Re: Far northern tilt train on schedule

["William Walker" <willwalk@tpgi.com.au>]

> >
> >  I dont think there is any chance of the electrification coming up here.
>     Actually the QR rumor mill says that they have found that it was a
> mistake to put it in in the south and are sorry they did :-(
> Darryl,Townsville.

It was then premier Joh Petersen's idea to build the railway line electric
wire in the south between Rockampton and Brisbane.

Yes, it made sense not to build it at this stage, but I was wondering when I
would ever see it.  I guess, never me thinks for between cairns and
rockhampton.

I think it's pointless to do electric wiring at this stage because they are
going to build the Melbourne and Adelide to Darwin rail links.  I probably
will never see any electric trains in the North Queensland or Northern
Territory.

Would climate be a factor along with the cost?  Maybe too hot or too risky
with tropical cyclones in the North Queensland or Northern Territory?

A bit off topic, 17 years ago, with a gold mine built 300 km northwest of
Townsville, and now the gold mine will be shut next June.  It didn't have a
railway line, but there was a old railway line through a small township near
the mine.  Guess what?  they also had a dam, but then it's set to be
decommissioned when the mine closes down.  It's about 100 kms north west of
Greenvale, which used to have a railway line (now it's shut and decayed) and
that line used to go to a mine near Greenvale, again it was shut - reserves
ran out.  I was touring the area on the way to the Gulf last easter.

But the line between Normanton and Croydon still operates as a tourist line.

William Walker