Great Western - 20. GW Chap 20

We waited till all the crowds had returned to their vehicles and driven back to town, before we moved the train into the shed, to get out of the hot and dry direct sunlight.

While the three-administration staff, caught a taxi to Exmouth, Dad and I had a meeting with the train crew, giving them their accommodation information, and also discussing with Reynold the head porter, on sourcing food and drink supplies for the return journey.

Once that was done, the train crew and our family caught taxis into town, to book into our accommodation, and to have a quick look around before dark. After three nights and two wonderful days in Exmouth, Dad, my brothers and I caught a minivan to Learmonth, to prepare for the return journey, with a set departure time of 10am.

When we arrived at the train station, we were all surprised to see a long line of people waiting to buy a ticket, for the trip south.

“They have been here since 7am sir, I had arrived at that time, to prepare for the arrival of supplies, and there were already three people waiting and now it’s this big” Reynold said to us, as we approached him, and he took our luggage.

Oskar and Tomas followed Reynold inside, while Dad and I stayed on the platform. “Dad, with the family taking up most of the family car, we and the three Admin staff with us, who will be seated in Platinum again, we have a total of 103 seats available. 46 seats in Bronze class, 36 in Gold Class and 21 in Platinum class” I said to Dad, just as Reynold returned.

“I have temporary tickets with us, to cover that number of passengers, but what is the fare going to be for this journey?” Reynold stated. “Same as always, almost the same as what it would cost on a road coach” Dad replied, and I did a search on my phone for that information. “$156 for an adult fare, Dad” I said when the information came up.

“Right, that is the fare for Bronze class passengers, add another $70 for Gold class, and another $45 for Platinum class, did you get all the required supplies?” Dad stated, “Yes sir” Reynold said, before Dad went inside. “Right, that makes $226 for Gold class and $271 for Platinum class” Reynold said, as he jotted down those three prices in his note pad.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a total of 103 seats available in total, for the journey to Geraldton, so for those wishing to travel in Bronze class, with a ticket of $156, can you make your way to the rear of Car one please, those wishing to travel in Gold class, with a ticket of $226, make your way to the front of the last car, and those wanting Platinum class, with a ticket costing $271, please line up here” I announced in a loud voice, so all could hear me.

Moments later, the majority of the crowd had gathered outside of car one, with only about two dozen for the other two classes. I stepped inside, and walked forward to Car one, and unlocked the door, while I left Reynold to deal with the Gold and Platinum class passengers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, as you have noticed, we only have three cars with us for this journey, so there are only 46 seats available for this class, but there are 36 seats available in Gold class, that does include meals and non-alcoholic drinks” I announced to the crowd.

About twenty people moved down to the line at the other end of the train, which I was pleased to see, but it still meant, that there were too many for Bronze, as I began to do the ticketing for the passengers.

“Nearly twenty minutes later, I had the 46 seats filled, with the other stewards making sure that everyone sat in their correct seats, and a message from Reynold via a steward, informed me that all seats were taken in Gold class, and that half of the seats in Platinum were sold.

There were about twenty disappointed people, who were not able to get a seat in Bronze or Gold, and they were not prepared to spend the extra amount for Platinum, so they had to miss out. Amongst the Gold class passengers, were the television crew of three, and two other reporters, and soon after we had left Learmonth, I received a message from a steward, informing me that the media were requesting a press conference.

“Your turn Dad, I have had enough of those vultures for the time being” I said to Dad, who chuckled at my comment, “Alright, I guess I had better make an appearance” Dad responded before leaving our executive lounge.

When Dad returned to the executive lounge, he sat down and sighed loudly, “Have you finished rearranging the timetables, and when do you want to announce the changes?” Dad asked me, “Yes, I have finalised it all, as long as you approve of it” I responded, and I retrieved a folder from the briefcase, and handed it over to Dad.

“Well, this is impressive, and with this we can get passengers from Northcliffe, Albany, Esperance or Leonora, all the way to Exmouth is just one day, with connecting trains, that is one great achievement” Dad said to me. “That is not the case for the return journey, where passengers would only get as far as Midland in the one day, with connecting trains the following day” I responded.

“Yes, I see, but I am sure that the passengers won’t mind, considering that you have slotted in time for tourist sight seeing at Nanga and Kalbarri, on the return journey” Dad said, “Yes, I thought we could make that a feature of the journey, if we can get the assistance of the station owner at Nanga, and the people of Kalbarri” I replied.

“How about if we provide the 4-wheel drive all-terrain buses for the Nanga part of the stop, that way the station owners won’t have to pay any extra with vehicles, and they only have to provide the man power for drivers and guides” Dad said, “Yes, I like that” I replied.

“I like how you have the Prospector and Australind running daily from Monday to Saturday, while the Southern Miner, Forester and Great Western are three days a week and the North Coaster is two days a week, I think that is very clever planning, to tie it all in together” Dad said to me. “Thanks Dad” I replied.

“I see you have made sure there is connections with the Prospector, from Kalgoorlie, with trains to Albany, Bunbury and Northcliffe as well, you really have done a wonderful job with this timetable, but I suggest that we show it to our train drivers, and get their opinions on it, before we put it into motion” Dad said, and I nodded my head in agreement.

When we arrived at Nanga Station, there were a number of station vehicles waiting to transport some of the passengers to the station homestead, 1.5 kilometres away and to Shark Bay, 6.5 kilometres away. Meanwhile, Dad and I had a meeting with the station owner in the lounge room on the family car, where it is much cooler and comfortable.

After just fifteen minutes of hearing our ideas, the station owner was happy to be in partnership with our company, to provide station staff to drive the all-terrain buses that we will provide, and to give guided tours of the area around the homestead and to Shark Bay.

Each of these buses can seat 28 passengers, plus a driver and a guide, and we decided on 4 of these buses for the first few months, to see how the train passengers respond to the tours, which are 112 passengers in total that can go on these tours.

We also agreed to pay for the lengthening and sealing of the main runway for the station airstrip, extending it by 700 metres to 2.2 kilometres long, and the other runway would remain unsealed, but would also be lengthened from 1.2 to 1.5 kilometres long.

When the passengers that had gone on a tour, had returned, we set off once again, having secured a great feature tour, for the train service. While we were travelling, Fritz and the other two staff members joined us, so we could brief them on what happened at the meeting, and to show them the new timetable.

During this meeting, I suggested that we reduce the number of passenger cars, from the South West and Great Southern, and increase the number of cars heading north, as that would be where the greater number of passenger seats would be required, especially during the winter time up north, which is the peak tourist time.

Dad knew from experience and his many years of work as an engineer, that the trains can tow a total of 9 cars safely, so it was decided that one Bronze class car would be moved from each of the Southern Miner Trains, since it has the least number of passengers on its two services, and they would be added to the Prospector service, as it was now in great demand.

We also would request Swiss Rail to send four more Bronze class cars to add to the two trains for the 3 times a week service from Midland to Geraldton and the two trains for the 2 times a week service from Geraldton to Exmouth.

When we arrived in Midland at 6.45 pm in the evening, we caught a suburban train into the city, where Dad had booked the family and the three staff into a high-class hotel for the night, and by the time we had checked in, my brothers were almost falling asleep. Since they had already eaten on the train, I arranged for them to shower and get into their PJ’s, and they were soon fast asleep.

I was about to head to bed myself, when there was a knock on the family suite door, and I went to answer it, and it was Franz who was holding a newspaper, which he handed to me. “Great Western is soon to become Great” were the headlines of the front page of the paper.

“During the past week ARG, better known as Ashburton Engineering, with its main train service from Albany to Geraldton, known as the Great Western will soon provide an even greater train journey, after completing a maiden journey from Midland to Exmouth and back.

The journey passes through Kalbarri, Hamelin Station and Carnarvon, before arriving at their newest train station, located next to the Learmonth Airport, just south of Exmouth. On the return journey three days later, the train stopped at Hamelin Station to allow passengers to check out the homestead grounds of a working sheep station, as well as the Stromatolites at Shark Bay.

The train also stopped at Kalbarri, to allow passengers to quickly explore the small coastal town, located at the mouth of the Murchison River and the Indian Ocean, before continuing on to Geraldton and Midland today.

There was a large crowd gathered at the train station at Learmonth for the return journey, but sadly they only had limited number of seats for this maiden journey, and many missed out on the journey, but we have been assured by the owner, that a full service will be available for the main journey’s that will be commencing soon”.

“Not a bad article, thanks Fritz, I will make sure Dad sees it, goodnight” I said in response, and let the door close as I headed to the table, where I left the paper for Dad to read, before heading to bed. The next morning after a bit of a sleep in, Dad, my brothers and I, had breakfast together, and Dad announced that we would be spending another day in the city, before catching the train home.

My brothers announced that they wanted to spend the day in the hotel pool, just having fun and relaxing, and I agreed to watch them and catch up on some school work, while watching them. Dad said that he and the staff would be having the day off, so he would join us at the pool.

As we headed back to Albany the following day, we had just passed Narrogin, and we were picking up speed again, when suddenly the emergency brakes were activated, and I could hear the horn blaring. I was in the executive lounge reading a book, and my brothers were resting in their cabin when it happened, and the suddenness of the braking forced me back into my seat when I tried to stand up, just as we hit something hard and there was an enormous bang sound.

Once the train had come to a complete stop, I opened the door to the cabin, and told my brothers to stay put until Dad or I tell them what to do, before I headed forward. It was when I reached the Bronze class area, that I first smelt burning, and I headed straight to the nearest internal phone, and pressed PA. “Attention all staff, evacuate the train immediately.

Passengers, please follow the directions of our train staff, and leave the train in a calm and orderly manner, thank you” I said before ending the announcement, and as I entered the second car, I realised that we had derailed for some reason, and that it was getting hotter, so I went no further forward, and headed for the nearest exit, assisting passengers off at the same time.

When I stepped off the train, I immediately saw the cause of the derailment; we had collided with a fuel truck, which was fully ablaze, and half of car one was also alight. Rushing back towards the family car, I saw my brothers climbing down, followed by my father, Franz and the other two staff members, and on seeing that they were fine I headed back towards car three, which was still completely on the track.