Sydney to Melbourne 960km

Monday 30^th October

Early start to get on the 0732 Sydney to Melbourne train which left exactly on time. For the railway buffs, the train’s design is based on the British Intercity 125 but the locomotives were built in Australia and the carriages are from ABB. It certainly never got to anything close to 125mph. and takes about 11 hours to cover 960 km stopping at lots of towns I had never heard of and a few  like Waga Waga, whose name evokes the outback but looks about as romantic as Croydon. The whole 960 km is through green pastureland supporting cows and sheep with occasional forest breaks. The buffet car provided me with coffee, raisin toasts and croissants.

Central Station Sydney

Central Station Sydney

0732 Sydney to Melbourne

For the first part of the journey we were retracing the drive from Canberra to Sydney a couple of days before, even stopping at Yass junction from where there was once a branch like to Yass. 

Never seen this before.
For people who aren't familiar with Trains

Passed from New South Wales to Victoria at Albury where, until 1962, passengers had to change trains since New South Wales and   Victoria had adopted different rail gauges. Arrived in the large and busy Melbourne Southern Cross Station about ten minutes late and it was only a short walk down Spencer Street to the Grand Southern Hotel which is recognisably part of the same chain as the one in Sydney. Layout of the hotel is quite weird with many of the rooms, including mine arranged round a long, narrow courtyard with no external windows. So far, not overly impressed with Great Southern Hotels.

 Prisoner: Cell Block H or Great Southern Hotel, Melbourne

Later went out for dinner at Sirocco just a few doors down the street in the Holiday Inn. The Baramundi was good and a bottle of Dog Bolter dark ale went down well. Had a drink in the Savoy Bar opposite the station, clearly a local, rather blokeish,  bar where I had a pint of the White Rabbit which turned out to be a surprisingly dark pale ale but it  tasted good.