Steam Train

[octave]

Couldn't really think where to post this.  I had a great day riding my bike on a local rail trail.  I spent a lot of time catching up and passing the train and when it stopped at a station I had a great chat with the passengers and crew.    One thing I learned was that I can ride faster than a steam train.   I took quite a lot of video but I thought this was pretty cool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[spacesailor]

I have Always wondered ! , what that view,  would be like IF you were runover by a train .

And , many  Thanks for that enlightening video .

spacesailor

Edited June 2, 2023 by spacesailor
A little more !

[octave]

 

1 minute ago, spacesailor said:

I have Always wondered ! , what that view,  would be like IF you were runover by a train .

spacesailor

 

I have done this so you won't have to get run over by a steam train - you're welcome!

[facthunter]

How did you ensure no one used the toilet? Nev.

[octave]

 

Fortunately, it did not have a toilet.  It only does a 16km jaunt.  You can actually see glowing coals at one point, could of melted my phone I suppose but well worth the risk.

[Marty_d]

Great video.  Thanks!

[pmccarthy]

Loved the bright blaze of the firebox. The last drop through dunny I used was on the Cairns to Townsville train about 30 years ago. I don’t think they have them any more.

[willedoo]

Reminds me of when I was a kid. The local rail bridge had a small section at the top of the abutment where three of us could squeeze in and watch the train run over the top of us. It was pretty exciting; the bottom of the train was only a couple of feet above our heads. It was great fun until some adults found about it and put a stop to it.

[willedoo]

We often copped a bit of hot stuff from the train engine but we never got crapped on.

[onetrack]

Thanks, Octave - after that bit of footage, I'm going to have nightmares for months now, dreaming of being run over by a steam train!!  

Quote

One thing I learned was that I can ride faster than a steam train. 

I believe the old 'Ghan train in S.A. was pretty notorious for it's speed of travel, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it was faster to ride a bicycle to Alice Springs, than take the 'Ghan!

 

I've always been amazed at the performance of bicycle couriers between Perth and Kalgoorlie in the 1860's to the 1890's, before the rail line to Kalgoorlie  was installed.

These blokes would only take about 3 days to ride to Kalgoorlie from Perth, straight through the mostly trackless bush! That's around 200kms a day! They must have ridden from before sunup to sundown, and taken little food with them.

[octave]

33 minutes ago, onetrack said:

I believe the old 'Ghan train in S.A. was pretty notorious for it's speed of travel, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it was faster to ride a bicycle to Alice Springs, than take the 'Ghan!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 3, 2023 by octave

[Marty_d]

Well of course you were going faster than him, poor bugger was in reverse!

[onetrack]

Is that a Rail Acess track you were on? You wouldn't be able to ride that close to trains here without special permission, you'd be on the Railway Reserve.

[octave]

59 minutes ago, onetrack said:

Is that a Rail Acess track you were on? You wouldn't be able to ride that close to trains here without special permission, you'd be on the Railway Reserve.

 

It is a rail trail.  Throughout Australia, there are cycling/walking trails built on disused rail lines.  This one is the Bellarine rail trail which goes from Geelong to Queenscliff.    This rail trail still has the original rail and the bike path mostly runs parallel.   This steam train is the only train that uses it.

 

BELLARINE RAIL TRAIL

 

My wife and I have ridden most of the rail trails in Victoria. One of the best rail trails we have ridden is from Bright to Beechworth.   Most of the trails no longer have rails but you can see the remnants of stations, trestle bridges, and other historic stuff  

Edited June 3, 2023 by octave

[onetrack]

You're lucky the rail reserves stayed intact. Here in the West, they were nearly all either torn up, overgrown, ploughed in, or just cut up into so many pieces by new roads, new developments, and new lines, that the old lines become useless.

 

There's only a few small sections left that have been converted to trails, mostly in the Hills above Perth. Some of the old lines would have been great, converted into trails.

 

Here's a snip from Google Earth of the old rail reserve, West of Bulyee, in the W.A. Wheatbelt (Great Southern). The line was pulled up in the early '60's and the rail reserve has simply become overgrown. East of Bulyee, you can still trace the path of the rail reserve, even though it's been swallowed up by paddocks, and ploughed over.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

My wife and I have pedalled the Fernleigh Track, a Rail Trail on a disused line south of Newcastle.

Love to pedal the abandoned lines in the New England, and once designed a device to link two bicycles to ride the old rails. Alas, those old lines are now so overgrown it would be a major achievement. 
 

There is still an active campaign against converting the line north of Armidale into a cycle trail; they want it re-opened to rail traffic. That track has some impressive engineering, but was never economical and the bridges are now in a sorry state.

[octave]

 

There are some great pieces of old railway infrastructure on these rail trails.  This is Nimmins Bridge on the Ballarat Skipton trail.  The trail goes over the bridge but you can also go under it.

 

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