Re: Let's Go Adventuring with CityRail

["Wollongong Quokka" <quokka@zip.net.au>]

David & Julie Donald <dsjmd@hermes.net.au> wrote in message
384F84FF.95670B20@hermes.net.au">news:384F84FF.95670B20@hermes.net.au...
[snip]
> My intention had been to catch a Suburban service that is scheduled to
depart
> Wynyard at around 1642 (Redfern, Parramatta, and all stations), which
should
> then connect with the 1810 departure from Penrith (the replacement for
"The
> Fish").
[snip]
> ...and I finally arrived Springwood at something like 2008, having
> been "on" trains for roughly three and a half hours.
>
> Anyone want to better that situation tonight.
[snip]

Not tonight, but I've had worse.  Tried to travel from Katoomba to North
Wollongong one hot stormy summer afternoon in 1997/98.  Huge mistake.  A
couple of broken down trains and hence cancelled services saw me arrive at
Central at least an hour later than planned, while a lightning strike
somewhere on the Illawarra Line meant the train I was on got bailed up at
the signal at Oatley station.  We eventually passed the signal at Red and
became part of a continuous line of trains positioned end to end that ran at
least between Como and Oatley stations.  Many people got off trains in this
area and proceeded into Como on foot along the walkway that runs along the
track.  Jannali also saw a lot of passenger and associated vehicle traffic,
while Sutherland cleaned up my train pretty nicely, with many passengers
getting lifts with those who parked at Sutherland and with others having
already arranged someone to drive up from Wollongong to collect them.  If I
recall correctly, it took about three hours to get from Oatley to
Sutherland, with the vast majority of that time spent on the 2.1km stretch
between Oatley and Como.  From memory the train operated at roughly normal
times from Sutherland, but our stopping pattern was altered... and I'm not
talking about the unscheduled stops at Oatley, Como and Jannali.

Any storm with fork lightning seems to work wonders with the CityRail
system.

--
Robs the Sydney Wollongong Quokka
http://www.zipworld.com.au/~quokka/