Sealing the Tanami Road

In the days of short holidays and long trips, we drove the Tanami in both directions to the Kimberley in 1995 and have not used it since.
But I would like to again as there are some stop overs that need further exploration.
Rabit Flat was still open in those days and we met one of the twins there.
The road was better then than it is now, from all reports.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

Hi Peter,

The road was for the most part in pretty good condition. Some sections I was able to travel at around 90 to 100 kph, whilst other sections I was down to 40 to 50 kph. My average speed was probably around 70 kph. For the most part, the road is corrugated but I found The Great Central Road had worse corrugations last time we drove it back in 2017, particularly around Warakurna (Giles Weather Station) and Docker River.

Macca.

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Ahh Peter, I can only wonder what vehicle you drove on the Tanami in 1995?

The Mereenie Loop is also about to be sealed (we saw signs on it saying such) and the Great Central Road was amazingly good on the NT side with sealed sections. COVID seems to have really changed things in the outback - we were amazed at just how much. Things that have always been no camping are now 24hr - 48 hour camping. I think the volume of people travelling now has just made such a big impact on roads and communities that the requirements for upgrades is too much to ignore. The Governments also want to ensure we have an optional major east-west thoroughfare other than the Nullarbor (after the derailment issue).

Allan, it was an F350 4WD with large home made slide-on. 351 Cleveland petrol/gas that drank fuel, but would go at any speed.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

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Peter, knowing your propensity for challenge, I thought it may have been a Lightburn Zeta or the like!

What a machine :)
We owned a Lightburn Twin Tub washing machine and I visited the Lightburn factory in the days of Harold Lightburn while the Zeta was in production, but I was never tempted to buy one.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

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I had a bit to do with Lightburn in the 60's. Providing instrumentation and application advice.
Their production systems seemed weird, certainly unusual. Almost like a home workshop. But they did produce some well-made products at competitive pricing. Not sure about the Zeta! Their production only lasted a couple of years.

They made good twin tub washing machines, concrete mixers and hydraulic jacks that I recall.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

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Yes Peter, their "Lightning" hydraulic jacks were first class. They also got into trailers and fibre-glass boats, go-karts, air compressors and all sorts of gadgets. The fibre-glassing section was like something out of Mad Max. Maybe they all were in 1960? I can't imagine what the production line looked like in the 1950's.

Their washing machine was a spin-off (no pun intended) of their concrete mixer. There were some in the single quarters at Woomera when I went there in 1954. They were something to behold and and use, believe me!

Can remember the Lightburn jacks in the mid-60’s. Were also provided in new Bedford trucks. Worked well, simple to use with no fiddly valves to tighten, or release, like the current offerings.

Have used Lightburn cement mixers, for almost 60 years. Still have a small one behind the shed, that was converted to a 240v motor, replacing the asthmatic Briggs & Stratton petrol engine.

When we moved back to a station on the Diamantina, we needed a robust washing machine for the troops. Noticed the Army used the Lightburn machines, so that was my choice. In principle they were good & simple, but not robust enough as it turned out! Don’t know how the army got on, but these ugly things couldn’t last, being used by 18-20 year old station workers.

Bob

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Bob,
They weren't supposed to put boots in the washing machines !!!

I still have a Lightburn mixer & it is still registered to tow. Has a villiers petrol engine & is a hungry machine when using it. The axel slides back to get a wheelbarrow under the bowl on one side, bring any memories back for those of you that have used them. ??

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My father had a hand-cranked one. I had the job of cranking it. So I got smart and fitted it with an electric motor. I wasn't so smart actually........ because I then copped the job of shovelling stuff into it.
As a kid, you learn things every day!

A road can probably be destroyed quicker than it can be made.
The Stuart Highway from Alice to Darwin was sealed during WW2 by the Americans. When we drove it in 1967, about 1/3rd of it was back to gravel. It was mostly 1 lane of bitumen.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome