BOY STUFF

 We were driving from Port Augusta to Burra in South Australia. On the way we stopped at Orroroo for morning tea (last post) and we stopped at Peterborough to visit the 'Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre.'
Peterborough was settled in 1875. It was called Petersburg but the name changed during WW1 due to anti german sentiment, as were many towns in S.A. They had german names because of the big german migrant population there.

Peterborough is situated in wheat  country and has a population of 1,700. It has an interesting rail history. It used to be on the intersection of the east west and north south rail lines. Both lines were narrow gauge (3'6") until 1970 when the east west line changed to standard gauge (4'8½") and the line south to Terowie was converted to broad gauge (5'3"). (One wonders why this happened) However, it made Peterborough become a triple gauge junction there were three in the country at that time. This meant an awful lot of changing trains when travelling across the country. It also meant that triple gauge turntables had to be built at the junctions. Now most of our railways are standard gauge. When the conversions took place lines were also moved and Peterborough was no longer a junction but the east west line, (the Indian Pacific train) still passes through Peterborough.
On the map you can see Adelaide at the bottom and Port Augusta at the top left. You can see the Pich Richi railway to Quorn.(past post) Peterborough is on the right. The red line is the north, south railway with the "Ghan"train going from Adelaide to Darwin. The blue line is the east/west line with the"Indian Pacific" train going from Sydney to Perth.

 We took a guided tour of the museum.  The triple gauge turntable is still in working order. The roundhouse where locomotives were serviced now houses many different heritage engines and carriages.

 It was well set out museum with easy access to all the engines and carriages.

 Bill and the boys were having fun.

 An early diesel engine.

 They had a variety of carriages this one was the travelling nurse's carriage.

 This one the club car.

It took over an hour to see everything but for an outback town it was a splendid museum.

The centre also provides work for the unemployed who cannot find jobs but are receiving 'the dole' (social security payments.) After so many weeks on the dole they must do some kind of work to continue receiving the dole. So here they  help restore old rolling stock.

OFF TO ORROROO

We passed an old farmhouse and wagon.

 After spending 3 days exploring Port Augusta, we continued on our tour of South Australia a few months ago. Together with 4 friends we drove on towards Peterborough to visit the Steam Train Museum. However, we stopped on the way for coffee at a charming little country town called Orroroo. The coffee shop was gorgeous with lovely crafts and gifts too.Before we arrived there we stopped at the biggest gum (Eucalyptus) tree.

As we entered the town we were greeted by this great sculpture made from metal strips and their heads nodded in the breeze as if they were really pulling the plough.

Council chambers

The little houses in Orroroo were so cute.

As usual I can't finish a post without a wildflower from the area.

BLOOMIN' BEAUTIFUL

During our tour of Port Augusta in South Australia we visited the 'Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden' It was established in 1993 to provide an international, arid zone ecosystem, research centre and to provide a wider appreciation of Australia's arid zone flora.The myriad of highly evolved plants are adapted to extreme temperatures and years of drought. They are fragile, complex and they are not found anywhere else in the world.  Here are just a few:

POTTERING AROUND PORT AUGUSTA

 After our train trip we returned to our motel in Pt Augusta. The next morning the six of us went exploring our surroundings. Pt Augusta is quite an important town. It is situated at the tip of Spencer Gulf. It is a sea port and the crossroads of Australia. The north/south and east/west railways and  highways all intersect here. The town was founded in 1852 and named after Lady Augusta Sophia Young the wife of the governor of South Australia, Sir Henry Edward FOX Young. (Did you see that name? Same as our grandson.)

 Off we went to the Water Tower Lookout and climbed up many steps to the top. We look over part of Port Augusta and Spencer Gulf.

 We jumped in the car and off to Matthew Flinders Lookout (He was the first sailor to navigate all the way around Australia) We could see the Red Cliffs, no points for guessing why they are called that.

Then it was time to be at the little dock ready for our booked cruise up to the tip of Spencer Gulf. While waiting I got a kick out of the signs. The distant one says "Swimming Prohibited" and the other you can read. So can't the swimmers read or are the locals disobedient? 

I also checked out the wild flowers nearby....I just can't get enough of them.

The luxury cruise boat arrives. Hee hee

We took a closer look at the Red Cliffs. The colour was stunning even on a very dull day. Can you imagine how it looks with a big blue sky at the back?

All along the banks there was red soil, mangrove bushes and lots of birds.

 The gulf got very narrow with Eyre Peninsula on one side and

 Yorke Peninsula on the other

On the way back we were accompanied by frolicking dolphins who like surfing along side the boat catching the wash.

Quorn

Continuing with our tour in SA we alighted the historic Afghan Express at Quorn, a delightful little town with a big history. Quorn was named after Quorndon in the UK and was surveyed in 1878 as a railhead town for the Central Australian Line (The Ghan). In 1917 the new Trans Australian Line (The Indian Pacific)  stretching across the continent from east to west passed through Quorn also. This caused the town to expand now becoming the crossroads for the north south and east west lines. Many fine buildings were constructed.  By the 8o's both lines had been changed to a wider gauge and to a different location. Trucks took over the freight business and so the town started do die. However , thanks to the Pichi Richi Preservation Society, which renovated the line and locomotives and introduced tourist trips between Quorn and Port Augusta the town has survived. It is also the main town  for the Flinders Ranges region. The Flinders Ranges also attract visitors.

The buildings were really beautiful. The Post Office.

The Town Hall, the stone plaque was laid in 1891.

The second building is a shop called Quornucopia and it sold all sorts of interesting items but best of all was its book collection. I bought a book there for my grandson.

Lovely house and the old Mill.

We found a lovely old fashioned country cafe for lunch and then returned to the station to catch the histioric Afghan Express back to Port Augusta.

The volunteer train buffs had to take the engine off and take it to the other end of the train so as to travel back in the opposite direction. 

While Bill enjoyed watching all the huffing and puffing of the engine and it connecting with the train, I enjoyed taking arty farty fotos and................ 

...........pictures of wild flowers.

During the trip back we saw a kangaroo spooked by the train and was madly trying to hop away.

Bill was taking loads of video footage .                                                        

THE PICHI RICHI RAILWAY S.A.

Just in case you haven't realised already from reading my blog, I must tell you that Bill loves trains. When we did the Lake Eyre Tour in South Australia in 2010 our tour guide told us about the historic Pichi Richi Railway which goes between Pt Augusta and Quorn. We saw books and pictures of it and decided we would go back and travel on it one day. So our friend Ann who organised this trip booked up for us to do the train trip.  First I will explain a little about the rail line. 

The Ghan pulling into Alice Springs Station when we were there some years ago.
We flew there, we have never been on The Ghan.

 The Ghan Train runs right through the centre of Australia from Adelaide in the south to Darwin in the north. It was called The Afghan Express and then shortened to 'The Ghan" in memory of the Afghan and Indian cameleers who used to travel in caravans along this route before the rail line was built.

 The line commenced in Port Augusta in 1876 but didn't reach Alice Springs until 1929. The second stage to Darwin wasn't started until 2001 and was completed in 2004.   In 1956  the line was moved to the west a few hundred miles to avoid the continual washouts in the wet season.

The section of line between Port Augusta and Quorn runs through an area called Pichi Richi an aboriginal name of a plant that grows there. The Ghan no longer uses this section of line and in 1974 the Pichi Richi Preservation society restored the line and an original Afghan Express Train, which now takes tourists between Port Augusta and Quorn.   

 We arrived early at the station and watched the volunteers get the train out of its shed and put together for our ride.

 It comes in backwards.

Bill gets his ticket checked by
 a volunteer.









Passing scenery.

 It was fun hanging out from the veranda taking shots until I got soot in my eye.

 We went over an old iron bridge and tourists in cars stopped to take photos of the historic train.

 Grass trees or Xanthorrhoea covered the hillside.

After 2 hours of fun we arrived at Quorn, a beautiful little town that I will show in the next post.