West Australian Wildflower Trip. Day 18, Indian Pacific - Adelaide to Broken Hill. 26 Sept 2014.

We awake to a wet and gloomy Friday on the outskirts of Adelaide. Once again there are buses waiting at the station to take us on our chosen Adelaide tours, which was the 'Adelaide City Highlights'. All of the tour was spent on the bus, no chance to stretch the legs on this one.
It was then back on the train for the haul to Broken Hill. This part of the trip once again highlighted the lack of information passed onto the passengers about the world outside passing our windows. Treating us like sheep with either no information, or information like "half an hour ago we passed such and such" or "we will be soon passing Snowtown" which we had passed through, and I had taken photos of, 10 minutes earlier. So if you want to become a vegetable for 4 days, I recommend you take a trip on the Indian Pacific. I will admit though, the food is good and so is the on train service, but commentary..... (see above).
The next stop was Broken Hill, were we went on the Pro Hart Gallery Tour.  
You will notice by some of the photos that I have a bit of a fascination with country roads that cross the rail tracks, it helps pass the time and keeps you on your toes, literally, as I spent a lot of the time standing and looking out the window of the the carriage entry door.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Welcome to a gloomy Adelaide.

Adelaide City Highlights            

As if it wasn't wet enough.

Adelaide streets.

Adelaide Railway Station and the sculpture 'Tetrahedra' by Bert Flugelman in the Adelaide Festival Theater complex.

Scullers prepare to launch on the River Torrens from the Adelaide Rowing Club.

Scullers,  Adelaide Rowing Club.

Celebrating the Adelaide 'Fringe Festival'.

Some grand Adelaide homes.

It's nice to see a happy building.

Looking east along North Terrace, Adelaide.

The National War Memorial, commemorating those who served in the First World war.

Back on the train.

It needed painting.

Wasted talent along Adelaide's rail lines. Graffiti.

Derelict stone farm house.

Landscape outside Adelaide.

Derelict stone farm house.

Big cloud country.

The way home?

Take me home, country roads.

Rolling hills of grain.

Derelict stone farm house.

Gazanias going wild, Snowtown. The attendent anounced we were coming into
Snowtown 10 minutes AFTER we had passed through.

Wind turbine blade, Snowtown. The attendant said to look out for this blade
10 minutes after I had taken the photo. Commentary on the train was terrible.

Meet at the corner.

Big sky country.

Hope that's not where we are supposed to be.

The road to ............................ your place?

Should not have taken the corner post out.

Climbing through the hills.

I wonder where it goes.

A country lane.

He asked me if I'd seen a road with so much dust and sanda and I said, "Look, listen mate, I've been everywhere in this here land".

A bit drier on the other side of the range.

Hope he's not taking it to Cuba.

Truck near Peterborough.

Peterborough.

A long way from nowhere.

Passing scenery.

Emus

Starkness

A bit too big for the creeks around here.

Keep going, not far to go now.

Waiting for the scool bus.

I don't know when it rained out here last.

Goats a plenty.

The only thing that runs down this creek. is a lizard.

I was only out this way in July.

Hello emu.

Coming into the mining City of Broken Hill.  Now back in New South Wales.

Mine Memorial on the hill.

Mine Memorial on the hill, Broken Hill.

Duke of Cornwall Inn, Broken Hill, built 1886.

You can no longer allowed to take photos in Pro Hart's home

The Pro Hart Gallery.

Something in the yard.

A nice grevillea in the garden.

AddOld fire phones. caption

Pro Hart's Royce's

If you don't like the colour, do your own.

Broken Hill Trades Hall, built 1905.

Boarding for the last leg of the trip.

The beds have been made up while we were at dinner.

See, I do shower .......... sometimes.

End of Day 18

Scroll to bottom of page, Click on 'Older Posts' to go to Day 19 (next day).

To go back to Day 1  click:  here.

Cameras:  Canon PowerShot SX10 IS and Sony DSC-W690.

West Australian Wildflower Trip. Day 19, Indian Pacific - Orange to Sydney. 27 Sept 2014.

Dawn greets us near Bathurst, which means we only have about 242 kms (150 miles) left of our holiday before we reach home.

A long time sitting in the dining car, without my camera, waiting for breakfast, meant that I missed a good opportunity to get some nice early morning rural photos. It may have been another case of the train staff just thinking that the passengers are only on the train to get from A to B and not using it as a way of seeing the country....... this great train trip could be so more rewarding!

We finally reach Sydney's Central Station, and so, on a nice sunny Sydney day, this great and memorable holiday to the west comes to an end. 

                                    'When I stepped off the bus at our first stop................,

Click on photos to enlarge.

Dawn greets us near Bathurst.

Poplars in the mist.

A misty morning in the Bathurst area.

There was once a lot of money in wool.

Peaceful rural scene.

Must be Lithgow.

The old Lithgow Blast Furnace.

Zig Zag railway viaduct.

Zig Zag's Garratt '402', built 1953' .The 400 class class 4-8-2+2-8-4 type Garratt locomotives
were built for use on the South Australian Railways between Port Pirie and Broken Hill.

Zig Zag lower station.

The trees are starting to come back after the October 2013 bush fires.

We are now travelling across the Blue Mountains with the Megalong Valley below.

Sydney bush.

Regrowth after the October 2013 bush fires.

Travelling along the Darling Causeway.

Travelling along the Darling Causeway.

Hydro Majestic Hotel, Medlow Bath. built in 1904 by retailer Mark Foy.  It was the site of the death of
 Australia's first prime minister, Edmund Barton, when in 1920 he had a heart attack and died there.

Crossing over the top of the mountains.

Starting our descent through a jungle of tracks, posts and cables.

Sydney steam tram motor 103A, built 1891.  Valley Heights Steam Tramway (Museum).

The steam engine 5711 was built by Clyde Engineering in 1916 as one of 25 members
 of the D-57 class heavy freight locomotives and was withdrawn from servicw in October 1961.

Sydney rail grafiti. It looked like a lot had been removed recently.

Nelson Terrace, 1888.

No, Florence Taylor didn't design the Mortuary Railway Station.

Mortuary Railway Station, Sydney, built 1869.

Sydney's trains (p.s. there are more than just these 2).
'Oscar' class (foreground) commenced service in 2006.  'Waratah' class (rear) commenced service in 2011.

We have come to the end of the line.

We say good bye to the 'horse' at Central Railway Station, Sydney.  
  NR Class Loco. NR18 was built Friday, 28th March 1997.

A liitle bit of Western Australia in the garden when we arrived home.

End of Day 19 and The Holiday.

Links:   Photos on my other blog relating to this trip can be seen at   Flora Friday 12th Sept 2014

                                                                                                               Flora Friday 19th Sept 2014

                                                                                                    Rust, Relics & Ruins


To go back to Day 1  click:  here.

Cameras:  Canon PowerShot SX10 IS and Sony DSC-W690.

Desert Trip - HAS MOVED TO 'TRAVELS IN A SHOEBOX'

THIS ENTRY HAS NOW BEEN MOVED TO MY OTHER BLOG    Travels in a Shoebox   .