Talk:Across Australia by train

See also: Talk:Across Australia by train/Archive

History of the Indian Pacific

pruning the across australia rail stuff seems just a bit too spare - the fact that it was one hell of an issue getting around earlier would be useful somehwere? -- sats (talk) 12:46, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

I didn't really prune the across Australia stuff. It is just that we're talking about the history of the trans-australia railway, and that has historically been a route that didn't go via Albury/Melbourne. We're talking changes in Broken Hill, Peterborough, Port Pirie, Kalgoorlie, So, I'm just part way through correcting that. As per your comment "one hell of an issue getting around", well with frequent train services between each of these points and many others in between, I maintain getting around would have been far easier. Right now the IP passes some of these small towns every week. Towns like Peterborough, like Port Augusta, Port Pirie, that really do deserve a day or so of your time, become hopelessly impractical to visit by train. Given me the 1930s over today for train travel in Australia any day! Hopefully this belongs in the history too! --Inas (talk) 19:49, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

Well dare I say it, I am of a vintage where I have been on the change of guage trip when I was I child - it was great...

I think if anything is going to describe the trans australian/indian pacific differences it has to be more elaborate to explain what the differences are

history of the trans-australia railway, and that has historically been a route that didn't go via Albury/Melbourne. - if talking between sydney and perth, for a start I think trans australia needs to be strictly kept as a term for kalgoorlie to port augusta - and Perth to Sydney old route needs to be explained as having to go to Melbourne...

I'm happy for as much history as you like to go in the article. It goes without saying that its target audience are train buffs, so I don't think we can overdo it. I'm happy to mention the Melbourne/Albury stuff in context, but we need to make sure it isn't confusing or inaccurate. --Inas (talk) 00:00, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

The problem with that is it is very easy for misinformation creeping in when we get into the South Australian content which you have been improving so well - we need a map which shows the older routes and the newer ones - have you ever seen anything on commons? Not just Ghan centric info - I am talking perhaps a pre 1955 rail map would be the best as it would possibly show the infor even better... sats (talk) 09:05, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

I was looking today for just such a map. I did find some great information on the railway, and I enjoyed reading at the state library of victoria. The are a few brochures like this: http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/19854884 . I did find this map http://nla.gov.au/nla.aus-vn5783960-s3 which again is a fantastic map. Thargomindah is an amazing place. It shows how the modern capital city vision of Australia just wasn't shared by the pioneers. --Inas (talk) 09:29, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Sorry http://nla.gov.au/nla.aus-vn5783960-s3 is a real no-no in my territory - it has lines that indicate crazy ideas that never materialised - and I think where there is any ambiguity of unclear text, it would be enough to set off the minds of the geographically or historically traveller and materialise like a hypoethical lasseter lost reef inventory... fantastic map is indeed correct in the literal sense, very unuseable here. (Inas you have a very devilish sense of humour yes?) sats (talk) 10:14, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

I wasn't suggesting for a moment we use it. I was just saying I went looking for a map, and I found some other great stuff. Nothing useful though. --Inas (talk) 10:24, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

OK :) - I have access to materials, it will take time, I will make sure it is in commons sometime soon... sats (talk) 10:28, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Other lines?

While services on the east coast are not across the continent, there are many that take 24 hours or longer (Cairns to Brisbane for example). Would it make sense to also mention those somewhere in this article? ϒpsilon (talk) 11:21, 3 May 2015 (UTC)

Stay safe?

"As it is a long journey, and there are few chances of people just wandering in onto the train like in other countries, it is nevertheless wise to secure your room or items."

Is the author trying to say there's a risk of someone stealing your luggage or someone "stealing" your seat? ϒpsilon (talk) 11:21, 3 May 2015 (UTC)

Outdated

The article may need a major rewrite. In addition to the comment in Prepare, a look at the timetables on the website of Great Southern Rail reveals that the Ghan and Indian Pacific stop at just a couple of places along the journey instead of the 14 and 23 places listed so most points of interest are useless. What else might be outdated? --ϒpsilon (talk) 18:36, 24 November 2017 (UTC)

The article does say that some stops are "By prior arrangement only". The train must stop at places which are not in the timetable, as there are excursions available at other places. The timetable for the Indian Pacific only lists Sydney, Adelaide and Perth, but there are excursions from Broken Hill, Rawlinna and Kalgoorlie. The advanced search feature in the booking engine came up with several stations that are not in the timetable. I think that the main issue is that the trains are basically sold as excursions rather ways of locals getting from A to B and so the timetable is simplified. AlasdairW (talk) 19:35, 24 November 2017 (UTC)

Yup, I also looked at the PDF timetable and it did show a few more stops (at most 5 stops between Perth and Sydney), but by nowhere near as many we have listed. ϒpsilon (talk) 19:46, 24 November 2017 (UTC)

I think that each journey could usefully have an introductory paragraph saying which stops you can buy tickets to. It is probably worth keeping the existing list of stops, as the train may stop at these stations to allow other trains to pass. The main update is probably removing the stuff about red class which appears to have been discontinued. Maybe worth looking at Seat61. AlasdairW (talk) 13:10, 25 November 2017 (UTC)