Train Chase
Dec. 19th, 2012 11:02 pmHeading back to Queenstown, these are my photos (and phone video) from our train chase. On the Sunday of the Heritage Festival, they ran a train from Strahan to Queenstown to re-enact the "rescue train" from the mine disaster. We decided to chase it in. Not all the way from Strahan though :)
Our plan was to find a spot outside the town where we could wait for the train, and then race it back it back in with the car.
First problem was to determine when to get there. We worked how an approximate time of arrival at some point to the south based on how long it took the train to do the trip the previous day (when we were on it), a supposedly faster speed, a greater distance creating error, and that they might not stop to "change staff" at Halls Creek; and then aimed to arrive at our position 15 minutes before that.
Second problem, was where to wait. We decided to head south and see if we could find a place where the road came in to the track, using Google Maps (which helpfully doesn't show the road coming into the track, or has roads that don't appear to exist on it), phone navigation apps and road signs.
(This is photo heavy, even by my standards.)
Which is how we found the Tasmanian Specialty Timbers mill car park and there, a road that crosses the track. One slight problem though.
( Read more... )
Our plan was to find a spot outside the town where we could wait for the train, and then race it back it back in with the car.
First problem was to determine when to get there. We worked how an approximate time of arrival at some point to the south based on how long it took the train to do the trip the previous day (when we were on it), a supposedly faster speed, a greater distance creating error, and that they might not stop to "change staff" at Halls Creek; and then aimed to arrive at our position 15 minutes before that.
Second problem, was where to wait. We decided to head south and see if we could find a place where the road came in to the track, using Google Maps (which helpfully doesn't show the road coming into the track, or has roads that don't appear to exist on it), phone navigation apps and road signs.
(This is photo heavy, even by my standards.)
Which is how we found the Tasmanian Specialty Timbers mill car park and there, a road that crosses the track. One slight problem though.
( Read more... )
