|
80 years ago today, at 7:10am both the mail train and the famous Les Cecil left the Kingaroy station bound for Brisbane. Cecil was a seasoned veteran, holder of many records such as Melbourne-Sydney and Brisbane-Lismore, but ahead of him lay 150 miles (241km) of rough, hilly dirt roads, slick from the rain that fell almost all day. In spite of the slippery surface, he kept the pace up, and coming down the Blackbutt range hit 48 miles per hour (over 72kmh!) He rode through 2 severe storms, and crossed more than half a dozen flooded creeks, but after 8 hours, 45 minutes he finally reached Brisbane at 3:55pm. The train was not to arrive until more than 2 hours later, at 6pm! It was an extraordinary achievement, widely publicised, and 80 years later his record still stands, along with a dozen others he set during the golden age of road records. 
0 Comments
|
RSS Feed
