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Pichi Richi Railway
The Pichi Richi Railway is a narrow-gauge heritage railway in the southern Flinders Ranges of South Australia between Quorn and Port Augusta. For much of its length the line lies in the picturesque Pichi Richi Pass, where the line was completed in 1879 as work proceeded north to build a railway to the "Red Centre" of Australia – the Central Australia Railway. The Commonwealth Railways ran trains through the pass until 1980, when it ceased its by then meagre services. In July 1973 the not-for-profit Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society Inc. was incorporated, initially to ensure conservation of the fine dry stone walls and the bridges in the Pichi Richi Pass. It became evident that the prospect of operating heritage trains was possible and after undertaking restoration of deteriorated sections of the line the Society then tentatively operated its first trains, from 1974. By 1979, following further track repairs, trains were able to travel to Stirling North – at that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commonwealth Railways NM Class
The Commonwealth Railways NM class locomotive was a class of 4-8-0 locomotives of the Commonwealth Railways, Australia. The class operated on narrow gauge lines in South Australia and the Northern Territory. History Between June 1925 and December 1927, the Commonwealth Railways took delivery of 22 locomotives built to the same design as the Queensland Railways Queensland C17 class locomotive, C17 class for use on the Central Australian Railway, but with larger tenders and vacuum rather than air brakes. All were built by Thompson & Co, Castlemaine, Victoria, Castlemaine.Narrow Gauge NM Chris's Commonwealth Railways Pages The final locomotive was despatched to the North Australia Railway, returning south in September 1941. Eighteen were converted to burn oil during the 1949 Australian coal strike, 1949 coal strike, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawker, South Australia
Hawker is a town and a locality in the Flinders Ranges area of South Australia, north of Adelaide. It is in the Flinders Ranges Council, the state Electoral district of Stuart and the federal Division of Grey. At the 2016 census, the locality had a population of 341 of which 237 lived in its town centre. History The town was surveyed during March 1880 and was proclaimed on 1 July 1880. It was named after G. C. Hawker who was a member of the South Australian Parliament for the years 1858–1865 and 1875–1883. The locality's boundaries were gazetted on 25 November 1999 and include the Government Towns of Wonoka, Hawker and Chapmanton. Portions of Hawker were added to the adjoining localities of Flinders Ranges and Shaggy Ridge on 26 November 2013. Hawker was a thriving railway town from the 1880s until 1956 as it was on the Central Australia Railway, until the route was moved further west when the Marree railway line was opened. Establishment and naming The State Library o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marree Railway Line
The Marree railway line is located in the Australian state of South Australia. History As a result of the opening up of the Leigh Creek Coalfield in the late 1940s and capacity restrictions on the existing narrow gauge Central Australia Railway via the Flinders Ranges, Marree and Quorn, a new standard gauge line was built, opening on 17 May 1956 from Stirling North on the outskirts of Port Augusta to Telford Cut and on 27 July 1957 to Marree. The line was extended to Marree because of the volume of cattle traffic coming off the Birdsville Track. As well as freight trains, the new line was served by CB railcar services and ''The Ghan''. The CB class was pulled from service in 1976 by Australian National Railways (ANR), leaving the standard gauge Ghan and a mixed train as the only passenger rail services on the line. Following the opening of a new line from Tarcoola to Alice Springs in 1980, the line became the only rail connection to Marree after the closure of the narrow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Port Pirie (Ellen Street) Railway Station
Ellen Street railway station was the second of six stations that operated successively between 1875 and the early 2010s to serve the rural maritime town (later city) of Port Pirie, 216 km (134 mi) by rail north of Adelaide, South Australia. Soon after construction of the line towards Gladstone began in 1875, an impromptu passenger service commenced. The inaugural station, Port Pirie South, was from the centre of the town. Since two tracks had already been laid down the middle of Ellen Street to the wharves, a small corrugated iron shed was erected as a ticket and parcels office. The street-side location was unusual for the South Australian Railways. In 1902, when passenger traffic had increased greatly, a stone building was erected in a striking Victorian Pavilion style. After the tracks were removed in 1967 and the station closed, the building's design assured its retention as a museum of the National Trust of South Australia. Placement Some time after the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dual Gauge
In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to carry railway vehicles with wheels matched to two different gauges. Such track is described as dual gauge – achieved either by addition of a third rail, if it will fit, or by two additional rails. Dual-gauge tracks are more expensive to configure with signals and sidings, and to maintain, than two separate single-gauge tracks. It is therefore usual to build dual-gauge or other multi-gauge tracks only when necessitated by lack of space or when tracks of two different gauges meet in marshalling yards or passenger stations. Dual-gauge tracks are by far the most common configuration, but triple-gauge tracks have been built in some situations. Background The rail gauge is the most fundamental specification of a railway. Rail tracks and whee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Double-heading
In railroad terminology, double heading indicates the use of two locomotives at the front of a train, each operated individually by its own crew. The practice of triple-heading involves the use of three locomotives. The practice of multi-heading involves the use of multiple locomotives and so on. Double heading is most common with steam locomotives, but is also practised with diesel locomotives. It is not strictly the same practice as two or more diesel or electric locomotives working ' in multiple' (or 'multiple-working'), where both (or all) locomotives are controlled by a single driver in the cab of the leading locomotive. Advantages Double heading is practised for a number of reasons: * In the UK it was usually to gain traction on steep inclines, twice the amount of driven wheels - twice the amount of grip. * The need for additional motive power when a single locomotive is unable to haul the train due to uphill grades, excessive train weight, or a combination of the two. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Aborigines
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands. The term Indigenous Australians refers to Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders collectively. It is generally used when both groups are included in the topic being addressed. Torres Strait Islanders are ethnically and culturally distinct, despite extensive cultural exchange with some of the Aboriginal groups. The Torres Strait Islands are mostly part of Queensland but have a separate governmental status. Aboriginal Australians comprise many distinct peoples who have developed across Australia for over 50,000 years. These peoples have a broadly shared, though complex, genetic history, but only in the last 200 years have they been defined and started to self-identify as a single group. Australian Aboriginal identity has cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pituri
Pituri, also known as mingkulpa, is a mixture of leaves and wood ash traditionally chewed as a stimulant (or, after extended use, a depressant) by Aboriginal Australians widely across the continent. Leaves are gathered from any of several species of native tobacco (''Nicotiana'') or from at least one distinct population of the species ''Duboisia hopwoodii''. Various species of ''Acacia'', ''Grevillea'' and ''Eucalyptus'' are burned to produce the ash. The term "pituri" may also refer to the plants from which the leaves are gathered or from which the ash is made. Some authors use the term to refer only to the plant ''Duboisia hopwoodii'' and its leaves and any chewing mixture containing its leaves.Silcock JL, Tischler M, Smith MA"Quantifying the Mulligan River Pituri, ''Duboisia hopwoodii'' ((F.Muell.) F.Muell.) (Solanaceae), Trade of Central Australia."''Ethnobotany Research & Applications''. 2012; 10:037-044. Retrieved 30 April 2015. History The earliest record of Aboriginal ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mountain Pass
A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration throughout history. At lower elevations it may be called a hill pass. A mountain pass is typically formed between two volcanic peaks or created by erosion from water or wind. Overview Mountain passes make use of a gap (landform), gap, saddle (landform), saddle, col or notch (landform), notch. A topographic saddle is analogous to the mathematical concept of a saddle surface, with a saddle point marking the highest point between two valleys and the lowest point along a ridge. On a topographic map, passes are characterized by contour lines with an hourglass shape, which indicates a low spot between two higher points. In the high mountains, a difference of between the summit and the mountain is defined as a mountain pas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pichi Richi Railway Diesel Locomotive NSU52 Crosses Saltia Bridge, Near Quorn, South Australia, With Passenger Train On 26 Oct 2019 (Caleb Jenkins)
The pichi (''Zaedyus pichiy''), dwarf armadillo or pygmy armadillo is an armadillo native to Argentina. It is the only living member of the genus ''Zaedyus'', and the only armadillo to hibernate. Description Pichis are relatively small armadillos, measuring approximately long, with a tail of about . Adults weigh anything from , and males may be slightly larger than females. The carapace varies from light yellow to near-black, and consists of heavy scapular and pelvic shields composed of rectangular osteoderms, and separated by six to eight movable bands. An additional "nuchal" band lies in front of the scapular shield, and there is also a triangular shield on top of the head, and further osteoderms along the tail. The underside of the animal has a coat of tan-coloured hair, which is thicker and longer in winter; there are also a few long hairs protruding through small holes near the posterior edge of some of the scales. Pichis have well-developed claws on all four feet. The e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_track%2C_South_Australian_Railways.jpg "Click for more on -> Dual Gauge")
