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: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-N29a2koVJNw.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!
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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?
SA i stood at a crossing what i thought be a local train was a frieght train over 10ms l8tr 🥴 =================|===|======= toot from melb to sa or the Nt train my dad was a Guard & oldest bro once drove steam egines then diesel country to city then electrics in melb late 80s then left
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.
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.
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'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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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?
The motive power systems are similar. In fact many are directly imported and fitted to locally built frames with minor additions added to them, but basicly the same.
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..
that's not a straight line, it follows the curve of the earth, even for those flat earthers,!!! so boring he needs to sound the horns, aren't those truck trains longer.!!!! lol impressive for as many passenger cars
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 ;)
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.
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.
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
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.”
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.
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
You should check out wide world of trains and jawtooth on RU-vid and see some awesome American trains. My favourite is the stacks and mix freight trains.
If that was in the UK every yard of it would be required to have a un-climbable fence on both sides which is one reason why UK railways are so expensive. It's because people are too stupid to keep out of the way if a train is coming. But cars and trucks can drive at 60-70 mph (and do drive faster than that) with no fences and that is considered OK..
Suburban metro areas here are also fenced off, especially when the old diesel railcars when done away with and the electrics took over, running silently. In W.A. we had a spate of fatalities and suicides people jumping in front of the fast moving trains, (120 Km'hr) so they fenced it all off. However, that did not stop people who wished to end it all, fatalities still occurred though in as great numbers. Outside metro areas, rail per way is not fenced off, though you will find many signs telling you that it's PRIVATE PROPERTY and fines apply if your caught trespassing.
