The Spirit of the Outback - Brisbane to Longreach

It was time to get back on the train again so Geoff took me to Roma Street Station in Brisbane so I could catch the train to Longreach out in Central Queensland. This train trip was a bit over 24 hours so I took a lot of photos. Much of it is scenery that initially seems boring but after a while you realize it is constantly changing and sometimes dramatically so.

As usual I wandered up to the front of the train to inspect the engines. As with the train to Charleville, there were two of them. One primary, the other as spare.

The Q Rail office at platform 10.

Carriages, basically the same as for the trip to Charleville.

 Since the train left Brisbane at dusk, there are no photos of the trip up to Rockhampton. Daylight came about  fifty miles west of Rockhampton.

Since Rockhampton and Longreach both lie on the Tropic of Capricorn, the railway line follows the Tropic all the way.

he above photos show that although the scenery initially seems to be all alike, in fact it constantly changes. The appearance of water really grabs your attention.

Most of the creeks and riverbeds are dry or close to dry. Just imagine what it is like when not only the creeks and rivers are full, but they have overflowed. Earlier in 2011, the newspapers reported that two thirds of the state of Queensland was under water. The area of Queensland is about 715,309 square miles. Texas is 268,820 square miles.

Wrecked wagons.

Just a bit of variety.

 Unusual light that occurred for a while.

Another road to who knows where.

This train had more carriages than the train to Charleville and included some first class sleepers. This compartments were on either side of this wavy corridor.

Dinner menu. I had the steak but it wasn't great by any means.

Blackwater. It's the center of a major open cut coal mining area but the black in the name does not refer to coal. It refers to the colour of the water which has been tinted by ti-tree roots.

 Through out my trips in Queensland, I was fortunate to have a three birth sleeper to myself every night. It is also great during the day when you want to have a nap. Lock the door, put your head on the pillow, put on a pair of eye-shade goggles that they give you on planes and off to sleep you go. The blanket helps if the air conditioning is set a bit too cold.

 There was actually quite a bit of water around which was surprising considering that the winters are dry in this part of the world.

 Jacaranda tree in full bloom.

 Emerald Station.

 Sometimes you see trees. Sometimes you don't.

Outback mansion.

Old steel sleepers that were piled beside the line.

Popular mode of transport for grey nomads. The cost of motels is so high in the outback that it is cheaper to use one of these or a caravan.

One of the world's largest sapphires was found in Anakie.

These old outback houses are just so different especially if they are a bit run down.

 Stock yard.

You might notice the grate on the road made out of short pieces of railway line that prevents stock from wandering.

Dry creek bed. When it rains a lot, it will be full and probably overflowing.

 Each carriage has a cold water tap with paper cups.

 The train climbs over a mountain range west of Emerald.

 The ranges had recently suffered from a bushfire.

 Some of the curves through the range are quite sharp and it is easy to see the carriages in front and behind.

 Photo of a photographer at the small town of Alpha.

 There is a Beta just a few miles west of Alpha.

Since we were running a little ahead of time, we were allowed to get off for ten minutes. Since I was a little peckish, I decided to see if the bakery still had some meat pies for sale. As I paid for the pie, there was a blast on the train whistle.

So along with the rest of the passengers, I scurried back to the train.

The meat pie. It was pretty good without being great.

The buffet car.

 The doorways between the carriages. Older people found it difficult to open the doors.

Club car. It was always full of older people.

The dining car. On this trip, there were two dinner sittings and two breakfast sittings. It was very much a throw back to more elegant times.

 Counter in the buffet car. The staff really worked hard and were very friendly.

 Each sleeping car has a shower at one end of the carriage. It's not cramped and there is plenty of room.

 A brief rain shower passed through.

 Each sleeping car compartment has a sink and water glasses. The water in the sink is potable.

 The Tree of Knowledge monument in Barcaldine. I blogged about this in 2010 when I visited the town.

 We were allowed about 10 minutes to wander round while they refilled water tanks on the train.

 Timetable. I suspect it is exactly the same as the year before.

 The country side really changes as the train heads west from Barcaldine.

And so the sun went down just before we arrived in Longreach.

The staff on this train were exceptional and I really enjoyed this journey. Often the main conductor would point out items of interest along the way and give some of the background. This train seems to be more of a tourist train than a practical train and it was quite well patronized.