In the latest TCA Quarterly there is an editorial related to Australian 3-rail model trains. I did a ‘quick’ search but couldn’t come up with anything. Anyone know of a retailer???
I don’t know of any currently made O gauge,but a company named Ferris made 3 rail O in the 50’s and 60’s.
Carl T.
O scale is nearly non-existant down under. The 3 rail made years back is called Tinplate.
Thanks guys. My parents just returned from there and took a ride on the Ghan Train, I was contemplating buying one of their engines in O 3-rail, but looks like I’ll have to buy an engine and repaint it, if I want one.
How did your parents like the Ghan? We have a month long trip to Australia planned in October and are planning to do as much train travel as possible. The Ghan is a definite. Any info you or your parents could provide is appreciated.
Jim
Read an article on some train clubs and layouts in Australia. There is quite a following, but not as much as in the US. I believe I read about some company that was making O gauge down under, but not sure if it is old information. I think the layout featured was in Perth.
dennis
Jim,
I haven’t seen them since their trip so I really haven’t gotten much out of them. They got back on March 28 and have been recovering since, they are still getting used to the time change. I do know my father said if you are going to leave for Australia in the evening (you get to sleep most of the way), and make sure you head back in the evening (you get to sleep most of the way). On their return they left at 5pm and no one slept. I think he said he has 16 hours of video and 1,000s of pics. So go prepared. If I remember correctly my Mom said they enjoyed the Ghan trip, they did that at night I think because she mentioned a sleeper car.
Jim,
The Gahn is not like the Orient Express it is really basic. We went to Australia several years ago and my travel agent talks us out of it and I’m glad he did. We didn’t go on a set tour of Australia, but we arranged many interesting day trips through a travel company out of Philadelphia called Swain Tours. They specialize in tours for Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and I think India. I would reccomend them highly to make all or part of the arrangement for your tour. I have reccomended them to several people and they all were very pleased. One trip they did recommend, and I’m glad we took it was to Kanagroo Island. Call up Swain and get their tour books and go on from there. I hate organized tours, being stuck with the same folks for three weeks.
If any questions, give me a call
I would prefer to hear criticism of a train from someone who actually travelled on it, rather than someone who took the word of a travel agent in another country.
I have travelled on the Indian Pacific, once in First Class and once in Second class (because I had a Norwegian friend with me - they hate spending money). The Indian Pacific runs from Sydney to Perth (about the distance from New York to San Francisco) which takes 62 hours so at least two nights.
The Ghan runs from Adelaide to Darwin (a bit like Miami Fl to Montreal Que) and of course involves more than one night’s travel.
The cars used on these trains date from 1969 to 1975 and are built in Australia under a Budd licence. Apart from the Roomettes, all First Class compartments have private facilities including a shower (something you don’t get on the Orient Express). The train is not historic like the old Wagon Lits but the accomodation is good.
Great Southern run three classes of travel on their overnight trains, a coach class for backpackers and similar economy minded customers, a Red Kangaroo
Thanks for the information on the Australia rail lines. The less than stellar post on the Ghan was certainly different than anything else I heard about it! I too would rather hear from someone who’s “been there… done that” than second-hand advice from a company selling something. We rode Mainline Steam in NZ last year and enjoyed it. As a tour, it had the usual “cons” of a tour; little time to explore on your own, tight schedule, same folks for three weeks, etc. but it was still a memorable trip. This time we’re on our own schedule. We’ve been checking the railway web sites to get details and plan the Oz trip. We’ll likely invest in a “railpass” since we’ll be there a month and use the pass to travel from area to area. Decision now is “what class?” Since we’re flying over on frequent flyer miles we may opt for first class. What will the weather be like in October (3-31)?
Thanks again,
Jim
It might be interesting to model Australian railroads with a mixture of Lionel and American Flyer track, to represent the various Australian gauges. In 1/48 O scale, the Lionel-style track at 5 feet is close enough to represent either standard gauge of 4’8.5 or Irish gauge of 5’3, while Flyer S-gauge is perfect for 3’6. Of course, finding, building, or bashing the rolling stock is still a big problem.
M636C
The information on the Ghan came from my travel agent who lives in Adelaide and works for a company based in Philadelphia and has ridden the Ghan. Obviously, this is his perspective. I was just trying to be helpful. But, I assume you can’t please all the people.
A few years ago, when the Ghan ran alternately to Alice Springs and to Darwin, I saw a Ghan loaded to more than forty cars, with four first class sections each of five sleeping cars. lounge and diner and included two of the available private cars.
It now runs to Darwin on all trips and rarely loads to more than two first class sections.
I believe that northbound Ghan trips are more popular than southbound trips (possibly because passengers prefer to fly back after the train trip, and most of the population live in the south).
The Australian countryside can become monotonous on long journeys like the Ghan and Indian Pacific, where large parts of the journey are through desert or flat rural country. This would seem to me to be more of a consideration than the quality of the train or even the service.
October is springtime in Australia and weather should be mild in most areas. Australia only sees snow in fairly restricted areas in the south east in winter. October should be acceptable even in the tropical north, although it will be warmer than in mid winter of course.
For those interested in steam trains this organisation, based south of Sydney NSW runs a number of steam and diesel powered trips. They have some of the best dining and lounge cars in the country (dating from 1962) and these are run with excellent meals and service on many trips. There are similar organisations in other states, but these trains run most frequently.
http://www.heritageexpress.com.au/
I hope this helps.
M636C