Great Duck Race Train trip

 There is an interesting yearly tradition in the country town of Strathlbyn, a short drive from Adelaide. It is called the Great Duck Race. I haven't never seen it before now, despite living in Adelaide since 1994! 

I decided this year would be the year, especially since Steamranger has a special train from Mount Barker to Strathalbyn on December 1st to allow people to go to the race and return without having to drive there! 

I pre-booked the tickets and turned up at Mt Barker station in the morning, ready to experience this event with my wife.

Given we are well into bushfire season, Steamranger doesn't use the steam locomotives for this journey. Instead we have the classic Red Hen train and consist, as used on the Adelaide Metro train network until the 1980's.

These carriages were infamous as they don't have air conditioning in them, which meant that when they were in active service, the doors used to be kept open to allow fresh air into the train while it was in motion!

Of course that would never be allowed today, and so we all open the windows in the carriages so we get some cool air!

As we set off, we are given a programme showing the Great duck race schedule and location in Strathalbyn.

They also give us all a numbered rubber duck. More on why shortly!

There is also a Christmas market running alongside the race itself, so it promises to be a great day.

As always, the train travels through beautiful countryside on the way to Strathlbyn. 

Steamranger also runs a service that continues all the way to the coastal town of Victor Harbor, which I have been on several times before and it is very enjoyable.

Along the route we also spotted a few kangaroos:

We arrived in Strathlbyn on what is just such a beautiful day. 

I love the train head board on the front of the train. Sets the mood nicely!

As we walk into Strathlbyn town centre from the railway station, I note these duck containers in the restaurants to hold the salt, pepper and sugar - very cool!

As we arrived at the event, we can see they have installed piping along the river banks that runs through the centre of Strathlbyn. This is the contain the racing ducks.

We arrived before the races started, so we took a look around at the Christmas market nearby, with lots of stalls and a local band playing Christmas music.

So, let's talk about the duck race.

The great duck race is a large pile of rubber ducks placed into the river, and they travel from the start line to the finish line within the river. Each duck has a number, and you can buy raffle tickets with one or more numbers allocated to you. The train trip included a number for each passenger, but you can buy additional numbers up to the maximum number of ducks in the race!

Since there is normally more people than ducks, they run several heats for lower prize money, to give everyone a chance to enter one of the races during the day.

As you can see, there are a lot of ducks! However, if we had to wait for the ducks to move down the river, under the bridge to the finish line beyond, we would only have one race in the day! So, behind the ducks is a man in a boat and a leaf blower, pushing the ducks along!

I had to laugh at this point, as the ducks on the edges blow around all over the place!

The piping on the river finishes at a narrow point, with a small finishing line at the end. The top three ducks are removed from the water and the numbers read out. If the number matches one you bought in the raffle, you win a cash prize!

The 1st place prize in the main race is $1000, so it is worth giving it a go! All money raised is for local charity work in Strathlbyn, so it is for a good cause also.

In between races, some interesting boats float along the river, made by the locals.

WE went to a local cafe for lunch and looked around the many very large antique shops, which is one of the things Strathlbyn is well known for. It is always fun to look through them.

Time for the Great Duck Race, the main event of the day.

There is a large number of ducks in the main race, and with $1000 on the line, plenty of attention!

Sadly we didn't win the race, or finish in the top three in any heats, but we had a great day out and it was really fun! 

I highly recommend going to the Great Duck race in Strathlbyn if you get the chance to!

Redhen Train and Peronne Steam during Port Festival

Last month I took the rare opportunity to ride a Red Hen from Adelaide Railway Station to the National Railway Museum (former Port Dock Railway Station).

Since I was at Adelaide Railway Station (I took a bunch of photos in my older blog post here), I took the opportunity to take some updated photos around the station and platforms:

Once beyond the ticket gates, I took some photos of the platform area and some 3000 series trains running regular Adelaide Metro services.

Touchscreen Information board in the platform area inside the ticket gate:

Platform 4 - an Belair line train waiting to depart:

Platform 6 - an Outer Harbor line train waiting to depart:

Platform 8 and 9 - a Gawler line train waiting to depart:

With the retirement this year of the 2000 series Diesel trains that were commonly used on the Gawler line, the 3000 series trains that used to run on the Seaford line are being used on the Gawler line instead so the 2000 series trains could be retired from service.

The Seaford line is now electrified and using new Electric trains now all delivered in 2015. There is the occasional 3000 series service still, but not very often.

Arriving into Platform 9 following the Gawler line train departure is the RedHen diesel train. These used to run on the Adelaide Metro before the 2000 and 3000 series trains were brought into service.

Closer view of the front:

People quickly scrabbled onto the train for seats!

Inside the RedHen train as the crowds flocked in:

Inside the Redhen train shortly after departure from Adelaide Railway Station:

The Red Hen trains don't have any air conditioning, so the windows open, allowing photos to be taken easily out the window!

The Red Hen journey goes directly from Adelaide Railway Station to National Railway Museum without any intermediate stops, which I guess makes it the fastest way to get to Port Adelaide!

We arrived into Jacketts station, within the National Railway museum:

The Red Hen trips were very popular and it was great to see so many people riding it. The National Railway Museum was open for free on this particular weekend, so lots of people took the opportunity to enjoy the museum!

Jacketts station platform sign:

Bub was on steam train duties at the museum, taking people on a railway trip around the museum grounds:

Closeup of Bub waiting as the passengers got on board for the next trip:

View of the train tracks around the museum, with the former Woodville signal cabin in the background:

Inside the museum building I noticed these interesting pig additions:

The former Adelaide Railway station clock is also now in the museum, and it is the first time I have seen it since it was moved here:

Classic trains from the past in the museum:

Outside though, as a special treat for this particular weekend, Peronne (a Steam Locomotive) was doing trips from the Railway museum to the Aircraft museum during the day:

Here is Peronne watering up as Bub passes by:

Closeup of Peronne taking on more water before it's next run:

I had a great day out, with plenty of train action! This event was part of the Port Festival, and I also spent some time in the port enjoying some of the other activities on that day!