A video of NSU56 travelling along near lake Eyre South with a bogie water tanker; and an accomodation van; and on to Curdimurka with a cab ride across the long iron bridge before the train continued to William Creek where it had to load another train of flat wagons with rail. NSU56 was returning from Marree to where it had transported a load of recovered rail from William Creek as well as NSU55 which had failed while attempting to transport the rail to Marree the previous day. The contractor stopped and offered me a return cab ride over the long iron bridge from Curdimurka. Beneath the bridge is a flood plain and a main water course for water that drains into the lake Eyre water course is part of. Salt can be seen on the surface of the main water course which is dry, as the train crosses the bridge. After crossing the bridge, the train was reversed back over the bridge to where my vehicle was parked. (it was quite a large size unconjested car park too) Upon the return to Curdimurka, my vehicle then became bogged in the mud from a spring and the contractor left the train on the main line to help with a push out of the mud. While this was happening, the train started to roll by itself back towards the iron bridge we had just reversed over and the contractor took a short cut and climbed aboard NSU56 on its way past and then continued on back over the iron bridge and towards William Creek. Near the end of the video, the train is seen rolling along and the contractor can be seen boarding it before blowing the air horn as it continues towards William creek. Thank you to the contractor who gave me the opportunity to video the crossing of this bridge at Curdimurka. Information on a sign at Curdimurka: The Curdimurka siding dating from 1888 is the last remaining station yard of significance left intact on the old Ghan Railway and includes station yard, water treatment plant, tower and associated water tank, fettlers' cottages and the nearby Stuart Creek Bridge. This 433 metre long plate girder bridge is located a kilometre west of Curdimurka and is the second longest bridge on the former Ghan line. It was built in 1887-88 and is on the register of the National Estate and on the State Heritage Register. Local Aborigines believed that a giant snake named Kuddimuckra lived at nearby Lake Eyre. They avoided travelling along the shores of the lake, and when many viewed the approaching Ghan for the first time they fled. During 1943-44, a Kennicott type lime-soda water softening plant was erected at Curdimurka to deal with the highly mineralised water found locally. In 1989, heavy rains near Lake Eyre South dumped more than 381mm of rain in 44 hours, twisting part of the remaining trackwork that had been left in the Curdimurka yard. Curdimurka siding has been has been the location for the Curdimurka Outback Ball since 1986. The event attracts 1000s of tuxedo and taffeta-clad revellers.
