PICHI RICHI RAILWAY

When you travel through the Flinders Ranges after good seasonal rains, it's not hard to see how the early settlers were fooled into believing that the Willochra Plain might one day become one of the great granaries of the State. And with the discovery of copper further north, the early optimism saw the construction of a railway line through the Pichi Richi Pass to Quorn. But successive droughts meant the dream of a railway across the Willochra Plain and through the very heart of the Flinders remained just that.

But the line which now delights steam enthusiasts and holiday makers alike, called the Pichi Richi, stands as one of the most historic pieces of railway in the country, and it all starts at this classic bush station, Quorn. Across the road the rather grand sounding name of the pub provides a hint of the role this place would later play in railway history. Within minutes the W934 is rattling past under a full head of steam. Soon the flats give way to a gentle rise on a small section of track, which for a time featured in two of the world's great rail journeys.

"The Pichi Richi rail line played a pivotal role in two epic Australian rail journeys. One heading north into the interior, the historic Ghan line, and the other from east to west, the Transcontinental linking the eastern states to Perth".

One can only guess at the number of passengers who have listened intently to the slow gasp and heave of steam-driven beasts like the W934 as she hauls her way to what's called The Summit. From the top you take in views of the Flinders as the line falls away and follow the road to Pt Augusta before making its way to Woolshed Flat. As she pulls in, the passengers make tracks for the luncheon car while the driver hauls the engine onto a separate line, from the front carriages to the back and soon we're hitched and ready for the trip home. It was at Woolshed Flat that the early trains picked up their loads of wool and grain, a reminder why this track was laid in the first place.

"The irony is that the railway was actually too late and by the time it had reached the Willochra Plain, most of the cereal farmers on the Willochra Plain had failed and so it ended up being a railway to almost nowhere".

But for a short twenty-year period from 1917 to 1937 many a passenger would have stopped along this network of steel as they made their way across the country.

"The two famous trains that we know are the Ghan which ran really from Pt Augusta through to eventually to Alice Springs and also the East-West or Transcontinental and if you were travelling from Adelaide to Perth you came through Quorn".

"So that little piece of railway that as you said previously kind of went nowhere. Later on was the centrepiece of a line going everywhere?"

"It certainly was, and that was very apparent during the Second World War".

As you inch your way across the bridge at Woolshed Flat, spare a thought for the thousands of diggers who crossed here on the way to the Pacific in World War II, at times up to forty trains a day. For Richard Atkinson, the connections with the two railways, the Ghan which opened for service in the late 1870's and the Transcontinental which began in 1917, make this a classic trip back in time, powered by technology which goes back even further…...to steam.

"But there's all that noise. There's panting from the Westinghouse pumps that provide the air for the brakes on the train, and you hear the steam sizzling out, and you can see it and as you're going along it talks to you".

And nowhere is that more apparent than near the old Pichi Richi siding where Richard and driver Chris Carpenter, give this fire breathing beast a few more shovel loads of coal before opening her up for the trip back to Quorn. For the passengers and crew, it's time to sit back and enjoy the views.

"The fact that people actually settled out here where you're seeing the country side, was so rough. However, the fact that they found their way out here and settled in the first place, is a marvel. Getting the railway through here would have been such a tough job. It's an absolutely fantastic trip. We've really enjoyed ourselves up here".

The Pichi Richi Explorer runs every Saturday from Easter to the end of October with additional trips during school holidays and long weekends. To book contact Venue*Tix on 8223-7788. Return trip - adults $28.00, children $10.00. If you have any other enquires please email info@postcards.sa.com.au