Planes, Trains and Automobiles

[Daver6]

Forever and a day I've wanted to go on the Indian Pacific. My dad is getting on and it's also been something of interest to him. Finally, my brother had an idea that the three of us do the trip. He lives overseas while my dad lives in Perth too.

The plan is my dad and I will fly across to Sydney and meet my brother there before taking the train back to Perth. We booked this all about 10 months out.

I used points and WP status to get two J seats released for my dad and I on the 737 across the continent. We've managed to snag row 1 at T-80.

Accommodation wise we decided to book the Pullman Mascot. My dad and I arrive around 4pm and my brother off an international flight at 6pm. The next day we need to be at Central Station, so an easy Uber ride there. Originally booked flexi rates but a few weeks ago red hot rates were available for executive rooms. So saved some money and improved the benefits.

As for the train, my brother and dad will share a gold twin cabin, while I'll be in a single cabin. The twin has a little en-suite bathroom while the singles have shared ablutions. Having spoken to @JohnM I'm not concerned about not having an en-suite. We'll be in different carriages but it's been arranged that we'll be in the same section, using the same dining and lounge carriages. Details of the trip here Sydney to Perth 2025 - Journey Beyond Rail



My dad has pain walking at the moment (something that should be rectified with back surgery soon) so that somewhat put a limit on the off-train experiences we'd go on to select. For Broken Hill we went the milk bar option (would have done the drag walking tour otherwise) but for Adelaide we've gone the cheese and cider tasting in the Adelaide Hills followed by a German dinner (would have selected that regardless). More details about the experiences is here Indian Pacific Off Train Experiences - Journey Beyond Rail

 

[Daver6]

You're probably wondering about the title. Surely the Uber to/from the airport doesn't count as the automobile. You're right! A few days ago we received an email stating that we'd be on a bus from Sydney Central Station to Lithgow where we'd meet the train. Turns out the train strikes in Sydney are the cause of this. So less than ideal sitting on a bus for 2.5 hours but not much we can do about that.

My dad and I fly out tomorrow and are all checked-in for the flight.

I suspect most updating of this trip will occur when I'm back in Perth due to lack of phone coverage, but I'm sure I'll be able to post a few pictures at some points. Having said that, I do use Vodafone...

 

[VPS]

Udder delights have some good cheese. I'm not that keen on Ambleside gin but they do have a great cellar door. Enjoy

 

[henleybeach]

Enjoy! I actually prefer the showers at the end of the carriages for the single cabins,
Nice and spacious and better pressure.
Your first night on the train will be rough, as the track from Sydney to Broken Hill is deplorable.
It will get better after broken hill.

 

[JohnM]

Bussing from Sydney Central to Lithgow is not uncommon. It happened to me.

They break the bus trip with a stop at Katoomba, so you get to see the Three Sisters from Echo Point.

 

[Daver6]

And we're almost off. HLO only so quickly into the J lounge for breakfast and a coffee. The lounge unusually empty.

 

[Daver6]

On the way with an on time departure closely followed by a bloody Mary

 

[Daver6]

Lunch is served. Brisket which was quite tasty. Not sure what's happened to the cheese log wrapped in baking paper though. The old Y cheese

 

[Daver6]

Well another change of plans. No bus to Lithgow in the end.

Checked in and enjoying lunch at Eternity Cafe at Central Station

 

[Daver6]

The full train is in very 800m long. Prior to Central it gets split into three smaller sections.

 

[Daver6]

Onboard...

 

[Daver6]

Ok, I'm back (a week now) and better wrap up this TR before I head off again next week.

I was pretty happy with the single cabin choice. The bed was a bit like a first class bed on a plane. The shared shower/bathroom was significantly more comfortable to use than the one in a twin cabin. Essentially a proper shower and shower door.



Verse this in the twin cabin


The single carriage has two of those large bathrooms with a toilet and two toilets. They were always clean and I never had to wait.

A few more pictures of my cabin in day/night mode. The staff would do the swap over when you were at breakfast/dinner but would also happily do it at any time on request.



Each carriage also had re-purposed the conductors cabin for a self serve tea and coffee spot along with bottled water

 

[Daver6]

Most pax were pleasantly surprised to learn that we'd not need a bus to Lithgow. The downside was we were all at the station rather early. There was free flowing drinks in the car, but sitting around for 3.5 hours was a bit excessive. Worth it though. The scenery through the Blue Mountains shrouded in mist was stunning.

I settled into the lounge car for a drink and snack and then a pre-dinner shower. It was my dad's birthday two days prior and they brought out a little birthday cake for the table to share as a pre-dessert.

 

[Daver6]

I can't say I had an amazing sleep the first night. Partly still on Perth time and partly the train. As everyone has said, the train is a little bumpy between Sydney and Broken Hill. The carriage itself it well insulted from a sound perspective. However, the blind is the old aluminium Venetian type that sits between two layers of glass. As a result, the blind rattles around and that sound annoyed me. Ear plugs solved that little conundrum.

I was temped to sleep with the blind open as we'd be awake prior to dawn for our arrival into Broken Hill. Before going to bed though we did wind our clocks back 30 minutes, so there was a free extra 30 minutes sleep.

I woke up about 30 minutes from Broken Hill. Headed to the lounge cart for an espresso (coffee was very acceptable). Apparently I could have requested a wake up call with coffee delivery too.

My dad currently has mobility issues which meant we decided to do the milk bar off train experience. I would have preferred the walking tour but it is what it is. The drive there in the bus gave us a decent tour of the down. The actual milk bar experience I thought was a bit naff and wouldn't really recommend it.

 

[Daver6]

It was then back on the train for breakfast, lunch and some lazing about on our way to Adelaide

 

[Daver6]

We pulled into Adelaide pretty much on time at 4pm. We selected the Hahndorf experience. It was billed as cheese and cider tasting at Udder Delights, but there was plenty of beer too. This was followed by a German dinner in at Haus.

The cheese experience was pretty good. Lovely location, good cheeses and tried a couple of beers. Haus was a little disappointing. We were in a private room that lacked atmosphere. The food, I thought, wasn't overly authentic (to be fair, I know what authentic German food tastes like). I'd go to the German Arms hotel in a flash over Haus when in Hahndorf. Having said that, it was a fun evening and included an oompah band.