The locomotive in the picture, NM25 is an original Ghan engine and has returned to service after maintenance. It is a sad state of affairs for the country that so proudly invented the railway and supplied the world. Pichi Richi Railway operate multiple services. ‘Where Britain was once the workshop to the world, trains built here now are based on Japanese technology and we rely on imported motive power from North America and Continental Europe. The Pichi Richi Railway is a volunteer-operated heritage railway, providing train experiences on the old Ghan line running between Quorn and Port Augusta, in South Australia's majestic Flinders. Long before the Portuguese built the first railways in Angola, the Belgians in the Congo and the French in Algeria, UK firms were exporting locomotives, rolling stock, signalling equipment, turntables, cranes and even bridges across the globe. Realtime driving directions to Pichi Richi Railway Station, Port Augusta, based on live traffic updates and road conditions from Waze fellow drivers. The distance covered by The Ghan train route in its trips from Adelaide. Taken on Sweets trip on the Great Northern Railway from Adelaide to Farina. The authors write: ‘In those parts of the world that were coloured pink on schoolroom maps, the rapidly expanding colonial railways were supplied by British companies. Original title: Celebrating the Steam Era: The Pichi Richi Railway Quorn. Pichi Richi railway bridge near Quorn, with two men in foreground. The fascinating tome, using vintage photographs, tells the story of the expansion of the railways of the British Empire, documenting how Britain’s engineers ‘exported the railway around the globe’.
![pichi richi rail pichi richi rail](https://photomorsels.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/pichi-richi-3-012.jpg)
So declare Colin Alexander and Alon Siton, the authors of new book Railways of the British Empire: Australasia and Beyond ( Amberley Publishing).
![pichi richi rail pichi richi rail](https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2895/14631941052_d7be79f3be_b.jpg)
![pichi richi rail pichi richi rail](https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/13/42/20/5d/pichi-richi-railway.jpg)
That Britannia once ruled the waves is common knowledge - but she also once ruled the rails.