Broken Hill

Thursday:  First taste of the facilities was enjoyable.  There is a nice Club Car where we were treated to welcoming drinks.  The Queen Adelaide Dining Car is nicely presented.  My dinner sitting was 8pm; pumpkin soup, pork cutlet and veg, lemon mousse and coffee: good servings and tasty. Dozed fitfully during the night: bed comfortable but the ride very rough at times.
Lots of track maintenance, with restricted speeds.  As a result we were 2 hours late into Broken Hill and no whistle stop tours available.  I was very disappointed.  Just time to stretch legs on platform and for the smoke-deprived to puff away furiously.  Countryside very flat but with a tinge of green in the scrub.  How people survive in these little trackside villages we pass I never know – so deserted.
The train itself is over 700 metres long, with 25 carriages, a motorail carrier and 2 locos.  At stations it has to be split in two or  beshunted to allow passengers on and off.  The number of staff required (cooks, waiters, hospitality attendants, maintenance etc.) helps one understand why tickets are so expensive. Nice touch: train has its own radio station which plays easy-listening music, descriptive and historic commentary of places passing through, and stories about local life by locals.

More pics here