THE NULLARBOR - TRANS AUSTRALIAN RAILWAY PART ONE

[@oswaldwabbit8986]

Laurie, Thanks for this great video and a reminder of the times I lived and worked at Zanthus & Loongana, A real trip down memory lane and they were mainly great times as well so bonus, I could tell many a story of events and incidents of the transline like the tea and sugar train which I shopped on many a time, and not to mention all the places that are out there nearby to the camps like the salt lakes, huge dry lake beds with islands near Zanthus and near Loongana the blow holes with water crashing against rocks below them, stars that touched the horizon in every direction you looked at night, big glowing domes in the distance a truly magical place and time, was sad to see it all go. Anyway thanks for the amazing video of all those places because when I looked at the empty town sites in your video all I could see was the towns I knew with everything still there the people and all, just thanks again just wonderful to see.

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Thanks Ozzy.You are fortunate enough to have those memories that the rest of us will never have. This trip needed to be made to at least document what is left as of now. Fortunately, there are other videos of earlier times scattered through You Tube. The Nullarbor is indeed an amazing and fascinating place. Thanks for dropping by. Cheers, Laurie.

[@blake9358]

My dad worked at Rawlinna, my mum was the nursing sister there also, Skylab crashed just outside the camp we were all picking up bits and pieces of it, NASA sent some scientists out to examine some of the wreckage, we were told not to touch the debris as it might be radioactive from exposure to cosmic radiation

[@randaneure]

I love a good road trip. You make me feal I m accually there. I cycled across the Nullabor in 1995 to Perth from Nullabor roadhouse. Took the 2 of us 20 days. that is with 2 day rest. Love that country out there. Some say "ther is nothing out there!" I say Bull Dust. Thank you...

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Thanks Steve. The Nullarbor is a fascinating place. You'll find plenty of NUllarbor stuff in our "Eyre Highway & Nullarbor" playlist. Thanks for sitting along side me. We've got a long way to go with some very interesting places en route. cheers, Laurie.

[@desmondnewell5955]

Excellent video, it's people like you that bring these towns, sidings to life. The history was excellent and interesting.

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Thank you. It was an eye opening trip. HNY, cheers, Laurie.

[@chartphred1]

Can't believe there's nothing left at Reid! I have to tell this story. When we lived at Forrest, my Mum taught me grade 1 and 2 Primary school. But one week, they decided chuck me on an East bound train to Reid for a week. As there was a single primary school, with all years. I remember being up front with the engine drivers. Met the local school teacher, and stayed with his family for the week. First day in class, one of the students was falling asleep, so the teacher threw a piece of chalk at him, which missed, and hit me in the forehead - it hurt. That's about all I remember of that week! 😂 Great video. Thanks for the narrative, very informative.

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Love it. Thanks mate.

[@robertseitner8640]

I really enjoyed watching your video. You did a fantastic job. Your work provided me with an in depth look at an interesting part of the world that I knew very little about. Thanks and keep up yhe good work.

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Thanks Robert. Part Two takes in the Maralinga story. We loved the trip. Cheers, Laurie.

[@christianfrazer5238]

absolutely fantastic footage, i have done the Indian Pacific journey 5 times, and i have always wanted to see more indepth footage of the Historic landmarks along the way and you have captured them brilliantly with great info. Excellent job

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Thanks Christian. Don't forget to check out part two as well. It's a pity so many of the "townsites" have been removed. We are good at that in Australia. Cheers, Laurie.

[@dualves3636]

watching the video from Brazil

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Welcome to outback Oz. Thanks for commenting, cheers, Laurie.

[@FoelyZ89]

Very.very nice. i've missed the local Forrest Tennisclub "never a dull moment in the atmosphere", the NDA, besides a Cesna, 2 cars and a flag.

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Thanks Jan. I like Forrest. It's a pity that they are slowly dismantling Rawlinna. Cheers, Laurie.

[@malcolmmathers2690]

interesting i worked across the nullabor 70s 80s doing the concrete sleepers

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Thanks for droppng by and sharing. Cheers, Laurie

[@johnsmith-xm4mp]

the Telecom Repeater stations are for the Optical Fibre network . Not Coax cable

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Thanks John.

[@antonioaraujo3029]

Parabéns belo vídeo. Más infelizmente está quase tudo abandonado . O que da vida e movimentos á esse lugar é o trem , boa sorte e sucesso. Saudações Brazil 🇧🇷

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Thank you Antonio. Unfortunately, with the change from steam to diesel, the small settlements were no longer relevant. It's a sad reality. Cheers, Laurie

[@sharongardiner857]

WOW... It is so strange to see bitumen up to and beyond Golden Ridge. I recall a time when a guy putting up 'road closed' signs on the (then) gravel road wasn't going to let me through. I explained I had been in to Kal for groceries and my baby had a dirty nappy and was due for a bottle. Since Golden Ridge was only a short distance (from memory about 10km) from the road closed sign, he let me through.

[@lauriekibblewhite]

That must have been a few years ago. This was 2015, and I can't remember what it was in 2008. I would need to go back through the archive to see what I've got. The corner where the Trans Access Road turns off was bitumen, but only about 100m in three directions. I bet you'd forgotten about that incident until you saw this. It happens to me all the time, something that nudges the old filing cabinet. 😅. Thanks for commenting. Merry Christmas, cheers, Laurie.

[@sharongardiner857]

@@lauriekibblewhite It was certainly a memory jog :) It was in 1988... my son was only a few weeks old. This was after I lived in Loongana (82-85) and Forrest (85-87). I watched part 2 last night... So sad to see how little is left out there. Such a pity I lost all my Nullarbor photos during a move sometime along my time back in 'civilisation'. Seasons Best to you and yours :)

[@lauriekibblewhite]

@sharongardiner857 thank you for reaching out to me. I have replied to your messages. Cheers Laurie.

[@GalaBrissy]

Well done Laurie, would that be your son accompanying you? Australia is just awesome, all those those small settlements that were once there to expand settlement, how many must there be all over. Thank you for that, now onto Part Two.

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Thank you GalaBrissy. Yes, he is my son, and he did it under some duress, having tangled with a Lawn Edger not long prior to the trip. He was doing it one handed. It didn't stop him completing his part of the trip by returning home via the Outback Way. (Blatant plug coming 😁) You might like to check out his channel www.youtube.com/@brettkibblewhite6466/videos Yes it's sad to think that those settlements have gone, but they were there for a reason and their purpose was to service the trains of the time (Steam) Thank you for commenting, and may I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy and prosperous New Year. Cheers, Laurie

[@TuckaBuck89]

Terrific video. Interesting sights, great narration- it seemed like I was in the passenger seat. Enough info for a brief history and context without it being tedious. And I thought at first "I'll probably watch maybe 10 minutes". Nope, I watched the whole thing. Well done. Thank you..

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Thanks John. It is always on our mind that we need to be careful to not drag things out, and to keep it entertaining and informative ... are we successful, probably not, but we try. It's like getting rid of your kids when you hit the delete button, but one has to take the attitude of, what we don't include, you will never know about ... but we still have to keep it flowing. Your comments are encouraging. Cheers, Laurie

[@TuckaBuck89]

@@lauriekibblewhite BTW I live in Denver CO. Australia has always been an interest. Thanks again for your vids.

[@lauriekibblewhite]

@@TuckaBuck89 I have wanted to get to the States and do the Blues belt, but circumstances have prevented that. However my son has made a few trips to the US, and he is also as keen on archiving and sharing his memories as I am. I have spent a good deal of time travelling your country through his eyes, as I did the production on his films. Maybe check his channel out as well. He's probably seen more of your country than most Americans. kzbin.info/door/vGmAfg5NAwWK9kD4NfmhOgvideos Cheers, Laurie.

[@blake9358]

My dad worked at Rawlinna. I remember the day Skylab crashed outside Rawlinna

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Hi Blake. Did your Dad work at the lime mine? Cheers Laurie.

[@blake9358]

@@lauriekibblewhite My late dad worked for Commonwealth Railways, and then for Australian National, he was the Roadmaster at Rawlinna my mother who recently passed away was the nursing sister at Rawlinna, and she often worked with RFDS operating from Kal

[@lauriekibblewhite]

@blake9358 wow, some memories there. Sadly, Rawlinna is technically a ghost town now, and slowly being dismantled. I believe the school buildings have now gone. It's sad.

[@blake9358]

@@lauriekibblewhite I went to school at Rawlinna primary, and I did high school by correspondence via teachers based in Perth

[@neverendingadventure6036]

This video is very informative! I wanna explore Kalgoorlie as well :)

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Thank you. Part Two will be uploaded later in the month. Subscribe to be notified.

[@neverendingadventure6036]

@@lauriekibblewhite I already subscribed and hit the bell days ago so that I won't be left out :)

[@lauriekibblewhite]

@@neverendingadventure6036 Hi, I'm a dill. I didn't take notice of where the comment came from. :-). I enjoyed your Esperance Stonehenge video

[@johnwhite199]

There seems to be a great dearth of wildlife,depite the rain. Not even a rabbit. Did you see many animals?

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Wow John, now I'm stretching the grey matter. Emus before Rawlinna. There are camels out near Nurina, and the odd roo. In Part two, we chased a camel down the road, some roos I seem to recall. Plenty of birds. Heck, that was 8 years ago. I can't remember what I had for breakfast. Check out my sons videos of the same trip. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHqknKF-rJKKnq8 kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZ7ZdamiZdp4pKc kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXmyaHmjmrR5qLs Thanks for watching, cheers, Laurie

[@FoelyZ89]

Thanx very much for this video. it makes me a bit said to see places like Rawlinna so empty We in the Netherlands can't get juse to it to see the vast country. We dream away with the Aussies.😮‍💨

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Hi Jan. Welcome to Oz, if only thru the magic of the internet. I'm trying to show as much of the country as it is now-ish, whilst I'm still kicking 😀 Enjoy the virtual tour. Cheers, Laurie.

[@bogthing1]

Reid seems a bit dull...but seriously, thank you. Amazing film.

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Yeah, the pub and Maccas were both closed ... LOL. Thanks for watching, cheers, Laurie

[@mikebarrett5890]

Love it. 👍 Are you permitted to use the entire length of the Trans Access Rd or are there restrictions in place?

[@lauriekibblewhite]

The Trans Access Road is closed beyond Haig, however, local station owners use the road to access their properties. My understanding (not confirmed) is that TAR only have jurisdiction of 200 metres either side of the railway. The road does meander in and out of that distance. There is a track used by Telstra which is very rough - as shown. The main thing is do NOT interfere with railway operations or try to stop the trains. Common sense and good preparation is key. And remember, you are travelling on private (station) property, and that should be respected. Cheers, Laurie

[@mikebarrett5890]

@@lauriekibblewhite Thanks. Looking on my Hema it says that from Loongana the road is private and then becomes MVO to the border. Do you have to “ask” to use the road ?

[@lauriekibblewhite]

@@mikebarrett5890 It's actually listed as a private track from Haig. The notation on my GDT South West map states "The Trans Access road between Haig (WA) and Lyons (SA) is officially closed: No travel permissions will be granted." I guess the grey area is beyond the 400m corridor, and the legalities accordingly. I think I can safely say that you will receive no interference, providing you are sensible. We encountered no interference from rail maintenance staff, in fact they advised us where to travel. As I said, we ensured that we didn't interfere with operations, and by travelling in convoy, we had an "escape" vehicle in the event of breakdown. We had a satellite phone, but found 3G coverage along most of the length of the journey. We had contacts with station owners along the way who advised us where and where not to go. The fact is, that the road is used by station owners to get to and from points on their properties or to visit neighbours. Also, this was six years ago. Just be prepared. Cheers Laurie

[@mikebarrett5890]

@@lauriekibblewhite Many thanks. Suck it and SEE 🙏

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Contact Jill Campbell at Kybo Station. She is the unofficial Nullarbor historian. Lovely lady. Cheers, Laurie.

[@marcosluciosilva2433]

40:37 POOR HORSE

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Poor comment. That horse carried her for 350 kms without reigns from Kalgoorlie to Rawlinna. It then competed in the competition. 7 years on and the horse is still going strong with the same owner. It is treated with the same love and care as any member of the family.