The Overland
The Overland at Southern Cross station in February 2009
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| Overview | |
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| Service type | Passenger train |
| Status | Operational |
| First service | 19 January 1887 |
| Current operator(s) | Great Southern Rail |
| Route | |
| Start | Melbourne |
| End | Adelaide |
| Distance travelled | 828 kilometres |
| Average journey time | 10 hours 30 minutes |
| Service frequency | 2 × per week in each direction |
| Line used |
Western standard gauge Wolseley-Adelaide |
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The Overland is an Australian passenger train service between Melbourne and Adelaide. It first ran in 1887 as the Adelaide Express, but South Australians have always referred to the train as the Melbourne Express. It was given its current name in 1926. Now operated by private company Great Southern Rail, the train completes two return trips a week covering 828 kilometres between the state capitals. Originally an overnight train, it now operates during the day.
The Overland originated as the Intercolonial Express when the Victorian Railways' Western line was extended to join the South Australian Railways line at Serviceton on the state border. As both railways were 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) broad gauge, a through service commenced on 19 January 1887 using jointly owned rolling stock. The train was later called the Adelaide Express.
The train ran overnight with opulent Mann Boudoir sleeping cars. From 1907, new E type side corridor sitting and sleeping cars of Victorian Railways design were introduced. More cars of these designs were added until 1923, and in 1928 two all-steel sleeping cars and a dining car were imported from Pullman in the USA, these being the heaviest carriages ever used in Australia.
A dining car was included between Melbourne and Ararat from 1927, and between Adelaide and Serviceton from 1928, but with the onset of the Depression in 1930 these services were withdrawn until the mid-1930s, and finally ceased after the outbreak of World War II. The South Australian Railways purchased "Mountain" and "Pacific" type locomotives to haul the heavier train in South Australia. These were the largest locomotives in Australia at that time. In 1936 the train was renamed The Overland, and the original deep red livery was replaced by green and yellow with black horizontal lining. The SAR streamlined some of its 500 class locomotives for the makeover.
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Wikipedia