DOWN UNDER with TT-ONR-NRN (+ other overseas ventures)

[TT-ONR-NRN]

You lucky boy! Emirates A380! How much did that cost?

Looking good, keep it up.

Thank you very much indeed

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I’m bowing out of Australia in true RailUK style!

XPT booked to take me to Melbourne where my flight home is.
Window seats were all taken but there was an available empty daysitter - backwards, mind you - the actual seats I prefer the saloon ones, but I guess the privacy of the daysitter is what matters! And it’s not something I’ll be able to experience on the XPT’s replacement.

Looking forward to it

 

[Class15]

View attachment 137270

I’m bowing out of Australia in true RailUK style!

XPT booked to take me to Melbourne where my flight home is.
Window seats were all taken but there was an available empty daysitter - backwards, mind you - the actual seats I prefer the saloon ones, but I guess the privacy of the daysitter is what matters! And it’s not something I’ll be able to experience on the XPT’s replacement.

Looking forward to it

Nice, looks like you had an awesome trip!

 

[railfan99]

TT, if I may ask, what date do you travel on the southbound day XPT, and what date is your flight ex MEL?

(On XPT, see conductor as just like flights, there's always 'no shows' so you may be able to move to a forward facing compartment).

Don't forget to look to the down side i..e. east where the main platform is as you pull into Junee to see the historic almost-piazza with old hotels etc.

 

[Pakenhamtrain]

View attachment 137270

I’m bowing out of Australia in true RailUK style!

XPT booked to take me to Melbourne where my flight home is.
Window seats were all taken but there was an available empty daysitter - backwards, mind you - the actual seats I prefer the saloon ones, but I guess the privacy of the daysitter is what matters! And it’s not something I’ll be able to experience on the XPT’s replacement.

Looking forward to it

At least you're closest to the exit at Southern Cross.

 

[Techniquest]

That promises to be an epic journey! Hopefully it will be amazing, hard to believe the time has almost come for your departure from Sydney!

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Day 124: Back to the Blue Mountains - but the parts I didn't get to last time - on a very sunny winter afternoon...

A Tangara (Sydney Trains T Set) greeted me at Newtown station on a grey-looking yet warm-feeling weekend, which was a big surprise as the main stock at this station is A and B Set Waratahs, with a handful of Millenniums on weekdays and a few ancient K Sets in the peaks. The Tangaras, with their famous sloping front which many people easily recognise as Sydney's, are not usual visitors to the routes calling at Newtown, but they now do a single diagram on the route on weekends only. I always think they look extremely modern considering they're roughly the same age as the Class 455s.

T5 and partner whisked me to Central, in the wrong direction to where I wanted to go, but that's because I fancied a Starbucks to wake me up for the journey. There was a mild interrogation from revenue as to why my Opal card was under "Tommy" and my Student Concession Entitlement ID said "Sebastian Tomás" but when I'd managed to satisfy him that most people use my middle name that was cleared.



Well, Starbucks Sydney Haymarket got my order wrong for the fourth time that week, so I was a bit snippy, but perhaps it was worth it as they promised me a new latte on the house the next day, and a complementary pink lady apple juice. They also remade my latte, and I boarded old, comfy, purple leather seat fitted V6 and partner, for the 10:18 Blue Mountains Intercity train bound for Lithgow. Yes, the beautiful weather and promise of paying no more than $7 (£4) thanks to the weekend Opal cap meant I had decided to return to the Blue Mountains today - but I'm not a one trick pony: I'd be going to the parts I hadn't yet seen. It's a big, big, big national park. It takes just over ninety minutes by train to get from Springwood at the northern most tip to Lithgow at the southern most bit.

I got myself very comfy - the 70s V Sets really are a delight, and I will miss them greatly - I plan to go for one last ride on them this Friday, then that's it as when I return next to Australia they should be scrapped due to D Sets coming into service any day now - and sipped my latte as it lurched out of the station, chopper motors screaming. Hardcore enthusiasts would have loved it. Oh, and the fact that V6 is actually made of a pair of former 2 carriage V Sets (most were built as 4 car and all are four cars now, of course) would have appealed to them too, as they've ripped out the cab, and perhaps stupidly you can open the once emergency door of these non gangwayed former cabs. I've seen terrifying videos of people hanging out from the door.

The journey to Springwood was about an hour and forty five minutes, this is often listed as a very pretty town. As expected from checking the forecast, what was greyish skies in Sydney was glorious deep blue sky down in the Blue Mountains, and the weather was VERY warm for winter. Perfect, because no one wants to freeze their thr'pennies off, do they. I'd seen that there was a lookout down the end of the road, so with my headphones in I walked the 3/4 mile to it. IT WAS PRACTICALLY A PILE OF BUSHES. What a frickin waste of time. I was slightly irritated, but because I'd got up pretty early for my usual standards, I'd hardly wasted the day, so I returned to the station and took another pair of comfy old V Set electrics to where I knew WAS worth going. Katoomba!

Now I know I've been to Katoomba before, but this is the EPICENTRE of the Blue Mountains, and there were plenty of things to do that I hadn't before. For a ridiculous fare of nineteen cents (11p!!!), I got the bus to Echo Point less than ten minutes away. I'd been everywhere to the right of there, but not to the left.





So I made my way down towards Honeymoon Bridge, and got great views of the incredible Three Sisters. One of the sisters was right next to me!



It was at this point I bumped into Phil of Sydney Trains Vlogs, probably the most popular railway YouTuber of the Sydney Trains network - he does similar videos to Geoff Marshall but in NSW, and sometimes in Brisbane or Melbourne. Very friendly guy, and very nice videos.

And then, oh heaven help me, I decided to do the Giant Stairway. It's a very, VERY steep set of steps that go down to the bottom of one of the 900m tall Three Sisters. It's tiring enough going down. It's EXHAUSTING coming back up. I am a physically fit young male who works out at the gym every day and is perfectly happy to walk long and steep, but this was one of the most physically challenging things I've done



A bus back to Katoomba town centre, which I rather ignored last time I was there (three months ago!!) in my hurry to get to Scenic World, where I had a wander round the very eccentric collection of shops and got myself an apple crumble slice from a local independent bakery, which was nice.

LOTS of cockatoos in the town, which are always a delight to see.



Then, after another short bus, as the sun began to set, I got to Cahill following a bit of a trek for a mile or just over, and it was stunning.



But not as stunning as just a few yards down, where this incredible arch is.



And then, at the end of the pathway, one of the most fantastic views of the Blue Mountains you can get, and the majority of visitors don't know about this spot! Come here. It's incredible.



I did feel very emotional suddenly, which is unlike me so I'm FURIOUS that that was the case , a sort of mixture of happiness, gratitude and sadness so close to the end of the exchange. I'm not ready to leave this country, really I'm not. My brain has accustomed to everything and thinks I'm here for good

Anyway, that aside, a rather creepy walk through the pitch black back to the bus, which materialised IMMEDIATELY so no wait was necessary (what luck!) and then after picking up a Red Bull from Coles, I boarded the empty double V Set waiting at the station and had a very comfy ride home in peace and solitude. Which is such a luxury, as Aussies are not quiet on trains, let me tell you.

Thanks for reading. Final exam due tomorrow (this particular module has been HELL) so after a day of work I'm FREE until October.

-----

XPT, and what date is your flight ex MEL?

(On XPT, see conductor as just like flights, there's always 'no shows' so you may be able to move to a forward facing compartment).

Don't forget to look to the down side i..e. east where the main platform is as you pull into Junee to see the historic almost-piazza with old hotels etc.

On the weekend, it's to be rather rushed.

Nice, looks like you had an awesome trip!

It's not happened yet!!

At least you're closest to the exit at Southern Cross.

I'm looking forward to seeing Southern Cross and Flinders Street again, although I won't have much time in Melbourne at all sadly.

That promises to be an epic journey! Hopefully it will be amazing, hard to believe the time has almost come for your departure from Sydney!

Yes, I'm excited for it, but it's ten hours on a train with no plugs or Wi-Fi - and by getting a daysitter I sacrifice the nice comfortable reclining seat in favour of more privacy - and its a backwards one - so I really hope I've made the right decision by not flying

Very sad that things are coming to an end, but I've got a good handful of more reports to come yet!

 

[Techniquest]

That was clearly an amazing day of exploring! Wow those views are just incredible, nice to see what I couldn't see on my own visit due to inclement weather!

I'm sure I did that stairway myself, it's definitely one which needs effort! I might have done it going down, I know there was one that I did which was exhausting with very little water in my bottle. I'd have to look up my trip report to be honest to check To be fair, it was visited back in March 2019, a long time ago!

Looking forward to more in due course!

 

[Intercity110]

What amazing views! I especially liked that bird.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

That was clearly an amazing day of exploring! Wow those views are just incredible, nice to see what I couldn't see on my own visit due to inclement weather!

I'm sure I did that stairway myself, it's definitely one which needs effort! I might have done it going down, I know there was one that I did which was exhausting with very little water in my bottle. I'd have to look up my trip report to be honest to check To be fair, it was visited back in March 2019, a long time ago!

Looking forward to more in due course!

Yes, I had a really nice day. I've been so busy doing all sorts of things with my friends in the city centre, particularly as the last three or so weeks have been Vivid Sydney, so it made a great change to get a good way out (about 100km) into New South Wales on an explore!

The stairway was certainly something to ascend after walking all the way down. It's so very steep and so very long! And the steps aren't even. They're all different widths and they're bumpy and rocky. Definitely glad I did it though. The views are sensational.

I'm sorry you had inclement weather - there's an ATOS Anne phrase if there ever was one - I must confess each time I've visited somewhere I've scanned the 7 day forecast in advance so as to ensure I got my beloved blue sky shots. I hate taking pictures of anything with grey skies and clouds... except perhaps mountains as they then give off a rather cool moody sort of vibe...

 

[Techniquest]

It was just poor luck on my part, but it could have been a tropical storm or something!

 

[Pakenhamtrain]

I'm looking forward to seeing Southern Cross and Flinders Street again, although I won't have much time in Melbourne at all sadly.

You'll be see more replacement bus than train if you venture far out of the CBD. Way too much work being done.

 

[nw1]

You'll be see more replacement bus than train if you venture far out of the CBD. Way too much work being done.

I can see why given that June is the equivalent of December in the Northern Hemisphere, minus Christmas - so there must be a marked trough in leisure travel in particular.

Always wondered what mid-winter in Australia must be like, without the "break" that Christmas provides.

But I'd also guess that (even in the far south such as Melbourne) Australian winters must be considerably less gloomy and depressing than UK winters which must help a good deal. For example Google is telling me that Melbourne has 18C and glorious sunshine today. You will absolutely never get that on Dec 16th in the UK!

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

You'll be see more replacement bus than train if you venture far out of the CBD. Way too much work being done.

As long as Craigieburn is running it should be okay.

I can see why given that June is the equivalent of December in the Northern Hemisphere, minus Christmas - so there must be a marked trough in leisure travel in particular.

Always wondered what mid-winter in Australia must be like, without the "break" that Christmas provides.

But I'd also guess that (even in the far south such as Melbourne) Australian winters must be considerably less gloomy and depressing than UK winters which must help a good deal. For example Google is telling me that Melbourne has 18C and glorious sunshine today. You will absolutely never get that on Dec 16th in the UK!

Up to now, Sydney’s winters have been glorious, akin to the UK’s better spring days, or less hot summer days.

 

[nw1]

The journey to Springwood was about an hour and forty five minutes, this is often listed as a very pretty town. As expected from checking the forecast, what was greyish skies in Sydney was glorious deep blue sky down in the Blue Mountains, and the weather was VERY warm for winter. Perfect, because no one wants to freeze their thr'pennies off, do they. I'd seen that there was a lookout down the end of the road, so with my headphones in I walked the 3/4 mile to it. IT WAS PRACTICALLY A PILE OF BUSHES. What a frickin waste of time. I was slightly irritated, but because I'd got up pretty early for my usual standards, I'd hardly wasted the day, so I returned to the station and took another pair of comfy old V Set electrics to where I knew WAS worth going. Katoomba!

Great trip report and pics once again!

Is the Springwood you're referring to this one?

Springwood, New South Wales - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Basically just inside the Blue Mountains, according to the map?

I ask as it doesn't look that far from Sydney (72km) so surprised it would take 1hr45 on the train, as (you've said this in the past) the service is limited stop.

 

[Pakenhamtrain]

I can see why given that June is the equivalent of December in the Northern Hemisphere, minus Christmas - so there must be a marked trough in leisure travel in particular.

Always wondered what mid-winter in Australia must be like, without the "break" that Christmas provides.

But I'd also guess that (even in the far south such as Melbourne) Australian winters must be considerably less gloomy and depressing than UK winters which must help a good deal. For example Google is telling me that Melbourne has 18C and glorious sunshine today. You will absolutely never get that on Dec 16th in the UK!

Winter is much more mild than the UK here. People are still at work, there's footy and rugby on,

A lot more of the big major works happen in January when there's school holidays for 6 weeks.

Great trip report and pics once again!

Is the Springwood you're referring to this one?

Springwood, New South Wales - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Basically just inside the Blue Mountains, according to the map?

I ask as it doesn't look that far from Sydney (72km) so surprised it would take 1hr45 on the train, as (you've said this in the past) the service is limited stop.

It's 52 minutes just to get from Central to Emu Plains. A suburban train takes an 1hr 6mins in comparison.

After Emu Plains it's all up hill.

As long as Craigieburn is running it should be okay.


Up to now, Sydney’s winters have been glorious, akin to the UK’s better spring days, or less hot summer days.

Planned Works

Planned Works

www.metrotrains.com.au

They are BUT.

Buses replace trains between Flagstaff and Essendon 8.30PM to last service/4AM Each day from the 20th of June to 9th July.

If you're in Melbourne on a weekend go between South Yarra and Clayton and you can see CBTC testing currently underway.

 

[railfan99]

But I'd also guess that (even in the far south such as Melbourne) Australian winters must be considerably less gloomy and depressing than UK winters which must help a good deal. For example Google is telling me that Melbourne has 18C and glorious sunshine today. You will absolutely never get that on Dec 16th in the UK!

I'm wary of going OT as it's TT's thread, but top today in Melbourne where I am was only 16.2 degrees: unusually windy with not a huge amount of sun. But yes, different to (much of) UK six months hence.

 

[railfan99]

Is the Springwood you're referring to this one?

I ask as it doesn't look that far from Sydney (72km) so surprised it would take 1hr45 on the train, as (you've said this in the past) the service is limited stop.

Not just gradients, but lots of curvature restricts speeds. Frequent stops as well:

https://transportnsw.info/documents/timetables/93-BMT-Blue-Mountains-Line-20220604.pdf

 

[nw1]

Not just gradients, but lots of curvature restricts speeds. Frequent stops as well:

https://transportnsw.info/documents/timetables/93-BMT-Blue-Mountains-Line-20220604.pdf

Thanks for that. Looks like it's 1hr19 by most trains?

Hopefully not too OT but it looks like there is a really serious uplift in peak frequency on the Blue Mountains line, from hourly to 4tph. We used to get that in the UK but sadly no longer!

 

[Intercity110]

welcome back to the UK TT-ONR-NRN! it might take some getting used to...it feels like only yesterday i was reading your first trip report.

 

[Techniquest]

Welcome back to the UK! No doubt it's quite the difference to Australia, but it sure sounds like you've had fun trying the 231s out, going by the post on the red pen thread

So a trip report from the USA, and a laptop left in Paris? One is most intrigued!

 

[Sprinter150]

I'm a bit late to the party here but having looked through the reports over the past few days it sounds like you've had a wonderful time Down Under.

What lovely scenery you've been spoiled with. And it's fascinating to see how affordable public transport is with Opal - is this a recurring political issue or is the debate relatively settled in favour of low fares?

All the best with your remaining studies

 

[railfan99]

. And it's fascinating to see how affordable public transport is with Opal - is this a recurring political issue or is the debate relatively settled in favour of low fares?

A new (Labor) government has taken the reins from the previous Liberal-Nationals (conservative) government in NSW: there is a deferred State Budget to be handed down in October 2023.

Fares are politically sensitive but given the Labor government in neighbouring Victoria is increasing fares by 8.1 per cent on 1 July 2023, NSW may well do similar.

The adult daily cap in Melbourne (soon to be A$10) that from 31 March 2023 includes all of the state of Victoria (a huge subsidy, and in my view unaffordable for the government) is well below that of Opal's adult fare cap in NSW's Sydney and environs.

 

[Sprinter150]

A new (Labor) government has taken the reins from the previous Liberal-Nationals (conservative) government in NSW: there is a deferred State Budget to be handed down in October 2023.

Fares are politically sensitive but given the Labor government in neighbouring Victoria is increasing fares by 8.1 per cent on 1 July 2023, NSW may well do similar.

The adult daily cap in Melbourne (soon to be A$10) that from 31 March 2023 includes all of the state of Victoria (a huge subsidy, and in my view unaffordable for the government) is well below that of Opal's adult fare cap in NSW's Sydney and environs.

Very interesting, thanks. 10AUD is indeed very cheap for the whole of Victoria

 

[railfan99]

Very interesting, thanks. 10AUD is indeed very cheap for the whole of Victoria

Apologies: A$10 is essentially a return fare: a full fare adult pays A$5 for a trip from Melbourne to say Mildura (c.570 kilometres):

(Mildura is an 'oasis' in often dry country on the Murray River (state border with NSW) on 'Yelta line' near the top (northwest):

VICSIG

vicsig.net

(the map is old and could do with some tweaking: the middle route, for instance, standard gauge through Horsham is the only one open to Adelaide in South Australia).

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Just gonna come out and say this:

My beloved Macbook Air laptop was stolen on its way back from Sydney, something I wasn’t even aware of until last week.

I hate typing out reports on my phone, so I’m waiting until I’m compensated with the funds to buy a new one, and then I’ll give you the last three or four Australian exchange reports, which I really hope you’ll pop back to see

This is why this thread hasn’t really been updated. Please check back soon as I won’t be concluding the report thread until the final stories have been told, as it were.

Yours somewhat sorrowfully
TT

 

[LowLevel]

Just gonna come out and say this:

My beloved Macbook Air laptop was stolen on its way back from Sydney, something I wasn’t even aware of until last week.

I hate typing out reports on my phone, so I’m waiting until I’m compensated with the funds to buy a new one, and then I’ll give you the last three or four Australian exchange reports, which I really hope you’ll pop back to see

This is why this thread hasn’t really been updated. Please check back soon as I won’t be concluding the report thread until the final stories have been told, as it were.

Yours somewhat sorrowfully
TT

Sorry to hear that! Bit of a rubbish ending to the adventure.

 

[railfan99]

My beloved Macbook Air laptop was stolen on its way back from Sydney, something I wasn’t even aware of until last week.

Sorry to hear that, but I'm surprised you didn't immediately notice.

I'd have thought you'd unpack on return to your UK home, and then raise the alarm. Do you have an idea when it was stolen and where you were at the time? Is there a possible CCTV recording?

 

[Techniquest]

I too am surprised it wasn't noticed until now, however I feel for you with that. Not a good situation to be in, and I had wondered why there had been no trip reports lately. Hopefully all can be sorted in due course

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Sorry to hear that, but I'm surprised you didn't immediately notice.

I'd have thought you'd unpack on return to your UK home, and then raise the alarm. Do you have an idea when it was stolen and where you were at the time? Is there a possible CCTV recording?

Well, there’s an element of assumption there, without knowing the full facts
It wasn't me who took it home from Sydney, it was my Parisian friend. Long story which will be explained in the reports.

As of an hour ago, Cardiff University (god I love them) have loaned me a rather nice, new Dell laptop for two weeks (which I can then renew for another two weeks at the library) free of charge, as part of the laptop loan scheme, so that'll cover me until I get a new one, so yay, now I can post these reports.


Day 130: Buses nice and otherwise to Palm Beach, impressive views, Home and Away filming location and pink sand.

Palm Beach is certainly a popular destination within the Sydney region of New South Wales, and its one of those sort of “bucket list” destinations you’d find in a “20 Best Things to Do in Sydney” sort of publication. Rightfully or wrongfully, it’s somewhere everyone I knew at Uni had visited at least once, and therefore I set aside the warm, sunny Friday-before-last to do just that: Go to Palm Beach.

Note I said Sydney region, not Sydney. It’s not Bondi or Bronte, where half an hour on the train or tram will get you there. It’s a fair distance, not as far as Central Coast & Newcastle or Wollongong and below, but the distance seems somewhat exacerbated by the fact two rather long bus journeys form part of the only sole means of getting to Palm Beach without a car.

So this meant taking the train to Wynyard first of all, which along with Town Hall (T.H. is probably more Central than Central station itself) is on Sydney’s flagship George Street, so the city centre, and thus only a fifteen minute or so journey. I actually bailed at Central to pick up a coffee from the Starbucks adjacent to the station, then walked up along the tramlines of the busy street to Wynyard as it was a nice day. From here, it’s onto the bus - but not one of Sydney’s usual dirty bright blue shockers. This, to my great surprise, was a very modern, very shiny and clean double-decker bus, all done up in a yellow colour scheme rather than the usual Sydney Buses blue. It was very pleasant inside.



That journey took about an hour, before a ten minute wait took me onto the usual filthy blue bus, and this was a particularly rancid bus, a bendy one that badly needed a good scrub, or a full refurbishment, or scrapping. I was on that for fifty minutes before arriving at Palm Beach, by a rather aesthetically-pleasing golf course. No hole-in-ones for me though, my mission was to climb the mountain and achieve that famous view. The sky wasn't particularly nice looking, although I did like how the sun was peeking through the white of the sky, but I knew that it was to clear rather soon. Here's a photo of the small beach between the golf course and mountain, which isn't the nicest, but nor is it the main beach there so all is well. Pittwater, it's called.



My gosh, was it a steep climb to the top of the mountain, but enjoyable all the same, and especially nice as the skies miraculously cleared on the ascend. Wonderful views all round from halfway up onwards.

View attachment 138876

View attachment 138877

Making me feel rather sad typing this from Cardiff (the first half was typed on the plane, and I gave up as I only had my phone and it's so tedious typing a report from a small phone) - anyway, at the very top of the mountain was a very sweet lighthouse, and a pair of Australian tourists with a Waitrose bag, which I couldn't help commenting on, and found out they'd picked it up on a trip to the UK


Down to the bottom, very steep, very long and winding - as you can see


Now skip to Part Two