'Exquisite' train gathers dust

[ClintonL94]

'Exquisite' train gathers dust - from ABC News click here

Audio interview with Paul Scurrah on the URL above.

Interesting..

You may remember a train that ran up and down the Queensland coast, called "The Great South Pacific Express".
The luxury train was modelled on the famous Orient Express in Europe, was built in Townsville for 35-million dollars back in the 1990s.
Gary Franklin from the Orient Express has ridden on the train and says "It's beautiful... built in the style of a... Victorian train".
"It had clearstory windows, inside it had a lot of marquetry, wood inlaid panels, we had crystal, we had silverware and the finest bone china.
"The quality of workmanship and materials used made [it] one of the most exquisite trains that operated in the world."
However as Queensland Rail CEO, Paul Scurrah puts it, The Great South Pacific Express 'was a fantastic experience but a terrible business' and only a few years after it started running, the lovely vehicle seemingly vanished.
On a behind the scenes tour of The Workshops Rail Museum at Ipswich, the train was pointed out to ABC Radio National's Ian Townsend.
He discovered that The Great South Pacific Express, built in Townsville for 35-million dollars back in the 1990s, has been sitting there, in the rail shed, gathering dust for the best part of seven years.
The intriguing thing is that no-one can quite explain who owns it now.
The Orient Express company managed the train while it was running and they say it's owned by Queensland Rail.
But the CEO of Queensland Rail, Paul Scurrah, says the train was bought by the Orient Express company.
"We certainly did sell it and they are actually paying us for the storage of that unit out at Ipswich as we speak."
It seems whoever owns the majestic young lady of the tracks, she's going nowhere for now.

[ozbob]

This tweet was read out on ABC 612 radio ...

Robert_Dow

@612brisbane the GSPE could be used on the Caboolture line to provide more capacity for the hapless rail commuters (tic) ... tragic ...

6:52 AM Oct 1st  via web  

[p858snake]

ABC News => Luxury train stuck in limbo

[ozbob]

Courier Mail --> Queensland's luxury Orient Express train still sits idle in Ipswich after five years

[ozbob]

Courier Mail --> Train may be swimming with fishes

This article is a stand-out competitor for the 'most irrelevant' for the '2010 mediocrity awards'.  There are many critical public transport issues but some in Brisbane just don't understand the real world at all ..  I wonder why blog comments on this article are not activated at this time ...

[#Metro]

How can it be gathering dust at the bottom of the sea? Is there even dust at the bottom of the sea?

Zero information content article.

[ozbob]

.. "The department . . . does not believe there is any substance to the allegation," it said. Divers contacted by The Courier-Mail have not seen it there but said it could easily be missed ..

I didn't see the Spirit of Progress being hauled by a streamlined S class last week either. But then I again I could have missed it ...

[WTN]

That goes to show there's no solid facts to confirm the allegation. It could be completely made up because there's nothing to prove it.

[mufreight]

Equally nothing to disprove the theory either, the refusal or failure of the Government to produce any documentation that would confirm that QR has in fact received payment for this rolling-stock and its storage since purchase.
If these payments have in fact been made there will be records of their having been made.
That the rolling-stock required modification to operate on standard gauge raises questions as the rolling-stock was operated on standard gauge between Brisbane and Sydney, as for the braking system the basic system in use on the continent is Westinghouse and changing of the triple valves would make the braking system compliant with the requirements to operate there.
There is a lot of smoke here and little substance other than there were 21 carriages built and now there is only 20 still stored at Ipswich.

[ButFli]

One might think the story could be disproved if the carriage turns up somewhere other than the bottom of Moreton Bay.

The whole thing seems very outlandish. $1million to convert each carriage for standard gauge operation? The train was designed for bogie transfer from the start. I've seen the figure of $30000 quoted to convert the whole train from narrow to standard gauge or back again. That figure itself seemed excessive given that they planned to run trips from Kuranda all the way down to Sydney and Melbourne. My guess is that Tuck Thompson is the pseudonym used by whatever kid is doing work experience at the Courier Mail that week.

A quick google for "Tuck Thompson" reveals a whole lot of complaints about him making up "well placed sources" as an excuse to write bullsh%t articles.

[#Metro]

What are the chances that the missing carriage was secretly transported to the Courier Mail head office at Bowen Hills
which is right across the road from... Queensland Rail HQ   and there is some wild, outlandish conspiracy to hide
it in the printing press room where it is being used by Journos for coffee breaks while they dine in on surplus Queensland Rail muffins handed out at Sandgate last week?

Aha! Now we have proof!- the Courier Mail head office is right next to Queensland Rail head office!
Muffins were handed out at Sandgate last week
Secret internal RailBOT polling shows that Chocolate Chip muffins are the most popular
Sandgate muffins were not chocolate chip ---> there must be surplus!!!

CONSPIRACY??  

[colinw]

The Courier-Mail - Brisbane's answer to The National Enquirer.

Brisbane really needs some print media competition.  It is a pity that the Brisbane Times is web only.

[ButFli]

Brisbane Times is no better. Generally the stories are just rebadged articles from the Sydney Morning Herald or The Age. Their international stories are straight copy-pasta from a wire service - they make no attempt to edit them for an Australian reader.

The few articles on Brisbane Times that are written locally are just as bad as the Courier Mail.

[#Metro]

Brisbane Times is no better. Generally the stories are just rebadged articles from the Sydney Morning Herald or The Age

I think the Brisbane Times is a bit better. Although they are a bit slow at turning their stories over- sometimes you will see something up there for three days! The Courier Mail, ha, that may as well go in the magazine section next to Cleo, Woman's Day, OK, Cosmopolitan and That's Life IMHO. 

[ozbob]

The Courier-Mail - Brisbane's answer to The National Enquirer.

Brisbane really needs some print media competition.  It is a pity that the Brisbane Times is web only.

Agree wholeheartedly Collin.  It would be cathartic if Fairfax had a hard copy daily. When I compare the quality and coverage of transport issues in Melbourne (Age (Fairfax) Herald Sun (News Ltd) compared to Brisbane it is chalk and cheese.  In my view Brisbanetimes does a good job, but is limited in impact because of the lack of a paper daily.