"The Longest piece of straight track in the world is in Australia. It is over 250 miles long. They said at points you could see a headlight coming that was 29 miles away. That would have to be the most BORING piece of rail to operate on. At least the curves and hills offer some different scenery."
-- GTW Conductor Ron Jackson

As I recall (it's been 10 years), there was a station stop along the straight. No real towns there, the only settlements are basically railway maintenance "company" towns, but the train did stop at one of them, so it was possible to get out and, briefly, look up and down the track.

This is desert country, but a year or so back they had severe flooding which shut the line down for a week (several weeks??)...
-- Bob Thompson

There are basically 3 intermittent towns (use the word loosely) and several small railway settlements. The Trans Australian Railway, TAR, is owned by Australian National, but National Rail have operating rights on it. The line was built between 1912 and 1917 by the then Commonwealth Railways, one of the merged roads that formed AN in 1975.

The TAR starts at Port Augusta in SA (population about 17,000), and passes through rough sand hill country before reaching the long straight at Ooldea, between Port Augusta and Ooldea the line passes through Pimba, the former Junction for the Woomera Line that ran to the restricted town of the same name, this was a former British/Australian rocket research centre and was also instrumental in the British nuclear tests in the 1950's, it is now used by the US Defense Department (for what I dare not ask!).

After Pimba and some 280 miles west of Port Augusta, is Tarcoola, the junction for the new standard gauge line to Alice Springs. Tarcoola has a Pub, and police station and is the crew change point for almost all AN and some NRC trains after Tarcoola the sand hills continue until you reach Ooldea.

Once past Ooldea the next town is Cook about 500 odd miles west of Port Augusta, (population, 200???) This is also the crew change point for about all AN and NRC trains. It has a station, mainline fuel racks, a postal agency/general store, school, a few houses, a hospital and airfield for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and not much more -- A real RAILROAD town.

After Cook (the place Bob refers to as the location you get to walk around) the next town is Rawlinna, an AN crew change location, then you finally get to the end of the TAR at Parkeston about 4 miles east of the gold mining centre of Kalgoolie. Parkeston originally was the location of the CR crewing and loco facilities but I believe they are now performed in Kalgoolie? AN interchanges here with Westrail but NRC re-crew their trains and continue onto Perth about 680 km's to the west on the Indian Ocean, (hence the name Indian Pacific).

Some AN trains also operate on the Relay Basis, whereby crews travel in special crew cars and change every 7 or 8 hours (there being two crews on each train).

NRC trains currently run on the Three-up basis on most trains. Two Engineers on the loco and one travelling in the crew car. They work a 15 hour cycle, 5 hours driving, 5 hours in the assistant's seat and 5 hours rest.

Unlike AN crews working relay, NRC crews only work this way as far as Cook from either direction. In actual fact there are no crews actually stationed on the TAR by either road, the crewing locations being Adelaide, Port Augusta and Kalgoolie with the crews working towards the middle.

Alice Springs also has crews that work south on the CAR, (Central Australia Railway) as far as Tarcoola on the TAR, 2 Engineers running the whole way (around 860 km I believe)??

To the best of my knowledge these facts are accurate, if not maybe another member of the group might kindly put me straight (excuse the pun).
-- Bob Lawrence
Locomotive Engineer

P.S.: I've contacted many engineers since I got on the Internet and there are a couple of conclusions I have reached. No matter where we live, what accent we talk with, or which road we work for, we all have a great deal in common, a bond that seems to bring enginemen together -- "shift work" and the fact that few who don't work in engine service understand what makes us tick!!

George Stephenson once said in England 160 years ago, "If we didn't have to put up with those drivers, life would be a lot easier. They are the most independent, disagreeable group of individuals I have ever met".

You know that makes me quite proud, to think that in 160 years we haven't changed!

Is this a Record?