2023 Australia North by North West - A northern NSW Odyssey by Private Train

Chris was born in Melbourne but grew up in Kuranda in North Queensland. He loved taking the Silver Bullet (tin turtle) train down the Kuranda range to Cairns for high school during those years. He studied Performing Arts at James Cook University before moving to Sydney to work for the Aboriginal and Islander Dance theatre. He then moved into the film industry working in the art department on many productions such as Babe, Pricilla, and the Wiggles to name a few. In 1992 he took his first trip to Japan and fell in love with the country, food, culture, and people. He studied Japanese and returned to Japan every year for holidays. Chris began working as a coordinator for Japanese productions in the South Pacific and in 2012 moved to Tokyo. His love for Japan and all things Japanese has grown over this time, just going to the convenience store is still exciting for him!

Rob has worked in the travel industry since 2017, mainly leading rail tours in the UK and continental  Europe. Having had a keen interest in rail travel since he was a child – many days in the 70s and 80s were  spent with his father travelling on steam and diesel trains all over the country. During university  holidays, he worked on the Severn Valley Railway, one of Britain’s longest heritage steam railways. 

He has travelled extensively by rail throughout the UK and more than 30 European countries from  Portugal in the west to Lithuania in the east. He has a passion for long-distance rail trips and has travelled on trains across the USA, Canada, South Africa and the Indian Pacific across Australia. 

Rob’s interests revolve around travel and sport. Many of his most memorable journeys have been on  trips involving watching the England cricket team lose all over the globe.

Barbara lives in the Blue Mountains and has a solid background in travel, tourism and hospitality. She has worked in wholesale and retail travel, then as an events coordinator in a 5-star hotel, before living and working in Japan for 2 years as a conversational English teacher with her husband Duncan. Once back in Australia, she managed of group of spa cabins and wedding venue, and for the next 10 years owned and managed a local Teahouse and Australian Gallery. Barbara has been part of the Railway Adventures tour leader team since April 2021 and loves being part of a like-minded group that supports a well-planned and inspirational itinerary, creating lifelong memories with enthusiastic passengers. She always enjoys having the opportunity of travelling and meeting new people, and has a real understanding of traveller’s expectations and needs. She’s also a member of Oral History NSW and her latest venture is recording individual life stories.

DUNCAN WASS grew up in Sth Australia. He switched from Road Design to theatre via Queensland Uni. in 1977, and met Scott in 1982 when they did the Tempest for Queensland Theatre Co.. After a hectic 5 year stint at QTC, La Boite and TN, he moved to Sydney and worked for JC Williamson, The Q, and STC. He was in the inaugural cast of Les Miserables for Cameron Mackintosh. He also did a number of TV roles for the ABC, as well as some very small parts in a few movies. He spent 6 weeks as B1 in Bananas in Pyjamas, doing the first 40 episodes. Bell Shakespeare occupied his attention for 6 years to 1999, before he went with his new wife Barbara and taught English in Japan for a couple of years. They travelled extensively there, and have been back a number of times, as well as taking trips to the US, UK, France and Italy, Cambodia and the Phillipines. Back home, they ran a Teahouse and Gallery for ten years before establishing a holiday accommodation management business the Blue Mountains. Duncan loves the freedoms and camaraderie of train travel.

Eamonn joined Launceston City Council in 2013 as Tourism Manager until a wish to ‘semi retire’ gave him the opportunity to start a small day tour company, Prestige Tours Tasmania, which, over the last few years has seen him leading and hosting tours on various themes all over the island. Prior to this Eamonn’s career has had a distinct heritage rail focus. 

In 2007 he became CEO of Puffing Billy Railway heading up seventy staff and over 1000 volunteers. Prior to this he was invited to project manage the rebuilding and reopening of the ABT Railway in Tasmania. With a formal opening in 2003 and the railway renamed the West Coast Wilderness Railway, Eamonn led the team and became its first Chief Executive Officer. He has had a great interest in railways since early childhood. Initially in heritage railways when he was asked to join a volunteer working party at the Ffestiniog Railway in Wales. His professional training as a stage manager and events coordinator led to him taking on full time employment at the railway to develop a marketing department. It was whilst he was marketing manager, he became involved in the very early days of the Welsh Highland Railway Project. Eamonn has led a number of tours for Railway Adventures and is pleased to lead this tour once again and is looking forward to sharing his time with you all in Tasmania. 

Stephen is a trained mediator and has extensive experience in conflict resolution, management consulting, designing and running workshops, coaching, acting, and travel. 

Stephen has a lifelong interest in travel and discovery having grown up on the western wheatfields of NSW. His interest in rail was sparked as a youngster by watching steam trains shunt in the yards at Nyngan, and later by regular travel on the Western Mail between Dubbo and Sydney to attend university. After completing an Economics Degree Stephen initially worked within corporate and retail banking areas then moved into the employment, education and training sector where he worked for over 20 years in both metropolitan and regional areas of NSW, and federally in Canberra. He also worked for over 10 years in the health sector in NSW to assist in improving workplace culture.  

Stephen enjoys trains and travel, bushwalking, geography and land-use, maps, pastoral care, poetry, and the great outdoors. He has explored every State and Territory in Australia and especially enjoys spending time in regional and remote places. Internationally, he’s travelled throughout NZ, Cook Islands, North America, UK, and Thailand. Stephen is interested in connecting with people and tailoring his expertise to enhance the enjoyment of all travellers.  

Graeme has travelled Australia and the world extensively his entire life, whether it be by train, motorcycling through the outback, Europe or North America , or through Africa in a ‘worse for wear’ Kombi van. As a child growing up in Sydney he witnessed the very last of the days of steam on the railways of NSW and thus began a fascination for trains and rail travel that continues today. He enthusiastically followed every boy’s dream of becoming a steam engine driver, becoming involved in the railway preservation movement at an early age, and today he is a regular volunteer steam driver and trainer at a number of preserved railways in Victoria. Graeme’s professional life was in water resource engineering and operations, a field in which he is still involved, and this resulted in him residing in a number of rural locations in NSW and Tasmania. He has also lived in Canada and spent a few years in South Africa working for the railways there. Some favorite places to travel? Graeme says “The back blocks of Australia, the Isle of man (Motor bikes AND trains!), and anywhere where you learn something you didn’t know!”

Allan and his wife Patricia operate a small tour company based on the South Island that began in 1988 and leads tours all over New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands. Allan has managed rail tour groups from the USA for the International Railway Travellers Group to both New Zealand and Australia. In addition, Allan was a Train Manager for Dunedin Railways and as such, managed cruise ships and tour trains into the Taieri Gorge and across the South Island.