Re: Overland 29/6

["Dave Proctor" <daproc@spambait.ozemail.com.au>]

"James C" <noemail@emailsux.com> wrote in message
3961d3ec$0$17011$7f31c96c@news01.syd.optusnet.com.au">news:3961d3ec$0$17011$7f31c96c@news01.syd.optusnet.com.au...

> The club car is
> no where near luxury nor touched by the famous designer who designed
Indian
> Pacific/Ghan/Queenslander/Sunlander/Spirit of tropic/GSPE and Spirit of
> Outback.

Yeah, I reckon the Kookaburra car is nothing more than a cheapened down
version of a cheap dinign car. It is certainly nothing to write home about,
particularly in relation to what was on offer previously (Overland Club
Cars) which were more convivial to sitting back, relaxing with a drink or
two (or twn) and letting the kilometres go past!

> Nevertheless the train was very full especially first class
> sleeper, despite airline undercut the price by 2$ and coach class being
20$
> dearer then Firefly.

But how many of these actually were travelling on point to point tickets?
(This is a rhetorical question, I do not expect an answer.) People with
AustRail passes are captive to rail, so the difference between rail's
pricing and the pricing of the competition is irrelevant. Many of these
backpackers like to arrive with all of their travel costs prepaid. Too bad
if they arrive and some of the sectors they have paid for *could* have been
cheaper if they had paid on arrival.

> Slowly leaving Spencer street yard and 4D watching us underneath the
Latrobe
> Street overbridge. The train is dead slow between Newport and SSS, pick up
> speed afterwards. However some cars on parallel highway have no trouble of
> over taking us. The ride was smooth; much better and quieter then XPT
> sleeper despite my cabinet is directly above the wheel.

The XAM's do not have the best bogies - the best thig they could do is put
the bogies under the XAM's and the original build XL's under the wowser cars
(Car 'C' and car 'D') and put decent bogies under the XAM's and XL's.

> Very next day train was 20 minutes late into Adelaide Keswick station due
to
> number of speed restriction and concrete sleeper exchange program. It
seems
> to me everyone enjoyed the trip.

Which is good - they might travel again.

Dave