World's Most Extreme Railways - The Old Ghan Line

OUTBACK RAILWAY... The original Old Ghan Line from Adelaide to Darwin crossed two thousand miles of hostile Australian Outback. It took almost 100 years from 1878 to complete and no sooner was it finished when the southern half was abandoned and a new line built further West.

The Pichi Richi Railway runs steam trains on the last surviving stretch of the Old Ghan. Back in the day the train's equipment included rifles picks and shovels. If a flood or landslide halted the train in the middle of the Outback the crew would hunt for food while the passengers would be expected to get out and help repair the line.

EXTREMITY... the harshness of the Outback, combining intense heat with devastating floods meant that ultimately Nature not Man won this battle and the line was moved further west.

DID YOU KNOW... The Ghan is named after the Afghan camel drivers who pioneered travel into the Outback with camel trains. By 1900 over 15,000 camels were crossing the outback.

This film features Chris Tarrant riding an original 1950's British W Class steam locomotive pulling 1920s passenger coaches.

[mikeytrains]

The Pichi Richi still owns one of the first diesels to pull the first diesel hauled Ghan, NSU52.

[michaelnaisbitt]

Is this really a W class from the Silverton Tramway or a normal W class unstreamlined as used in Sth Australia with the streamline casing fitted off the Silverton tramway loco they got from the Puffing Billy museum ???