Great Western - 17. GW Chap 17

Dad called for a full ARG staff meeting, which included a now very pregnant Mum, Dad, myself, Franz and the other four staff, and we sat down in the conference room, to discuss our options.

“I would first like to tackle a current situation, I would like to alter the timetable for the Esperance to Leonora trains, so as to have a morning and afternoon train from each end.

It will be a very long day for the drivers and stewards, but with a very early start, the trains can reach Kalgoorlie from both directions, in time for the morning Prospector to Perth, then continue on, after an hour break in Kalgoorlie, and be at each end in time for a turn-around, so as to get to the Prospector to Perth at 1500 hrs, and still have it three days a week” I suggested, in German.

“Do you think there will be enough passengers to warrant the very early starts?” Franz asked me, “I think it would be good for business people, so I suggest that we go ahead with it, and see how it goes” Dad added, also in German, and that is the language spoken for the rest of the meeting.

“The morning Prospector from Perth, will arrive before the connecting trains from Leonora and Esperance arrive, or those who wish to continue, and I think we should keep that service to just as it is and not expand on it” I added, before I stood up and headed to the maps cupboard, and after some searching, I found a topographical map of the Mid-West and Gascoyne region of Western Australia, and placed it on the table, for all to see.

“If we are going to think about expanding North, we need to look at this and work out a feasible route. North of Greater Geraldton, we have the Chapman Valley, Northampton and Shark Bay Shires, with places like Kalbarri and Shark Bay as good stopping points.

Because of the National Park at Kalbarri, and the neighbouring station, it may be easier to skirt along the East side of town, squeeze past the golf course, and cross over the river, so as to run between the ocean to the West and the river to the East, but we may get some displeasure on having a railway bridge over the Murchison River, so close to town.

The other options are to keep following the main highway north, skipping Kalbarri all together, or we can go through the National Park, but on a raised track, to avoid too much environmental damage, and cross over the Murchison River, just before Mount House Station homestead” I suggested.

“I like the idea of a raised track above the ground, but how high will it need to be?” Franz asked, “Well for a guess, I would say no more than two metres, with the only requirement is holes for the support pillars and beams, to support the track” I said.

“That could work, and it would also keep the environmentalists and State Government happy, once over the river, where from there?” Dad responded, “I suggest, continuing North, about 15-kilometres inland from the coast, till we reach the Useless Loop Road” I suggested, and some of the men laughed at the name of the road. “You have some very strange place and road names in this country” one of the newer staff members commented.

“That we do have, continue please Vern” Dad added. “If we follow the Useless Loop road East to Shark Bay Road, that will put is very close to Hamlin Pool, which is a popular tourist site for seeing Stromatolites, and the bottom End of Shark Bay itself.

From there I suggest we pas on the East side of Carnarvon, over the Gascoyne River, and stay on the East side of the North West Coastal Highway, till just one kilometre past the Exmouth turnoff, follow the highway till we reach Burkitt Road.

From there, we follow that road in a North West direction, past Giralia Homestead, until we have cleared the bottom of the Exmouth Gulf, then continue North, till we reach the Eastern side of Learmonth, which I suggest as our Northern Terminal” I announced, pointing out each location as I went along.

“What is Learmonth, I have not heard of it?’ Franz asked. “It is the main airport for the region, 22 kilometres South of the smaller town airport, and 35 kilometres South of the town of Exmouth, on the North West Cape” Dad responded. “Why are there two airports?’ one of the other staff members asked.

The smaller airport, is only gravel, and is used for aerial sightseeing flights, while the Learmonth Airport, is sealed, and can handle larger aircraft” I answered, “I have a feeling, that you are not telling us more about this big airport?” Franz asked, and Dad chuckled at this comment.

“You are correct with your observation, Learmonth is a jointly operational airport, used for civil passenger aircraft, but it is also a RAAF Airforce base, with a 3 kilometre long runway, it is used for training, and is known as a bareback base, because it is in caretaker mode during peace time, but can be activated quickly, because of its close proximity to Darwin and Asia” I replied.

“So, have you worked out a rough distance for this extra train journey?” Dad asked me, “Not really, because it will depend on which route is acceptable by the State Government, in the Kalbarri region, but for a guess, I would say over 900 kilometres” I replied.

“That sounds feasible” Franz stated, “I have also been looking into a different project, with restoring used and disused rail lines in the far South West, as an extension to the Australind train, if we decide to take that rail service on as well” I stated, “Interesting, can you tell us anymore?” Mum said, having spoken for the first time since the meeting started.

“Well, there is an existing rail line, some in use and some not in use, and in need of some major upgrades, that runs from the city of Bunbury, all the way down to the small town of Northcliffe. The train line passes through the towns of Donnybrook, Bridgetown, Manjimup, and Pemberton, plus a lot of much smaller towns and localities along the way, with a total distance of about 190 kilometres” I said.

“I think we should seriously consider that project, as well as the one north to Exmouth” Dad commented, and everyone agreed. The next day, Dad sent an email to the Minister of Transport, stating that we would be interested in taking on the Australind rail service, once we had completed the purchase and upgrade of the rail line from Bunbury to Northcliffe, to make it part of the same service.

Within a few hours, we received a reply from the Minister. “Dear Mr Ashburton, I am thrilled to hear that you are considering restoring the rail line from Northcliffe to Bunbury, and adding it to the Australind Rail Service. I look forward to seeing your plans, and we will be happy to come up with some sort of deal, regarding the rail line corridor. Yours Sincerely, E Barrett, Minister for Transport”

The first thing we had to do, is to inspect the rail line and see what work needs doing to it, so a few days later, Franz, Dad and I flew up to Perth, then caught the mid-morning Australind train down to Bunbury.

When we arrived in Bunbury, we saw the train driver exit the driver cab, and he smiled when he saw us, and walked up to us. “Mr Ashburton isn’t it?” the driver said sticking his hand out, and Dad shook it before turning to me. “This must be your son, Master Vern, it is an honour to meet you both” the driver said as he shook my hand.

“Thank-you, maybe you can assist us, we are looking for the Westnet Rail Depot please” Dad said to the train driver. “My name is Lance Warner, and I would be pleased to drive you there myself, since my work has finished for the day” the driver said, as he looked at Franz, “Sorry, this is our Project Manager, Franz Hiltz, he joined us recently, from Switzerland” I said to Mr Warner, who shook his hand.

“Es ist mir eine Fruede, Sie kennenzulemen, Sir” Mr Warner said in fluent German, which surprised all three of us. “That is very good fluent German you speak there Mr Warner” Franz said in English, “I had a German grandmother, so it was spoken often at home” Mr Warner replied smiling, as he led the way to his 4-wheel drive vehicle.

About ten minutes later, we arrived at the depot, in the outer suburb of Picton, “George, are you around, I have delivered some visitors to see you” Mr Warner shouted, “Over here mate” came a shout in reply, and we walked between the administration building, and the huge sheds, to find a man inspecting a car, that has no roof on it.

“George, I have Mr Ashburton, his son, Master Vern, and Mr Franz Hiltz, to see you” Mr Warner said as we approached, “Thanks for bringing them Lance, I was expecting them, in about 15 minutes, but now is fine” the Westnet Rail Area Manager said, before shaking our hands, and Lance made his way back to his vehicle, and left.

“Now Mr Ashburton, how may I help you today?” George Goodman asked, and I decided to take the lead on this. “Well Mr Goodman, we are looking into expanding our country rail service, and this includes restoring and upgrading about 200 kilometres of old rail line from Northcliffe to Bunbury” I said.

“I’ve been warned to take notice of you, young man, and that is quite a challenge you are taking on there!” Mr Goodman replied, and Dad chuckled at his response. “He is getting very much like me every day, and I am not sure if that is good or bad” Dad said and Franz laughed, while I just smiled.

“Do you have any knowledge of what the rail line is like?” I added, “yes, well the line from Bunbury to Manjimup is in good condition, and gets some regular use with a tourist train, but beyond that, it is very run down, and has not been in use for years” Mr Goodman stated.

“I see, are we able to load a rail car to inspect the line please?” Dad replied, “Yes sir, I have been ordered to assist you in any way possible, and I will be happy to drive you there myself, it will take us about 2 ½ hours one way” Mr Goodman replied.

“Very good, we are ready when you are” I responded, and Mr Goodman smiled and walked into the office to retrieve the keys, and let the office know where he was heading, and to request the change of tracks, so we can get on the south line from Picton East.

Once on the track, with the rail wheels in place, we were soon on the southern line, and travelling at about 70 kilometres per hour, with the need to slow right down when we approached a small town, and press the train horn which is just as loud as a normal train horn, as we approached every road crossing, and with me being in the front passenger seat, I was given the duty of pressing the horn when required.

When we arrived in Manjimup, much to the surprise of the volunteers at the Tourist centre, which use to be the train station, we entered the centre and Dad asked if anyone had any knowledge of the rail line from Manjimup to Northcliffe.

“My Gran-daddy used to work for the forestry rail line, and you would get most of that information at the Rail Heritage Museum back up in Boyanup, or the main railway museum in Bassendean” an older man replied. Dad thanked the man for the information and we headed out to look for a place to have some lunch.

After an enjoyable lunch, I asked Mr Goodman, if we could go a bit further down the track, to see what condition the track is in, and he said we could, but at a much slower speed, so as to avoid derailing, and we had to cross 4 roads, before we even left the town.

We noticed that there was a lot of trees that badly needed to be pruned, but the rail line was in fairly reasonable condition, and it had a lot of winding bends in the line, but as we approached a large dam, George stopped the train, as he was not sure about how stable the rail line is, with it being so close to the water line.

We all climbed out and followed the rail line on foot, as it crosses over a corner of the dam, then comes to a stop, where the line has been covered over with sand. We walked on a little bit more and saw the line continued on.

Climbing back into the rail car, we reversed a little, before raising the rail wheels, and we turned onto a nearby track and followed it, alongside the railway line, which once again is covered over with sand, before returning to visible rail line again, but we remained on the dirt track, as trees and shrubs were very thick over the rail line now.

We stopped just past a large shed, where a large gravel road is, and we presumed that the rail line had curved off a little way back. We were about to try and relocate the rail line, when we heard, then saw a farm vehicle approaching. “What are you doing driving on my property, without my permission?” the middle-aged man asked us.

“Sir, my name is George Goodman, and I am the South West Area Manager of Westnet Rail” George said calmly. “So, what! Explain why you were on my land?” the man demanded in a raised voice. “Sir, we were not on your land, we were on the railway corridor, following the rail line from Manjimup, to see what condition the railway line is in” George responded calmly.