MOTOR V. TRAIN.

Shannon News, 15 May 1923, Page 2

MOTOR V. TRAIN.

A HAZARDOUS RACE. CRASH ENDS ATTEMPT. SYDNEY, April IS. Misfortune lias overtaken the attempt of two venturesome Sydney motorists—Messrs J. Burton and J. Bradley—to race the express trains across Australia from Fremantle in the west to Sydney in the east. The patli of the great, trans-continental railway is at any time a hazardous one for a motorist to traverse, the tracks being- of the roughest, water always scarce, and little variation in a weary waste of many hundreds of miles, save an occasional camp of blacks who speculate in gibbering wonderment at anyone choosing the hardships and dangers of such a mode of travel, when the train would serve their pur-

pose. In taking their higli-pawer Vauxliall car over to Fremantle preparatory to the race home, the motorists had a perilous experience between Port Augusta and the west coast of South Australia, and found it necessary .after having undergone terrible hardships through lack pf water, to return to Adelaide, in order that repairs might be effected to their machine. They were more successful at their second attempt, and Fremantle was reached in safely. No time was lost in getting ready for Ihc next trying task, and the motorists left Fremantle on thcii long trek, a week last Saturday, at 4 u.m.

By train the journey to Sydney occupies Kill livws 4 r > minutes, a'l wept fairly we 1 as far as lOuela when tli. bad covered tKII> of the 1750 miles to Port Augusta, after which travelling would have been comparatively oas>. At Eeula they were a little behind their scheduled time, which they accounted for by having to traverse rough country with limestone outcrops varied with roots and stumps. They were, however, 14’, hours ahead of the previous motor record time, and considerably ahead of the train time. But when a little distance out of Eucla they crashed madly, narrowly escaping* with their lives, and the bold venture bad to be reluctantly abandoned.