Re: Special Train Coming Soon...

["WhaleOilBeefHooked" <daproc@sd5.mailbank.com>]

Time for the nitpicking.........

FRISCÉ Theatre Co. (Bryan Cullis) <rabonzo@primus.com.au> wrote in message
pqRN3.180$Bs.4172@nsw.nnrp.telstra.net">news:pqRN3.180$Bs.4172@nsw.nnrp.telstra.net...
> I know it's very advance warning, but there's going to be a special
> chartered XPT running from January 9th to about January 10th (give or
take)
> between Melbourne and Brisbane via Canberra and possibly Sydney.  This is
> for the Victorian, ACT and NSW contingents of the Sydney 2000 Olympic
Games
> Marching Band's national rehearsal.  I don't know the times yet, and I'm
> assuming that it will be an XPT as it is running non-stop to Canberra and
> then on to Brisbane.

If it is running from Melbourne to Canberra, it will stop at Junee for crew
change, and at Goulburn to reverse. Given that it will be doing Melbourne -
Goulburn - Canberra - Sydney, total travelling time of about 16 hours, I
imagine they would have abreak in Sydney, so that the kids can get out etc.
while they service the train. I presume (I hope) that they will run the
positioning movements (SYD-MEL) as a revenue train.

I wonder where they will get the cars from? Probably revert the Dubbo XPT to
four cars plus XP - that frees up an XP and an XF/XB - would not need a
sleeper. Probable composition - XP,XF,XBR,XF,XFH,XP - capacity of the three
middle cars - 157 - plus the XFH for their gear (they will have a lot). They
might have to reduce all of the XPT sets to six-car trains.

All of this in the middle of the school holidays too!

Perhaps Countrylink should swallow their pride and hire some cars from
somewhere - GSR would *HAVE* to have a stack of ex-Overland cars sitting at
Keswick. These could form a loco-hauled serviceoperating right through, and
they could possibly have an Endeavour to run a connection for the Canberra
group. A PCO and a CO would provide heaps of space for all their gear too.

Just some thoughts.

DaveP