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[Page 20]
dozen all told went to the swimming carnival, & this in spite of the fact that abt £30 for prize money was subscribed by the passengers; most of the others went to Perth.
The N.S.W. men had a very bad name at both places, the men from the "Medic" abt a fortnight previously having got out of hand & smashed things up badly. I think they expected something of the same kind of thing to happen with our men.
As soon as the men were fixed up & away I went ashore & made my way over to the Railway Stn, situated perhaps 100 yds from the wharf where we were berthed. A train was waiting & was due to leave in a few minutes for Perth: there was scarcely any standing room, even in the 1st class, troops crowding everywhere. Owing to the narrow gauge the carriages seemed very small, particularly as the roofs were very low: the first class was, however, well upholstered & furnished with looking-glasses & interesting topical photographs, reminding me of the Box Hill train.
A comparison of the types of engine in the 3 states was rather interesting. At Port Melbourne the type was uniform, but the weight & power varying: they were painted a dull red. At Port Adelaide the engine was black, & of a slender type – if the term maybe used. In W.A. there seemed to be a very large number of types, some the same as our N.S.W., others with an ugly funnel thus:- [sketch of funnel] others again approaching more nearly the S.A. type; cow-catcher, & I should have