Sealink Terminal

The Sealink is a vehicle and passenger ferry that that services Kangaroo Island. The terminal is about a hundred kilometres south of Adelaide and the ferry takes about forty minutes to travel the 20 kilometres across Backstairs Passage to Penneshaw.

Unfortunately it not always this calm. Many years ago I sailed my small yacht across to the Island in 4 metre seas; the ferry might have been a better option!

Bluebirds

Another shot taken at the National Railway Museum; the 'Bluebirds' were in use in rural SA between 1954 and 1990. They were powered by two 6 cylinder diesel motors and had a top speed of 70 mph.

How times have changed; we no longer have passenger trains running on the lines that were serviced by the 'Bluebirds'.

ABC Wednesdays - G is for Goolwa

The Goolwa Railway Station is now only used by the Steam Ranger Tourist Railway. On some occasions they actually do run a steam train, but the day I was there recently this diesel train was being used. Known as the Redhen, these trains were used on Adelaide's metropolitan lines between 1995 and 1996.


The railway, opened in 1854, was the first in South Australia, linking Goolwa and Port Elliot. At that time the train was horse drawn. The railway was built to transport goods carried down the River Murray. As the mouth of the river was too treacherous for shipping, the port was established at Port Elliot.

Ten years later the line was extended to Victor Harbor, as Port Elliot was also proved not to be a safe harbour.

Click here to see more ABC Wednesday posts.

Our new trams

This is one of Adelaide's new trams; a French-built Citadis. It made its first public run on Proclamation Day; a return trip from Glenelg to the City.

This tram is one of six recently purchased from the Mintra, the Spanish Rail Authority. They will supplement our existing fleet of eleven German built Flexcity Classic trams.

Tindo - Solar Electric Bus

After my visit to the Zoo yesterday I caught the Adelaide Connector, a free bus, to the railway station.

Tindo takes claim to being the World's first solar electric bus. It carries 40 passengers, 25 of whom are seated, and has a range of 200 km.

It is an electric bus run on batteries that are charged (indirectly) from solar cells on the roof of the Adelaide Central Bus Station. These are connected to the state's power grid which is actually used to charge Tindo's batteries overnight. 70,000 kilowatt hours of electricity is generated annually, sufficient to offset the requirements for charging the bus.

Tindo is the Kaurna Aboriginal name for sun.

No trains today

Last weekend there were no trains running between Adelaide and Brighton as a major upgrading of the track is being undertaken. This is just part of a major revitalisation of Adelaide's rail system. All tracks are being upgraded and the existing diesel-electric trains are to be replaced with electric ones.

This is just part of a ten year plan costing 2 billion dollars. Other projects being undertaken include the extension of our tram (light rail) system.

2009 Ride of Silence

Yesterday I participated in the 2009 Ride of Silence.

The ride is held all over the world to HONOUR cyclists who have been injured or killed, RAISE AWARENESS of cyclists and to ask that we all SHARE THE ROAD.

This year's ride was from the centre of Adelaide and along Port Road to Semaphore. Conditions were conducive to cycling; slightly overcast but fine. We had green lights all the way; escorted by the SA Police.

Gallipoli Underpass

Today it was announced by the premier, Mr Rann, that the new road under Anzac Highway be named Gallipoli Underpass. The 118 million dollar underpass will be opened to traffic later this month; significantly improving traffic flow. Another underpass is scheduled to be built under Port Road.












This morning the public was given the opportunity to walk through the underpass at a community day; entertainment by the 10/27 Bn South Australian Army Band and other bands, a free sausage sizzle and activities for children.

Anzac Highway Underpass

This is a major roadworks' project; the Anzac Highway underpass is being built under as part of a project to decrease traffic congestion along South Road, one of Adelaide's busiest arterial roads. This project is scheduled to be completed late this year.

ABC Wednesday - T for Trams

This is a tram travelling along King William Street in the City.

In the past Adelaide had an extensive tram network, but only the City to Glenelg line was retained and it terminated in the centre of the city in Victoria Square. Last year the line was extended along King William Street and along North Terrace, past the Railway Station.

So we have gone the full circle; here we have horse drawn trams travelling along King William Street in the 1900's.

It is now planned to extend the tram network next year another 2.8 km north-west of the City to the Entertainment Centre.

To find out more about ABC Wednesdays and see other participants' contributions go to the ABC Wednesdays' Anthology or to see direct links to their own sites go here.

ABC Wednesdays - Q for Qantas

Qantas is Australia's national airline; it provides both domestic and international services.

Qantas is an acronym for Queensland And Northern Territory Air Services. The company was founded in 1920 at Winton in outback Queensland.


The airline has been dubbed as "The Flying Kangaroo"; the company logo being a kangaroo. The logo has been redesigned over the years; one of the earlier logos actually included wings on the kangaroo.

This image is from the Qantas site

To find out more about ABC Wednesdays and see other participants' contributions go to the ABC Wednesdays' site or to see direct links to their own sites go here.

ABC Wednesdays - P for Paddle Boats

Popular with tourists and locals alike, these pedal powered paddle boats are a fun and relaxing way to see Adelaide on the Torrens. The building in the background is the Adelaide Convention Centre.

This is the PS Gem, typical of the river boats that were such vital means of transport along the River Murray in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The vessel is now on display in Victoria at the Swan Hill Pioneer Settlement. For much of its working life it was based at Morgan in South Australia.

To find out more about ABC Wednesdays and see other participants' contributions go to the ABC Wednesdays' site or to see direct links to their own sites go here.

Bay to Birdwood Requests

I have had a couple of requests for particular vehicles; one from a regular blogger and the other from one of the entrants.

This is a British built Armstrong Siddeley. It was spotted by Aileni in the background of a photo I posted on Monday. Aileni owned a 1947 Armstrong Siddeley Typhoon.

This is a Morgan 3 wheeler. The request was from Warren and Cheryl. The photo is very much cropped from the image below.

Another British car manufacturer, The Morgan Motor Company was founded by H.S.F Morgan in 1910 and is still building cars today; the latest prototype being a fuel cell-powered electric vehicle; the Morgan LIFEcar (Lightweight Fuel Efficient Car).

More Bay to Birdwood

There were over 1200 vehicles and I clicked away until my 2 Gb memory card was full; about 400 photos. Here are a few to show the variety of vehicles taking part in the rally.










Military vehicles










Utility vehicles










Large and small










Beautifully restored and not quite .....

Bay to Birdwood

Yesterday was the annual Bay to Birdwood car rally. Cars travel from West Beach, through Glenelg (The Bay) to finish at The National Motor Museum at Birdwood; a distance of 72 km.

As the procession of about 1200 vehicles travelled the route they were admired and cheered on by an estimated 100,000 or more people. This year's event was open to vintage (pre December 1955) vehicles.










These photos were taken on Anzac Highway which links Glenelg and Adelaide City.

A380 visits Adelaide

Today the world's biggest commercial aircraft recently acquired by Qantas landed in Adelaide for the first time. Thousands of people took up vantage points at and near the airport to get a glimpse of the big 'bird'.

It was one of a series of training and promotional flights around Australia before it commences its first commercial service between Melbourne and Los Angeles on 20 October.

Oaklands Railway Station

This is Adelaide's newest suburban railway station; opened in June this year it is a vast improvement on the old station.

Associated with the new station is a bus interchange and a 230 vehicle car park. The Oaklands Railway Station is 12.8 km from the City and about 500 metres from Westfield Marion, a major shopping centre.

(The photo of the old station was taken by Norman Hackenberg and has been released into the public domain.)

Adelaide's Interstate Rail Terminal

Adelaide's interstate railway station is at Keswick, about 3 kilometres south-west from the City centre. It has just undergone a $3 million redevelopment and name change to the Adelaide Parklands Terminal.

Great Southern Rail operate three services through this terminal; The Overland (between Adelaide and Melbourne), The Ghan (between Adelaide and Darwin) and The Indian Pacific (between Sydney and Perth).

Narnu Farm - old cart

My late father told me of the days he and his brothers and sisters travelled to school by horse and cart; no doubt is was something like this.

Roll-on/Roll-off terminal

Another relic of bygone days in Port Adelaide is this purpose built facility for the Troubridge; a vessel that provided an essential link for freight, vehicles and passengers to Kangaroo Island.

The Troubridge commenced service in 1961 and continued until 1987 when it was replaced by the Island Seaway which itself was withdrawn from service in 1995. Now the only sea link to Kangaroo Island is a ferry that runs from Cape Jervis, 107 km south of Adelaide.