A Birthday

 

Bago Maze and Winery 27/01/2023

 

Bago Maze and Winery https://www.bago.com.au/

Australia Day 2024

 

Tuncury

A Long Australia Day Weekend 25/01/2024

Thursday 25th of January 2023

My train trip to Wauchope see my Darling, 262.45km (163 Miles) away...

Maitland Flood level markers and indicator board. Time to enjoy some brunch at Café Loco. The temperature is now 40°C and later hit 42°C!

Feels odd being on this platform!

 

The XPT was meant to be the answer to "fast" train travel in Australia. Sadly it is not! The trip averaged 66km/h (41MPH) far short of the 200km/h (124MPH) requirement to be considered a fast train.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_South_Wales_XPT

I travelled Economy Class.

Pros:

• Cheaper than the alternatives.
• Great Staff!
• Food is OK - The buffet cart has a range of snacks, drinks, alcohol and even do full hot meals for about $10-12. The Sausage roll was dry and had more train miles than me! Other food was fine!
• Seating is similar to economy aircraft seating.
• More space than your average economy airfare!
• Luggage is not policed if you carry it onboard
• Nice scenery!
• Reasonable toilet facilities.
• You are not stuck in your seat unlike bus or air travel.

Cons:

• Slow and long! 4.5 hours from Maitland to Wauchope!
• Susceptible to running late due to the other users of the line. We were 30 minutes late into Wauchope.
• Seating is good but your bum will be complaining after the first hour or so...
• Dated. Build date 1981–1994
• No WiFi
• No charging facilities - bring a power bank!
• Was a particularly hot day going north and the air conditioning was only just coping!
• Did I mention is is slow?

Overall I'd give it a 6 out of 10

Entertainment was proved on the trip north courtesy of one gentleman (term used very loosely) who was getting agitated due to nicotine withdrawals, He was caught out smoking in the toilet and as the train was running late and not getting enough on the platform during the major stops. He spent a lot of time pacing the train muttering to himself and his command of the King's English would have embarrassed a sailor!

Window tint makes it hard to take good photos but you get the idea about the scenery. 

All photos are © copyright to Paul Anslow www.anslow.net, with the exception of Wauchope Station by Abesty - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=122359654

A Walk at Patterson

 

A Newspaper Article

 I didn't know this existed, but came up in a search of my fathers friend , Frank Tisdale.

20230910 Travels on Sunday

Vacy, Gresford, Dungog and Stroud round trip

The original plan was to attend the Vacy Country Carnival 

Known for its wiener racing ...but there were cars parked on the side of the road before the 60km/h zone so we gave it a miss.

Stopped to take in the views.
Bingleburra Rd, Bingleburra NSW

See the evidence of a grass fire
Lately there has been a lot of grass fires. This one had started at the top of the ridge, next to the road and went down hill. I suspect it was a cigarette.

Across the road A Panorama 

Outside Dungog Tourist Information Centre

Time for coffee at The Barn Dungog

Bambi enjoying the outing

Buffy watching Dungog town life

Stroud Silo Hill

 The hill was named after the eight underground silos built by convicts in 1841 to store the Australian Agricultural Company's grain from insect attack. The bell shaped silos are 6 metres deep and 5 metres wide, internally lined with hand made bricks. Collectively they were capable of storing 10,000 bushels of grain.

Visit for more history https://www.stroudhistoricalsociety.com

See the embankments made by the silos

The 260 pound cannons, each weighing  approximately 5 tons, were built in England in 1855-6 and were shipped to Australia for the defence of Sydney Harbour during the Crimean War and were situated at Bear Island, La Perouse. They were later sent Fort Scratchley and became part of the defence of Newcastle but by 1909 were obsolete. They were dismantled and transported by boat to Booral, via the Karuah River, and by bullock dray to their present positions.

Amateur Radio - Silos on the Air (SiOTA) See www.silosontheair.com

Another time I plan to activate Silo Hill VK-STD2