Ghan Railways (past and present) on UK TV

[Pat Ricroft]

A fascinating series of TV shows is running in the UK: "Extreme
Railways", starring Chris Tarrant as a sort of amalgam of Michael
Palin and Michael Portillo. Last night's episode featured the Ghan
line, but not the lazy way of just riding the train in Gold Class
luxury from Adelaide to Darwin. Oh no. Tarrant does ride the train as
far as Port Augusta, but then changes onto the steam train on the Old
Ghan route. When the steam train runs out of track he follows the
route of the old line on rubber tyres, even trying a camel for part of
the way. He rejoins the modern line at Alice Springs but too late to
board a passenger train. I suspect this bit was planned though as he
then gets a cab ride for the next 22 hours or so on one of the many
freight trains.

Anyway, this is all downloadable for your viewing pleasure at <http://
www.channel5.com/shows/chris-tarrant-extreme-railways/episodes/episode-2-465>.
Stirring stuff!
--
Pat Ricroft, City of Salford, UK
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