Couldn't have been any where else in the World. As soon as I read the clip bait, Australia came to mind.
Part of the railroad between Adelaide and Perth is the longest straight stretch of railroad in the world. It is a single track with no branches, points or turntables.
A train sets off from each city every morning and they enter the straight stretch at the same time, yet they never crash.
Why?
“Because East is East and West is West, and ne’er the twain shall meet.”
The coupler strain between the locomotives and that first wagon on 7GP1 must be astronomical....
not realy the loco motives have only a certain amount of tractive effort if every cupaling has a capacity exceeding this dont matter up to point if train to heavy wont go wheel slip
The modern knuckle coupler is very strong. Breaking strain of something like 1500 tons.
I'd so love to work on trains like these... sigh...
I have been on the Indian Pacific twice, Perth to Sydney in 2000 and Sydney to Perth in 2012 , it a wonderful train journey. I have also been on the Ghan Adelaide to Darwin 2007
Jealous Canadian rail buff here! Thumbs up mate.
Big, heavy, long monster trains...teeny tiny Suzuki Samurai horns.
Are there any passenger train on this track?
Yes the ghan
EVEN DOWN UNDER I CAN'T GET AWAY FROM GENESEE AND WYOMING!
Not a very good reputation in Western Australia. When they arrived here, they thought they were going to run the show their way, soon discovered things are done differently here for a very valid reason. They eventually surrendered their contracts and cleared out. Good riddance too I say.
shows a different perspective of climate and long haul
Wasn’t aware double stack cars were used like here in the states, great place for them with no overhead obstructions out in the desert. Are they of Aussie design, or are they purchased second hand from the States?
They're Aus designed ones, we don't have the axel loading for the US ones with the shared truck between sections else they are overweight and heavily speed restricted. Most of the ones in this vid are permanently coupled pairs or sets of '5 packs' which are all essentially fully independent wagons but with a solid drawbar bolting them together
Pretty impressive that Indian Pacific passenger train with 30 cars and only 1 loco. Although the cars did appear to be somewhat shorter(lighter) than passenger cars generally used in Europe and the US.
Suspect the cars are heavier than some of the European loco hauled cars, and on a par with USA cars except perhaps the Amtrak double deck Superliners.
It helps the track is very very flat...
Thing is our passenger cars do not need the heating abilities of Euro or AMERICAN cars, Air con is far more important.
If there are no grades of any significance, you can get by with minimal power.
Nice
I know it because in 1975 I drove it.
Mzing sight. How long is the greater freighter train and how long does it take to load the containers.
Always thought there were two locomotives in case one broke down?
Modern locos today are ultra reliable and if serviced regularly are very reliable and rarely if ever, break down.
I'm intrigued do they take out many road kill(animals) on a single trip across the plain?
YES, on occasions whole batches of sheep are wiped out.
If the track is straight, why are the trains going so slow?
I'm curious how the crews get paid when their off duty time is spent on their own train in a passenger car. How long does it take before they actually arrive at the away from home terminal? Do they get time in a hotel then before taking another train back or do they turn around and go back only ever resting in the passenger car? Pardon my ignorance and terminology, I am speaking as an American train driver who works in California. I find Australia fascinating and especially the railroads and the innovative way they solve the uniquely Australian challenges. Any info about it would be great!
They alternate driving and resting with other crews on the trip out. They then do a turn around somewhere and then alternate back using the same approach. The regulations are strict and the Unions don't take any crap when it comes to hours and safety. It's a VERY well paid job but you are away from your family for 3-4 days at a time.
So they turn around and head back without resting up in a hotel? Just continue alternating there and back?
Ian Rozzano They stay in a hotel at the destination before the return trip. The crew coach is used on the trip as they rotate shifts. Im a driver, but I’m on the east coast just north of Sydney. We stay at hotels for the longer distance jobs but it’s only one night away luckily.
Matt B - Thanks for the info. I figured they must stay in a hotel at some point. Any idea what they get paid for a round trip? What about you? What does a round trip on your territory pay? How many kilometers is it? For me, I run 234 miles (376 kilometers) from Stockton CA to Bakersfield CA and get paid 504 USD (707 AUD) each way so a round trip gets me over 1000 USD. I’m curious if your union contracts get you similar pay. Also is it true you have CD players on your locomotives? I read that somewhere.
Ian Rozzano We don’t get paid per trip, we get paid an hourly rate. I’m paid $61.98 an hour including the various allowances. The lengths of the journeys at my depot generally vary between about 250-320km. At my previous depot, we ran up to 485km but that was intermodal working and my current depot is mostly coal. When going on an overnight job (we call them barracks jobs) we get untaxed meal allowance of about $30 for each 8hrs (or part thereof) away. That usually means about $120 on top of the normal pay. Also, if we are resting for more than 11hrs, we get paid 170% of the hourly rate until we sign on for the return trip. So a typical barracks job is usually worth about $1400-1500 before tax. Most of our work is local though so we normally just come in for about an 8-9 hour shift. Looks like our pays are very similar. The drivers that do the crew van working across the desert get heaps more in the way of allowances I believe.
The horn sound very similar to the EF electric locos in NZ at 3min mark
nice
What's the speed limit like on a long straight section like that? I suppose most traffic is freight so anything above 100-120 km/h would be pretty useless?
@@MS_Trains Thanks, I guessed it was something like that.
Is that water for the crew car sandwiched betweet the loco and the crew car on most of the freight trains?
No, that's fuel. It's a system called Inline refuelling which can fuel the locomotives as the train moves along, keeping the locomotive's tanks completely full. SCT Logistics & Aurizon use it so they can go entirely from Adelaide to Perth or Darwin without the need for refuelling. Pacific National, however, don't use it and stop to refuel at Cook in the middle of the Nullarbor Plain.
Matt - M&S Trains
@@MS_Trains Ahhhh thank you! That answers a question I've wondered for a long time!
Cheers
Is all that sheet and plate steel imporeted, or does Australia still have steel mills for sheet and bar stock production ?
trespire Australian steel mills produce 2.6 million tonnes of steel annually. There are about 100,000 people employed in the steel manufacturing industry, so yeah, there is local steel production. Of course they are better at making the steel than bending it, hence the long straight sections of railroad track ;)
@@artistjoh Thanks for the witty reply, good to know.
trespire :) People don’t realize that all the bending experts moved to Queensland for bending the bananas :)
@@artistjoh Please no banana jokes, it's Saturday have mercy.
trespire :)
Nice video
6:00 - Holy shemiel, a 35 car passenger train? Was that the inaugural run of the Ghan to Darwin?
also in good old us of a 45 cars mixed load ringling bros bower and bailey circus they had 3 if not 4 units each one allocated a colour
Since this video was compiled G & W has been renamed One Rail Australia.
After the closure of the Loxton, Pinnaroo lines and the Eyre Peninsula grain services, One Rail seem very appropriate.
What happens if a derailment happens?
The beer dosnt get through
One engine on a passenger train in the middle of nowhere. That’s fucking smart!
M&S Trains The Space shuttle was supposed to be very reliable also but we see what happened with that!
@@cavemanballistics6338 What an utterly stupid comment.
Are you aware of how long this been happening ? I've been retired now for 21 years, and we were doing this before I retired way back then, with never any issues. National Rail Locos were specificly designed for these runs.
Pardon my ignorance but what does Hook & Pulled mean? Great video!
Hook and Pull, means the folks who own and operate the passenger consist, do not own the locos. They contract companies who posses locos to do the pulling for them. Thus the terminology, "HOOK and PULL".
A belated many thanks!
Why does 5MP2 have two crew cars?? 9:09
slooooowwww train for being in a straightaway.