AfterAll

Locomotives, trains and railways seem to be the most popular engineering creations among ´After All´ readers, a number of whom (Richard Selby, Richard Hoptroff, Paddy Farrell, Mike Smith and others) have kindly shared with me their own railway experiences. My column in issue 8 (´The Isle of Man and a Steam-Driven Australian Dream´), where I mentioned my trip across Australia on one of the world´s greatest trains, the Indian Pacific Express, generated considerable feedback. A couple of readers (Neil Greenwood, Steve MacFarlane and others) asked me to expand on that particular three-day-long journey from Melbourne/Adelaide to Perth, which happened some years ago when I lived and worked Down Under. I first had to visit my cottage´s loft, where piles of my old dishevelled notebooks are stored. I kept a diary during that trip and reproduce some extracts below.