While it'd be going too far to suggest that Hughesy has a thing about trains I like rail as an option for long-haul travel.
Sure, air is quicker and definitely cheaper, but I've never liked or enjoyed flying. It's a means to an end, and not everybody's friend rather than an end in itself.
With the railways, on the other hand, and particularly with long-haul trains, the means can be part of the end.
A couple of recent experiences have served to remind that there are options to flying apart from the long distance drive.
When Madam headed home in December 2004, she flew Cairns to Kansai, while I made a shorter hop in the opposite direction to the Gold Coast. From there, as far as Hughesy was concerned, the Tilt Train looked like the way to go on the return journey.
When I settled on board, memories of earlier excursions from Roma Street came flooding back. The experience proved to be a civilised if expensive way of getting from Brisbane to Bowen.
Since the rail line follows a substantially different route between Bundaberg and Gladstone, and from Rockhampton to Mackay) to the all-too-familiar coastal highway the trip served as a reminder that rail travel is also a good way to see the countryside.