I live really close to a railway line.
On the occasional Sunday morning, usually when I've been hung over and still in bed, I've heard what sounded like a steam train go past my house.
It's always puzzled me. In fact, I thought I was hearing things and going mad (too much booze kills brain cells don't you know!), thinking it was a Ghost Train, because I didn't hear the chugging - just the toot of it's whistle - nor smell the coal-fire like I used to as a kid in Adelaide...
No you cunts, I'm NOT old enough to remember the times when steam train was the only form of travel!!! I'm talking about when I'd see steam engines like the Steam Ranger going to Gawler/the Barossa on the odd occasion.
Anyway, the line near my house is electric and at all other times I've only seen passenger trains go on it - not freight nor anything else, and I thought a steam engine might be too big for it, or something.
This morning, I heard the whistle, so I rushed to the door, and saw what it was - a push-pull steam train. It has an engine at both the front and back, I'm assuming so it can get up the hill to Glen Waverley. So yay, I'm not going insane. Nor is it a ghost train.
It fit perfectly under the electric wires, so obviously the government who put the wires in were intelligent enough to make them high enough. Pity the current government can't get the rail infrastructure these days though... BAM!
I looked it up online, and found out Steam Rail Victoria runs trains up to Glen Waverley every so often.
If I knew beforehand, I would have prepared a day of it! As it stands, I've got two overdue reviews to write up and very little cash left from last night's shenanigans.
But I found the also do a Snow Train Ride at the end of July for about $100 return, so might take that for a lark... who's up for it?
Links for 2009-07-10 [del.icio.us]
4 hours ago
