We are not alone. Came an email the other day from one of our readers in Australia with the unhappy news that there is going to be a cut-back of service on their two marvelous trans-continental trains, the Indian Pacific, which operates east-west between Sydney and Perth, and the Ghan, which runs north-south between Darwin…
The next morning, back in the desert and not quite halfway through its journey, the Ghan reaches Alice Springs. It stops for several hours here, allowing passengers to tour the area. The statue in the railway station depicts an Afghan camel herder, from whom the train got its name. “Ghan” is, in fact, Aussie shorthand…
(This is Part Three of a story I wrote for the Dallas Morning News, recording some of the events that took place as I rode the Indian Pacific, east to west across Australia, and then the Ghan from Darwin in the north to Adeaide in the south.) Framed by a miraculous sunset, the Indian Pacific arrives…
(The following is the first part of a story I wrote for the Dallas Morning News relating my experiences on Australia’s two trans-continental trains.) As early as the mid-1800s, Australian railroads hauled grain and ore to seaports and carried passengers between state capitals. But it wasn’t until 1969 that tracks spanning the continent all conformed…