Great Western - 10. GW Chap 10

It is a huge investment, and also very risky, but Dad was prepared to put our new home in Albany, as collateral for the project. The raised ground embankment of the old rail line built in the late 1890’s was virtually still there, so a lot of the work was already there and done, from Mullewa to Cue.

Dad had studied the system that was used to build the current rail line from Alice Springs to Darwin, which is efficient, and it can lay 8 kilometres of track a day, from laying down the blue metal base followed by the reinforced concrete rail sleepers, then finally the track itself.

In total it would take 4 months to lay the new track from Newman to Mullewa, and in that same time period, Dad wanted to have the upgrade of the existing rail line from Mullewa to Geraldton, completed also.

Not only was Dad having to negotiate with the current rail freight company, but also 7 shire councils, all the indigenous traditional land owners, and a few dozen land owners in some of the towns that would be affected by the new rail line.

With Dad finally having the go ahead for the Great Western to start the passenger line from Albany to Geraldton via Katanning, Northam and Dalwallinu, and Westnet approving the timetable that Dad had set, with an 8am departure at both ends, work had already started on building a permanent new train station, with a rail siding off the main rail line, directing the Great Western to the train station.

The City of Greater Geraldton had decided on a location approximately 1.6 kilometres east of the temporary platform, on the South side of the North West Coastal Highway, and between the Brand Highway to the West and the Geraldton to Mt Magnet Road to the East.

At this location, we would have room for a 700-metre long railway siding, with a 90-metre-wide strip of land, that covers 63,000 square metres or 15.5 acres of land, for a storage shed, train station and a good size car park, with easy access to major roads from Durlacher Road.

The train station and car park would be on the east side of the Durlacher Road overpass, while the storage shed, would be just west of the overpass. The city council had already given all the required approvals for the land, and Dad had secured a building company to clear just the land required for the buildings and the rail siding, and the construction of the train station.

Once that is completed the storage shed, which will have the lower half made of reinforced concrete, and the top half will be a steel frame with corrugated iron sides and roof, with a 1 metre deep trench footing, to prevent anyone or anything from digging under the wall.

At 190 metres long and 60 metres wide, the shed, will have two rail lines going in, with a junction located just 20 metres before the shed, with each line being 15 metres in from the inside wall of the shed, there will be a service platform between the shed wall and the train lines.

Another platform will be built in the centre between the two train lines, with an access bridge over the top, to gain access to all three platforms, with just one pedestrian door in the centre, of the end of the shed, as well as the two train doors.

It took the building company just three months to complete the train station, car park and the shed with its three platforms, and Dad contracted Westnet Rail’s maintenance division, to build the railway siding, and the two switch junctions.

While this was happening, work was done on improvements to the storage shed in Albany, doubling its size, so as to fit the train as a whole instead of having to split it into two, also two service platforms were constructed inside the shed, to make it easier for maintenance, cleaning, and reloading the train with supplies.

In addition to this, in Northam, the Suburban Road, rail link was built, to allow the Great Western to continue from the South line to the North line, without having to stop and switch directions, and vice versa.

When it was just two weeks before the completion of all the work, Dad did a huge advertising campaign, to promote the new Great Western passenger train service from Albany to Geraldton, which will run twice a week each way, leaving Albany on Monday and Thursday mornings, and returning on Tuesday and Friday afternoons.

While this was all happening, Dad was keeping ongoing training up for all the crew members, with the assistance of the State Government suburban rail line, the three drivers, were able to get plenty of practical experience driving the electric trains, while the stewards received training and work experience on the Prospector and Australind Country rail services.

Dad managed to do a deal with the Governments - Transwa country rail and road coach service, to provide the booking and ticketing services for all Great Western journey’s, and when Dad had announced the first paid rail service on the Great Western, to be on the Monday 3^rd of May, tickets were very quickly booked out for all of the 220 Bronze and Gold Class seats, and half of the 32 Platinum and Diamond class seats.

The day before the big day, all the crew, Dad and myself were at the shed, cleaning and getting the train ready for it’s first paying passengers, making sure that there are no maintenance issues, and that everything is working the way it should be.

With departure to be at 8am this time, instead of 12 noon like the first trip, we would be arriving in Geraldton at 3.45pm, giving the crew plenty of time to clean up in preparation for the return journey, and taking the rest of the afternoon off to relax, before starting at 7am the next day.

With it being the start of the school holidays, Mum and Dad decided that the whole family would be on this trip, and on the night before, Dad received a late-night call, which at breakfast time the next morning, I learnt was from Westnet Freight, asking us for the Great Western to delay the return journey by two hours, to allow a heavy freight train to pass by before us.

Dad reluctantly agreed to delay departure from Geraldton to 10am, meaning we would arrive in Northam, just before the Prospector train – West bound, arrives in Northam, and we would arrive in Albany at 5.45pm

Having a 6am start in the morning was difficult for my younger brothers, but I had become accustomed to the early starts, especially on days when I was working with Dad. The family arrived at the storage shed at 7.15am, just as the last of the food supplies were being loaded onto the train, and the crew had been there since 6.30, getting everything setup for the trip, including the additional two stewards and one chef.

At 7.30am, the train pulled into the Albany train station, where all the passengers were eagerly waiting for us to arrive, and the porter and three stewards got to work, checking in all of the passengers, one at a time from cars 2, 4, 5 & 7.

With only 4 leather chairs in the Executive lounge, Dad reserved Cabin No. 1 for our family, which Mum was pleased about, as it meant she could rest, since she was now, 6 months pregnant, and getting quite big, and Dad and I would be alternating to keep checking on her during the journey.

We managed to leave Albany on time, and while most of the family relaxed in the cabin or the executive lounge, Dad and I went for a wander through each of the rail cars, to see if everything was running smoothly, starting from the back of car 7, which is gold class, and we were surprised to see that there were a few families among the passengers in this class.

Passing by the kitchen again, we re-entered our executive lounge, making sure that the door remains locked, and we passed through the Diamond lounge in car 6, where two couples and one businessman were relaxing, and we continued on to Car 5, which is Platinum class.

The conference room was empty, so the sides of the table were folded down for easy access through, and we entered the seating area, which was nearly completely full, with a mixture of business people and couples.

After passing the kitchen in Car five and the servery in Car 4, we arrived in the first Bronze class seating area. “Oil, why are you allowed to pass through there and we can’t” a man said to us, with a British accent, “That is because we own the train sir, now can we assist you any further?” I responded to the passenger, who looked a little shocked, at me telling him instead of Dad, who just continued walking.

By the time we arrived in the crew lounge in car 1, we had been stopped 7 times, with passengers asking us questions, giving us feedback on the train ride so far, of which most of the feedback was very positive.

“Well done on handling that British guy in car 4 son, I am very proud of you” Dad said to me, after I had closed the door in the vacant crew lounge. “All part of the service, anything else I can help you with sir?” I replied, grinning broadly. “Cheeky sod, for that you can make the announcement to the passengers, about our 10am departure tomorrow” Dad replied, and I chuckled and nodded my head.

“Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen, and on behalf of Ashburton Engineering, we wish to welcome you onboard the Great Western. The journey today will take approximately 7 ½ hours, with an arrival time of 3.45 this afternoon.

Due to a request from Westnet Rail Freight, we will be departing from Geraldton two hours later, at 10am tomorrow, so it gives you a little extra time to look around Geraldton, and an arrival time of 5.45pm for those who are travelling back with us tomorrow.

We are pleased to announce that a brand-new train station has been completed, located just off Durlacher Street in Geraldton, 3.2 kilometres from the centre of the city, were there will be plenty of taxis for those who require one.

Those who are making the return journey, you will need to be back at the Geraldton train station no later than 9.30am, tomorrow morning. Thank you for your attention, we hope that you enjoy the rest of your journey” I said completing the announcement.

“Well done, now do you want to walk back or will you stay here for a while?” Dad asked, “I think I will stay for a while, I have my own keys with me, so I can get through, without staff assistance” I replied, and Dad left the crew lounge, and headed back towards the executive lounge near the back of the train.

Shortly after Dad left, the door to the driver cab opened, making me jump a little as I wasn’t expecting it.
“You still there Master Vern?” the driver on duty asked, “Yes I am here, Dad has headed back” I replied, as I stood and entered the drivers cab, where one of the other drivers was seated in the spare chair.

“Good announcement you made just now, I guess we can all have a bit of a sleep in ourselves” the second driver said smiling, “That you can, as long as you are here an hour before we depart, we don’t want to leave any of our drivers behind” I replied, and both drivers laughed. “No chance of that Laddie, we will be on time, don’t you worry about that” the driver on duty said.

“So, how are you dividing the times in the driver’s seat?” I asked, “The first and last drivers have 2 ½ hours each, and the driver on the second shift, does 3 hours, then we rotate positions for the next trip, with the last driver responsible for putting the train to bed” the second driver replied. “That sounds fair enough, as long as you are all happy with that arrangement” I said, “That we are Laddie, that we are” the driver on duty responded.

Soon after, I headed back down towards the executive lounge, stopping to chat to each of the stewards, to see if they are happy with everything, before continuing on. I stopped at cabin one, to check on Mum, where she was laying down and reading a book.