Background
...they would have been "print handicapped" ie blind, so if something could have come of it, they would never have known how ugly I really was.
Ch 10b
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One of the last big trips I took alone before I married, was a "Nu-Rail Pass" Three Borders, Rail journey. I should call this a "compendium" of trips, as they were certainly quite a few in number. This was in 1984, in the early days of Mum and Dad's re-marriage. It was also just before I met my sweetheart, whom I would later marry.
I had organized all the trips I wanted to do, in advance, to the Northern, Southern and Western Borders of New South Wales, on my First Class, Fortnight's length, all State Lines, Rail Pass - for then, the princely sum of $AU99.00. In greenbacks probably equivalent back then to $70 something American dollars.
My good friend Jim, at that time working for the railway, very kindly filed all my plans away on the Railway Mainframe - until such times as I was ready to start on my many journeys.
Train trip 1: Albury, in the South on the XPT. I picked up the "Southern Aurora" later that night in Albury, coming from Melbourne, some hours later for the night trip in a "Sleeper" back to Central station, Sydney.
I have not listed in order, as to when I actually took these trips, but they were fun for a train nut like me. I do know that on one of the returns to Sydney Central Station I was in a bit of a pickle. I was worried about connecting with another train going out that morning, and thankfully most of the connections worked out ok.
On this particular morning, dear Jim, that had done all the hard work setting up all my trips, was waiting for me, at Central, to see how I was doing. Poor guy, I was so "tunnel-visioned" on moving on, to the next train in time, I pretty well ignored him! I am glad he actually worked close by and had not come to greet me from some great distance!
Another trip I did, was out to Broken Hill on the "Alice" (obviously heading to Alice Springs at that time.)..but which no longer exists, these days. It was an overnight trip also. I spent the day looking around Broken Hill, and late that night picked up the "Indian Pacific," by that time nearly 3 days into its return trip coming across Australia, from our Western State to Sydney in the East.
I had sleeping berths on the overnight trains at an additional cost ($AU30 a time). On the return to Sydney from Broken Hill, I found suddenly, sometime after I had alighted from the train, I had left my fairly new hearing aid on the train! I was not a pensioner in those days, as I am now, and that hearing aid had cost A LOT OF MONEY! I went to the Station Master at Town Hall Station and asked if they could help me. They contacted the yard where the train I had just left, was being serviced ready to go out again.
Fortunately, they located my hearing aid in the berth I had occupied. I got on the suburban train and went out to Macdonaldtown station, adjacent to the railway yards. I was supposed to walk across all the lines, to meet up with the foreman and pick up my aid. As I was looking around to see where to get off the platform; there was the fellow coming across the lines to meet me and hand me the hearing aid. I was so grateful.
I would have liked to go on the fairly new, then, XPT North to Murwillumbah, but I think I was limited for time so that never happened. I know I did some coach trips to Queensland to visit friends up there but that was not part of this particular series of trips.
I know the last trip I took on my "pass" was West to Moree, where I picked up the State Rail Coach over to Lightning Ridge. I was picked up at Lighting Ridge by my newly reunited parents from Grawin, where they were resident for the time being. I stayed a few days there before returning to Sydney, at the end of my fortnight's travel around our State.
In addition to all this, my wife recently recovered an old postcard I wrote to my mum and dad, during the trip up North. It covers most of the trips as a whole and was written the day after my birthday, in 1985. Actually, six months before I met the one whom I was to eventually marry.
And now, the reproduced postcard.
"Dear Ma and Pa,
Well, here I am! Having a super time just "railing" all over the place. The trip to Broken Hill was great. Went down a mine, saw the city sights. I also played the piano on the train for all the oldies, they loved it! I told a lady at my table it was my birthday, she mentioned it to the waiter, who was an Italian bloke and he got the entire Dining Car to sing "Happy Birthday" to me! Wasn't that nice?
It was a pity I didn't have a "walkie talkie" with me last night as a goods train was broken down just outside Eastwood Station* and we had to wait for an hour for it to be moved over to let us through. (We lived close to Eastwood at the time* and I am pretty sure they were home that night.) The trip was a bit rough and I didn't get much sleep. Probably make up for it tonight on the way back on the 'Indian Pacific' back to Sydney.
I go out on the 'XPT' south to Albury, day after tomorrow, just after 12 noon.
See you on Thursday, April 4th.
Luv "Large*."
Author Notes
*Nurail Pass was the opportunity to travel First Class on all our State lines in New South Wales, over a fortnight. Sleeping Berths on some services were at an additional cost. ** Eastwood was the closest Station to the family home in Ryde-Eastwood area. * Large was the nickname given me by my elder bro J. Now the photos: Top Left: Just getting back from another trip.
Top Right: A double exposure, sorry. But sometimes accidents are good. This is a historical photo as there are now no rail services on the Central Western Orange Line; Second Left: Arriving on the "Alice" now no longer running, at Broken Hill Station; Second Right: Postcard of Broken Hill with some evidence of where I went on my day in the City.
Third Left: View over Broken Hill from the station; Third Right: Looking down the side of the stainless steel rail cars. Fourth Left: The "Indian Pacific" Cross country train from Perth in Western Australia to Sydney in the East. My transport home to Sydney from Broken Hill; Fourth Right: Station List returning from Broken Hill to Central station in Sydney.Fifth Left: The now non-existent "Southern Aurora" from Melbourne in our southern State of Victoria, on which I returned from Albury to Sydney, overnight; Fifth Right: The XPT our newest form (back at the time of writing ) of Interurban and Interstate high-speed rail transport. I travelled on similar to Albury, and to and from Moree in the far West of NSW, after which I took a road coach to my parents, and returned the same way.
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