Picnic Train and Newcastle walking : July 18 2026

carrinm(75)
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Got a different day lining up. Clear blue sky - no need for umbrella - heading to the station to join the Picnic Train to Newcastle at Hornsby

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Not often standing down this end of Hornsby platforms - back to tbe platform I am normally on

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View up the line

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Out train approaching - pulled by old time diesel and a collection of old carriages. Note the blue sky - no umbrella needed

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Some of the old posters - Trans Australia

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Cannot imagine seeing a poster like this in the woke age

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Chopped out of a video - pylons, island on Brisbane Water and old bridge supports

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View back across the Hawkesbury River toward Brooklyn

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Buffet car shot at Newcastle Interchange

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Long wait for the light rail. We are meeting a friend of our friends at Newcastle Beach a few stops away. Raining now

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We have a little time before lunch booking. Enough time to find a beer - photo on the way - a lot of Victoriana in the city

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Had a classic English bitter in the Grainstore - housed in the grainstore for the old Tooheys brewery - the photo captures the spirit of the city - beach and coal ships standing outside

We had a fab lunch - a good mix of Spanish tapas. Walk back toward the station - a few more Victorian buildings

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Interesting tower behind - maybe more modern

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Commissariat building plaque

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Closer to the tower with Hunter River behind

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Clue to the age - the date and VR - Victoria Regina

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Australian Mutual building

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Interesting mix of old and not so old - the newer are a bit more blocky

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Customs House

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Once upon a time Newcastle Station was right in the middle of the city. No grand station buildings - more like a tram stop. The station is now on the edge of the city served by a light rail tram

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Walked along the river for a while. Rain has stopped for the shot down the river to the ocean

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View across the river - grain silos and the container port

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Old and new

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Newcastle is the north end of the Great North Walk - some details. I think some times about walking it - done a few pieces. Not ready yet. Would need good planning to find a motel to motel path

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Another view across the river in fading light

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View across to the steel mill site. Not sure what the smoke is as the mill is closed. There are plans to open a green mill on the site. Not sure where they will get the electric from. Maybe they keep the furnace alive

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A few more old buildings on the way back to the interchange - an old house

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Hard to call this building. Now apartments - shape suggests a warehouse conversion

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Newcastle Civic from a block away

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Train has two locos - this one runs at the back and helps on the big run up the grade from the Hawkesbury River. And it is at the back for when the train cannot do a reversal loop and needs a loco up front

4836 ALCO built by A.E. Goodwin Auburn

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The pulling power - 42107 - 421 Streamliner built in Granville NSW

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Dining car in blue livery

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Afternoon cheese plates lined up - we had our own

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Curving away from Wondabyne Station

We had a good day. Nice to not have to plan lunch
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18/07/2026
8907
Daily Activity,House Chores,Photowalking

Height
183 cm
Weight
90 kg
Body Fat
%
Waist
cm
Thighs
cm
Chest
cm
Picnic Train and Newcastle walking : July 18 2026 | Ecency