Trans Access Track & Telstra's Access Track

That section of rail is off limits as stated in ARTC web site but some will tell you that it is not enforced. Just means they never got caught.

Hi Techedge

I would love to see exactly where that detour is, but having a guess it is up to Oak Valley and then out through more Aboringinal land and then down to the Trans line.

I would say it will be harder to get permits than to travel the Trans line.

Yes to one of your questions, there will be no water out in the Abotiginal Lands, except at the 2 communities.

There is good rain water at Cook if you are passing through there for you run through to Forrest.

Which ever way you go, do not under estimate your water supplies, as it could end up fatal.



Cheers



Stephen

As Stephen L said, Telstra has mobiles 3G coverage, systems were installed, constructed to provide GPS coverage for ARTC trains and as a side product, customers travelling along the track and passengers on the train had pretty good coverage. pity I haven't any photos of the construction but one that I can remember was the train giving one of our vehicles a tow out of the mud. and yes, the driver of the Nissan Patrol was mercilessly given much ribbing. The Nissan was well and truly bogged.
b1b

Hi
I have traveled the track from Tarcoola to Hughes more times than I would like to remember , It was a long time ago when I was with telstra and involved with this project.
Yes there are 2 tracks the north that we were not allowed on that was railways and the southern track which is still apart of the railways but be maintained it only to get the machinery in
Telstra would not give a rats ass if you where on there track ,
now in saying that the map you have I do not remember any track we made to the north of the line, there was one cut in from around Watson to Fisher, but to the south and I can remember the graders working ,
This was a new track and nothing to do with the railways maintenance track on the south side of the line
there are loads of tracks north and south , I always said to the guys to keep a eye on the line so you do not wander off
I only worked to the wa/sa border so can only comment on this section
Between Hughes and Cook is the old WW2 intern camp ( name eludes me now ) was great place to kick around for a break from work ,but all gone now.
Cook I think the old hospital build still stands and the railway station is still there
they would take on fuel for the train here and there is a telstra building so you might get water ,
Fisher Watson Ooldea Immarna there is nothing left.
Barton there is a telstra building for the workers and might be water out side in a tank do not rely on this to be available,
Mt Christie Wynbring Lyons Malbooma nothing left , Tarcoola there was a station master and workers and they would take on fuel here
The telsra building at the station had a water tank out back , the pub has gone, so has the houses
Kingoonya there will be water I think the pub is going again and there are people there
There has been a lot of stories of people stopping trains and fines etc I have never seen it , but not to say it is not true, never heard a Train driver say he had been stopped and I found every one you meet super friendly
I will try and find out more about the road you have googled ,but I have never been on it
be aware the rocks are very sharp and expect tyre deaths
As for the Legality of it all, there are more stories than you can poke a stick at
It might be all true which track is railways and which is not all I know we were not to use the northern track as that was solely for railways
BUT be aware there might be fines and dont play on the tracks
Bob Poli
Electrical and Refrigeration Telstra 1985 to 1998
...
Legality, ?, I will leave it up to the traveler , to do his her homework as with a ,lot of places we travel we must know the law of the land
'

Dean - Telstra troops were there because they (Telstra) were contracted by ARTC to construct and provide 3G coverage for ARTC. Yes, very humble and apologetic but that was their work to be there. NOT as you suggest, there for the fun and being where they were not supposed to be.
Yes, they were well and truly caught in the middle of a rain storm, they were also there before it happened.
The Telstra troops spent a lot of time through all 4 seasons in all weather, mud, 45 degrees plus, etc, etc and not for the fun. Your assumptions are somewhat arrogant and demeaning.
You may have missed my first sentence in original post stating Telstra was contracted by ARTC to construct 3G for their train systems.
b1b

We travelled and filmed from Kalgoorlie to Deakin and Watson to Kingooya (and beyond) in 2015. My understanding was that the Railways have jurisdiction over 100 metres either side of the railway line. We encountered railway staff and were never challenged. The old POW camp site is at Nurina. 6 Kms south of Nurina is Kybo Station, and the Campbells are very hospitable.

The road to Haig and beyond is an easy run until you get to the Kybo turnoff, and then gets challenging.

The Telstra track is rough, but should be negotiable by bicycle. The Access track along side the line is fairly smooth b y comparison. I would get off it and well away from the line when trains are approaching.

You should be able to get water at Rawlinna, Forrest and Cook. (the hospital is gone, but there are caretakers at Cook, and there are quarters there for changing train drivers).

I would contact Greg Campbell at Rawlinna, and Rod and Jill Campbell at Kybo to get information. Jill has a museum of Nullarbor history on the property.

The caretaker at Forrest would also be able to give you a heads up before you leave.

Cheers
Laurie

Techedge - I can only speak for the W.A. section of railway property you're intending to traverse - I have no knowledge of the S.A. side or S.A. property laws or titles.

Google Mapping is very imperfect and is regularly modified, updated and re-aligned according to suggestions offered by people with Google accounts.

I regularly advise Google of updates needed to their maps, and they change Google Maps accordingly once they have confirmed my information is correct (by cross-checking).
The bulk of Google Mapping was done in 2008 and a lot has changed since then.
Where there have been substantial changes, Google send out their camera car and re-shoot the street view.
So you can often find two different Google street views from the one spot, up to 5 or 8 years apart!

The law is pretty basic - by travelling the Trans-Line access track you are effectively trespassing on railway property - just the same as if I walked through your property.

However, the boundaries can get pretty variable and often altered, once you get a long way from town.
I know of plenty of roads that cut through surveyed properties - illegally, under law.
This happens because the particular property owner doesn't care, that the road is on his/her property.

In essence, the Trans-Line property (survey) under the W.A. Land Administration Act, comprises 5 surveyed Land Titles that stretch from Kalgoorlie to the W.A. border.

Each of these Land Titles is numbered Lot 1 to Lot 5, on Survey P203342.
The most Easterly Railway Land Title (which includes Forrest) is Lot No. 1.
The correct description of this railway property (from West of Forrest to the W.A. border) is Lot 1 On Plan 203342.

The Lot numbers run Westwards, so Lot 5 is closest to Kalgoorlie.
These Railway Lots are owned by the ARTC, and the local Govt Authority that oversees them and controls them (and to whom ARTC pay rates to) is the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

As a GENERAL rule, these Trans-Line Land Titles are 400 metres wide. But there are places where the railway land extends beyond 400 metres in width.
Around Bulong and Kalgoorlie, the Trans-Line railway land boundaries are a zig-zag mess, dodging around mining tenements and other land titles.

You can check the land titles and boundaries using the Landgate Mapviewer Plus. You need to select additional filters such as "topography" and "Landgate WA Now Mosaic", from the top menu to get all the aerial photography and additional information overlay.

So, in essence, if you travel along more than 200 metres from the centreline of the rail track from Forrest Eastwards to the Border, you are not on railway land - so ARTC can do nothing to stop you from travelling.

On the Landgate Map Viewer, you will notice the Trans Access track and the Telstra track drawn in.
However, the accuracy of the track locations is open to question, as the Landgate map overlays are not entirely consistent, anyway.
The Landgate title information is all that is largely consistent.

So, if you're prepared to deviate off the track and keep 200 metres away from the centreline of the rail track, anytime you see some form of "authority" approaching you, you can rest assured that they have no authority to stop you from travelling at a distance exceeding 200 metres from the rail track centreline.

Good luck with your trip and take great care. If you happen to come to grief, such as having a bad fall, or incurring a medical episode out there, it could be some time before help arrives.

Water will be your biggest problem out there. 20 litres is a bare minimum - and you need to ensure your water containers are puncture-proof, so you do not incur a sudden and drastic loss of water.

Drinkable water is probably the biggest worry, because the only water of drinkable quality will be where settlements have been established.

There will be old railway dams, gullies and other depressions, where water can be acquired from - but you would need to carry some type of filtration and purification setup or chemicals, to ensure you ended up with drinkable water.

Most dam water and surface water in the country and inland regions of W.A. has a certain level of e.coli bacteria - which can vary from low levels (and thus not affect you) - to high levels, where you will almost certainly become very crook from drinking the untreated water.

Cheers, Ron.