Great Western - 19. GW Chap 19

Master Vern Ashburton received a standing ovation from the Members of Parliament, on conclusion of his speech, and afterwards he and his father were invited to meet with Cabinet, to present a more detailed report on the companies plans.

On leaving the public gallery, Mr Ashburton and his son were faced with the entire Lower House Members, lined up to shake their hands, before they left the building… and now onto the next story.”

“You are famous now son” Dad said after we had both seen the news item, and I groaned at this, and Dad laughed. Within 3 months, work was well on the way, with upgrading the rail line from Bunbury to Northcliffe, with all vegetation that is too close to the rail line, being cut back or removed. Meanwhile planning was well in advance stages for the new rail line north from Geraldton to Exmouth, with the only section still in debate, being that in the Kalbarri area.

Work was also been done to some of the existing rail line, to remove some of the tighter bends, especially in the Great Southern and Avon regions, where the rail line tends to follow the rivers and highways. In total, there would be 236 bends that would be straightened out, with new rail line laid, for most of it, and the old line was kept in place as switch tracks.

This will allow for the train to travel at higher speeds than the past, and when completed, new timetables will be made, to adjust for the extra travel speed, with the journey from Albany to Geraldton being 7 ½ hours instead of 9 hours long, and the journey from Geraldton to Exmouth will take just 6 ½ hours.

Mum had now two noisy babies to deal with every day, and I now regretted having the bedroom opposite their nursery. Mum and Dad had names them, Eliza and Jocelyn, and I had to admit, when they were quiet or sleeping, they did look very adorable, and eventually I decided to move to the only other vacant bedroom, located nearest to the stairs, which was a little smaller than my previous bedroom, but a lot quieter.

As Christmas was approaching once more, Dad and I were as busy as ever with the company, along with Franz and the two remaining staff members, while the other two had returned to Switzerland, as they were no longer required.

Business was doing very well, with an average of 87% of patronage with both the Leonora to Esperance line, and the Albany to Geraldton line. The changes to the rail line had all been completed, with a lot less bends for the train to deal with, meaning a better travelling time.

Half a dozen bends had been removed on the Esperance to Leonora line, which also made the journey faster, with just over one hour of the journey removed, allowing both trains to leave half an hour later for the early morning journey.

When the last of the track was finally in place at Learmonth, with a storage shed and train station also constructed, it was time to make the big announcement, that everyone has been waiting for, since it was now well known throughout the state, that the Great Western will be having a train journey from Albany to Exmouth, which will take just 14 hours to complete.

I had been busy working our a new timetable that will fit in with links with the Prospector, and the Australind service, which we had taken over control of just two months ago, and it too was doing very well, from Northcliffe in the far South West up to Midland, which we decided to choose as our main terminal, and our company had invested in a large amount on building a separate rail terminal, on the other side of the multiple rail lines, and next door to the Westnet Rail Depot.

We were also able to secure the purchase of the old railway workshops in Midland, which still have the railway line branching off towards them, and this would become the new home base for all of our trains, when maintenance is required.

Swiss Rail had sent us an additional two – six car trains for the now extended rail journey that is about to be launched, and they were currently being stored at the Rail workshops in Midland, and we had chosen our original rail team to be the staff, to take the first trip up to Exmouth.

The plan is, for Dad and I to travel up on the Great Western from Albany, and while the train is doing a two-point turn just down the track in Woodbridge, Dad, the three-administration staff, my brothers and I would cross over the bridge to our new terminal, and wait for the train to pass, as it heads north.

Once it has passed, the new train will back out of the workshop, and onto the main country rail line, and stop at the new rail terminal to collect us, before following the other train north. Dad had decided too let my brothers, Oskar and Tomas to come with us, to allow Mum to spend more quality time with the twins.

We had also made some changes with the Prospector train, with an upgrade with the engines, so as to increase the speed, and allow for the journey to be half an hour shorter, and its timetable was adjusted slightly, with a 6.30 am departure from Kalgoorlie, so that it arrives in Midland at 12.15 in the afternoon, which suits the new timetable from Albany to Geraldton, were it now departs Albany at 8.30 am, and arriving in Midland at 12.30 in the afternoon, just after the Prospector.

This would mean the Great Western will now reach Geraldton at 3.45 pm, and for now the passengers will need to stay overnight in Geraldton, before the train travels further north to Exmouth.

For our journey north, we had our private car attached to our train, which only has the front Bronze Car, the rear Gold Car, a Platinum Car, and our private Car.

Since there is just the crew and the administration staff, who are travelling north to Exmouth this time, we decided to not take the whole load with us, to conserve fuel.

This would be a first for Franz, Albert and Ernest, as they had not seen anything of our vast state, apart from the journey from Perth to Albany, and the short holiday to Rottnest Island. They had already expressed how big the state was, just from the journey from Albany to Midland.

When we arrived in Geraldton, just half an hour behind the scheduled train, which was now in the shed been cleaned, ready for the return journey tomorrow, we found a group of reporters and camera crews at the train station.

“This is your department Vern, off you go now, and boys stay in the train, until your brother has finished speaking with the media” Dad said to me, when he noticed the small crowd. I groaned in annoyance, and reluctantly stepped off the train. “Master Vern, ABC News, can you tell us if this is the train heading north to Exmouth?” once of the reporters asked, as they stuck microphones in front of my face.

“Yes, this is the train, making the inaugural journey north to Exmouth” I responded, “Can you tell us who is on the train with you for this journey?’ another reporter asked, the Managing Director, the Project Manager, and project assistants from ARG, plus myself and my two younger brothers” I responded.

“That is all? What about the other Director, your mother?” the first reporter asked, “She is at home resting comfortably and minding the two new additions to the family, our twin sisters, who were born just a few months ago” I replied.

“Congratulations, on being a big brother twice more, will you be inviting any other people for the rest of the journey north, and when are you leaving?” a third reporter asked, as he showed his packed overnight bag to me, which made me laugh, and I heard Dad laugh behind me, as he stepped off the train.

“I will answer that question” Dad began, as he stepped up beside me, “as you know, we have gladly invited journalists to travel with us on our maiden journeys, as we have with the start of the Great Western, the Desert Miner, and now the extended journey of the Australind, which we will be renaming the Southern Forests.

For this trip however, it will be just the family and staff for the journey north, as we will be up there for a few days for a short holiday.

As you can see, we only have three full size cars, so we are not fully equipped for too many passengers, but after we return to Geraldton, we will commence the northern section of the Great Western, that is all for now thanks” Dad announced, and we both returned inside, and Reynold closed and locked the door.

Fifteen minutes later, we set off towards the depot out of town, so that the train was facing the right way around, for the continued journey north, in the morning.

With the journey to take just 6 ½ hours, we had planned to leave at 10 am the next day, to give the crew a good enough rest, between journey’s, and Dad had booked us into the same hotel that we usually stay in, and the crew are booked into the same 4-star motel just 2 kilometres, up the road from the Rail Terminal.

During breakfast the next morning, Dad announced, that he would be having the train stop at a number of places, so we could see some of the amazing views of outback Western Australia. After the Swiss team had returned from a short tour of the City of Geraldton, including visiting the HMAS Sydney Memorial, we, climbed into the Minivan, for the short journey to the terminal.

The other train would have left at 9am, so it was well and truly gone, by the time we arrived at the terminal at 9.45am, where our train was facing the right way, and the crew were waiting for our arrival. Dad stepped inside and using the PA he called all the crew to meet on the station platform for a meeting.

Once everyone was gathered, Dad announced that for the benefit of our international staff, we would be stopping at Kalbarri for an hour, plus at Nanga Station, to check out the Hamelin Pool Stromatolites, and Shark Bay for an hour, before we continue to Exmouth, which would now make our arrival time of 5 pm at Learmonth, where a couple of minivans will transport us into Exmouth.

Dad had organised motel accommodation for all of the train crew, and hotel accommodation for the family and staff, with a three day stay, before we travel back down to Geraldton.

This was a first time for my brothers and I travelling into the northern area of Western Australia, and we were amazed at the changing scenery as the train headed north. The stop in Kalbarri, arriving just over an hour after leaving Geraldton was great, as we took a swim in the Murchison River, and had a short tour of the Kalbarri National Park, plus restocked on some supplies, before we set off once more.

Our next stop would be Shark Bay, which will take us 1 ¼ hours to reach, and Dad had arranged with the Station owners, for us to have a tour of their homestead, before being taken to the bay to check out the Stromatolites, and the old Telegraph station, where there is also a caravan park.

When we approached the town of Carnarvon, we only slowed down, so we could see the giant Satellite dish that is located on a hill, on the edge of town, which is part of the NASA tracking system. A few kilometres East of town, we crossed the Gascoyne River, which was very dry and sandy, and the countryside was now very different from a few hours ago.

As the sun was getting low in the West, we finally pulled into our new train station at Learmonth, and we were quite surprised to see a large crowd had gathered to welcome us for the first time, and included some reporters from Geraldton, who had interviewed me yesterday afternoon.

“Mr Ashburton and Master Vern, I am Kingsley Parkes, Exmouth Shire President, let me be the first to welcome you and your team to the Ningaloo Coast and our community” a man said as he stepped forward as we exited the train. “Thankyou Mr Parkes, it is good to be here, it has been nearly 18 years since I was last here, and I look forward to spending a few days here with my sons and staff” Dad responded.

“Mr Ashburton, we understand that this journey was supposed to take 6 ½ hours, yet you are two hours late” one of the reporters said. “That would because we stopped twice on the way, firstly to Kalbarri, and then again at Hamelin Pool at Shark Bay, to allow my son’s and staff to see some of our amazing coast line” Dad replied, “Master Vern, can you tell us your thoughts on Shark Bay?” another reporter asked to me.

“Well, I didn’t see any sharks, but it is truly a beautiful place, and I look forward to visiting it again in the near future” I responded before walking back into the train, “Mr Ashburton, how long will the train be staying, and will you be taking any passengers back with you?” the ABC television reporter asked.

We will be staying for three nights, before heading back, and if we can get a sufficient amount of supplies, yes, we will accept paying passengers” Dad replied before following me back into the train car.