Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[roverdriver]

If you have missed Part 1 of this tale, it can be found here-

http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/forum/phpbb/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14196&highlight=red+center+centre

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Quorn is an interesting little town nestled in the Flinders Ranges. It owes part of its fame to being an important railway centre of the past. The narrow gauge line from Port Augusta ran through the Pitchie Ritchie pass and on towards the North. Quorn became an important service center. In 1929 the line eventually reached Alice Springs, and Quorn was possibly the most important railway town on the route. It became a very busy place during WW2 with the huge rail traffic heading towards Darwin, but now alas, a standard gauge line to the West of Port Augusta has taken over, and Quorn would be devoid of rail if not for the Pitchie Ritchie Railway, a rail preservation group.



The main street







There are some very nice old buildings in the town and all well worth seeing, but I suffer from too many photos and too little space, so will move on.

After passing through flat land within the Flinders Ranges area......



.......we came upon the ruins of Kanyaka Homestead.



This property, which used to be one of 365 square miles, has now been broken up into smaller lots, and the original homestead has fallen into decay. There is a brief history of it here-

http://www.southaustralianhistory.com.au/kanyaka.htm







At times up to 70 men and families lived here. Even the shearing shed is built to a mammoth scale.







Here and there was evidence of the narrow gauge railway to Alice.




We moved on after an extended look around, and lots of photos, to Hawker, and then drove further on into the ranges before returning to Hawker for the night.





On the way we were lucky enough to encounter some wildlife.





Next morning we were greeted by another beautiful sunrise.



Which looked even better facing the other way.



Although far apart, there are a few fascinating small settlements along the way towards Peterborough, however a larger center is Orroroo.



And here I spied a couple of old vehicles.





In Australia, Gum trees are so common as to be merely part of evryday life, but this one is worth noticing.



It is not particularly tall, but is both big at the base and old.



From Orroroo onwards there could still be seen relics of the railway, a water tower here, a goods shed there, and the line's formation in many places.

We arrived in Peterborough.

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Peterborough is a thoroughly railway town. Although the break of gauge from broad to narrow occurs a few miles away, it was planned for Peterborough to be able to service rail vehicles of all types and gauges, so a large roundhouse was built and some rather curious features, such as a 3 gauge turntable.



This is to be found in the Steamtown Museum, which is set up in the former railway workshop area. Alas, Peterborough now only has a standard gauge track passing through along which virtually all trains simply race past without stopping. Here are some items from within the museum.



A Morris inspection car- rather modified and with a Holden engine!













The last photo is the 'club car' from the Ghan.

A couple of pleasant hours were spent enjoying the exhibits. Being a railway town, we decided that instead of staying in a caravan park cabin, we would treat ourselves,so we stayed at the Railway Hotel.



I have referred to the various railway gauges in use in Oz, so have compiled a bit of an explanation for anyone interested. Railways do figure occasionally in the rest of our trip. For some reason, I can't copy and paste my missive, so will try to put it in a separate posting.

Part 5, the last part of the story, can be found here-
http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/forum/phpbb/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14245

An explanation about railway gauges can now be found here-

http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/forum/phpbb/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14260
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.

[peter scott]

More great traveloque Dane.

Your first photo of Quorn station with no rails is very evocative of abandoned railways.

We had Australian visitors last week and I was asking Ed where he got his supercharger for his SS from. To my surprise it was from a Commer TS3 as in one of your photos. This prompted me to look for TS3 info. and I found this nice running cut-away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&v=G-OqYFB4ofY&NR=1

I loved the Morris inspection vehicle sans steering wheel too.

Thanks again,

Peter
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http://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[rjt10/4]

really enjoying the further adventures of beatrix in the land of stunning scenery and glad you had such a wonderfull time enjoying the travelogue more please