Re: Mudgee Tour

["B." <gunzel412@dingoblue.gunzel.net.au>]

If you don't mind, I'll just bore you with my observations of this
trip.

Ran the 2100 Down? Ansett SYD flight ex MEL, this hunk of junk
left 33 minutes late a/c late arrival and a AWOL pax, this then
caused their baggage to be searched down and expelled from the
bowels of the plane.  PWM's?

Crashed into Sydney, and sleazed down to the station.  The price
of a one way ticket from Domestic to Central is $10.00, this
really is an obscene ripoff of considerable magnitude.  For $9.90
I can travel all day anywhere in Melbourne.  The train was filthy
too.

Landed on Central Station far too early in the morning to catch
WL41 06.59 down Mudgee Nut Spcl, locos consist & times as noted
elsewhere.

Was seated in a luxury car, with premium opening windows, (just
the thing for sniffing in the diesel fumes).  There was an occo
(possession for those from north of the border) somewhere in the
western suburbs, but apart from a parallel run with 2 track
machines no activity was seen.

We were run through by a railmotor of some description at the
Penrith Down Refuge, but it seemed to take a while for the
signaller to make the road after it passed.

The photostop management was a bit of a dogs dinner, the idea was
that everyone was to gather in the Club cars in the middle of the
train, but because the location/timing of the photostops was
somewhat hazy, there was a standing crowd in the Club car's at one
point just hanging around like sheep.  Why they didn't want
everybody just using the most convenient door at each stop is
beyond me, it really blew out the time needed for each stop by a
fair bit, as getting the punters through the aisle and out the
door is the bottleneck.

The best photo of the tour was the last photo on the return,
however since the 42 was leading exposing a plate was out of the
question.

The return journey was undertaken with the luxury car (with
premium opening windows) as the 2nd car behind the locos.  So the
audio properties of the accent of that small hill just on the up
side of Lithgow was not too bad.

Sunday morning saw a tour of inspection of the modern electric
street car line.  Purchasing a tram ticket off a conductor was a
funny feeling.  Not many pax though.  $7 for one return journey to
the end is again a bit steep.  <press play>  For $7.40 I can ride
all the trams in Melbourne all day.

The trip back to the airport was on a set with open windows (an
XYZ set or something).  Bit cleaner too.  At the Domestic Station
there was an informative screen informing me that "Windows cannot
detect a mouse connected to my computer".  As a pax I'm glad I was
told that.

At the airport I saw rubbish bins.  So what you say?  If the
airport can have them, why can't Cityrail.  Wierd.

Return to MEL was by Tigermoth Airlines (trading as Impulse), the
terminal at SYD for them and the Colourblind Airline is a tin
shack a considerable routemarch from the Station.  Is there no
room in the main building for these other operators?  Would be a
pain in the rain, as there is no shelter or covered walkway.

Now you must be thoroughly bored, so I'll stop.

--
B.

Email - gunzel412 at dingoblue dot net dot au
ICQ#  - 82329734
Phone - long, long, short, long.