G'day all, we're still on the Eyre Peninsula, 851 is ready to depart the end of the line, Penong, with another trainload of bagged wheat, this train was an advertised connection through to Port Lincoln although an overnight stay was necessary at Ceduna or Thevenard. The next morning departure was at 4.25 am out of Thevenard so naturally we made ourselves comfortable in the Brill motor which was docked with it's trailer pointing at Port Lincoln 269 1/2 miles away. In those days I could sleep anywhere, wouldn't see a bed for weeks. I've gotten soft in my dotage, these days a swag is the minimum.
The previous night we had arrived from the east on the same Brill motor, no.101 with trailer 303 at about 9.00 pm, by the looks of it a full moon. The tripod and cable release had to come out of the bag.
We had hoped to make it out to Kevin before we went to Penong but 851 failed so we had to be content with the trip out to Penong. Compared to Mount Hope this was a metropolis, inhabited mostly by flies.
We paid for every mile we travelled on the Port Lincoln Division, the old SAR didn't care if your conveyance resembled a travelling chook shed, they still chased the revenue. Unlike some other government railways.
Although we all slept rough we made sure that every day we had a decent meal. Every town of any size had at least one cafe, usually run by a Greek family, where you could get a decent feed at a reasonable price. Steak, chips and salad, bread and butter and a pot of tea would be pretty typical. That kept your energy up, I was still a teenager, I had hollow legs, always hungry. You could usually get a breakfast of fresh rolls before the rest of the town woke up too, you just followed your nose to the bakery.
Regards,
Peter Bruce.
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