Australia's transcontinental railway, the Ghan, will mark 90 years of operation with a commemorative service that pulls out of Adelaide this weekend.
With 235 passengers on board, the special service will leave on Sunday morning to make the 3000-kilometre, three-day journey to Darwin.
This trip includes a special stop at Pimba where guests will enjoy an open-air concert to mark the rail line's anniversary.
Artists performing will include Shane Howard from Australian rock band Goanna, Christine Anu, Joe Camilleri from the Black Sorrows and Adam Thompson from Chocolate Starfish.
One carriage on the train will also be converted into an art-deco inspired hat shop where guests can be personally fitted for an Akubra while enjoying a glass of champagne.
The Ghan's first service left Adelaide on August 4, 1929, when the rail line from Adelaide only extended as far as Alice Springs.
That remained the case until 2004 when the long-held ambition of successive federal governments was finally realised and the line through to Darwin was completed at a cost of $1.3 billion.
At the time it was considered the second biggest civil engineering project in the nation's history, behind only the Snowy Mountains hydro electric scheme.
The managing director of the company which operates the Ghan, Steve Kernaghan, said the service had evolved considerably over nine decades.
It had gone from a link between Adelaide and SA's country towns and stations and a means of getting from A to B to now being a high-end tourism experience in itself and one of the world's great train journeys.
He said the service would continue to evolve and grow as it headed towards a century of journeys across the outback.
* The Ghan had its beginnings in the late 1800s when rail lines first pushed into South Australia's north. These lines were dubbed The Afghan Express in reference to the camel trains that first opened up the SA outback.
* The railway to Alice Springs was finally completed in 1929 with the inaugural Ghan service pulling out of Adelaide on August 4.
* The Ghan experienced one of its busiest periods during World War II when it was used to carry troops and supplies across the country. It was during this period when the population of Alice Springs jumped as people were evacuated from Darwin following the bombing by the Japanese.
* After being stalled for many years, the project to complete the transcontinental railway from Adelaide to Darwin finally got underway in 2001 with the line opened in 2004. The project cost $1.3 billion.
* The Ghan's services are now all-inclusive with passengers not required to open their wallets from when they get on board until they leave. Also included are various extra activities such as side trips to Nitmiluk Gorge.
Australian Associated Press
