Overland Service Improvement Idea
Michael Walker (walker@hotkey.net.au)
Thu, 30 Apr 1998 00:44:10 +1000
A friend of mine was discussing this thread with me and he made a quite good
suggestion which wouldn't cost GSR much to implement and would be novel
enough to provide enough of a significant interest to improve patronage.
As time seems to be a problem on the Mel-Adl route and as time seems to
not be too likely to be fixed to the extent where rail can be competitive,
why not try running a SG steam loco on The Overland. Running R classes on
the Geelong train during the school holidays seems to have been a big winner
with Vline Passenger building the number of carriages required from 3 to
around 10 and I am sure many people, especially those who remember when it
was pulled by steam would want to travel on it for the thrill. I doubt it
would make the times much different, especially given the long stretches of
running. A day train would probably be more successful although I am sure
some would enjoy falling asleep to the beat of the engine.
What do others think?