Re: GSR will extend the Ghan service to Darwin

["< Tell >" <telljb@OZozemail.com.au>]

"Steven Hurst" <hurste@primus.com.au> wrote:
>
> Why would you need to change the name!  The camels it was named after
> weren't just restricted to the Adelaide-Alice trip - they went to Darwin
> too!


No, the camels rarely ventured North of the Tropic of
Capricorn about 32 Kms up from Alice Springs.

Remember they were beasts of the sandy deserts, there
are no deserts North of the Centre.  The camels soft
foot pads would have been torn to pieces between Alice
and Darwin.  Pack horses, wagons and traps were the
means before the motor vehicle.

One other thing, water or rather the lack of it, was
why camels were used through the Far North of South
Australia and into the Territory.  Water is far more
plentiful North of Alice Springs, this is why the new
line will require an incredible amount of culverts,
untold numbers of small-ish bridges and on the final
leg from Katherine to Darwin some very big bridges.