Australia was the birth place of Elfric in1881, his trials and tribulations to try to achieve his dream for the Kearney High-Speed Railway spanned decades. This was never to be, as in other locations around the world there were not risk takers, only adversaries, who had their own agenda or wanted to protect their interests. Some people did share his vision and his enthusiasm for the future.
Taken once more from the Kearney Files, is this early article from 1904.
Coolgardie Miner (WA) Saturday 10th December 1904.
High-Speed Railway
Mr Elfric W Chalmers Kearney a young Australian engineer has projected a high-speed railway to run from London to the South Coast in thirty minutes at a rate of 120 mph.
Australian comments.
What we want now is some Australian engineer to show us how to build a railway from Kalgoorlie to the East Coast on which speeds of 100 miles an hour could be maintained at a cost not absolutely prohibitive. We are getting turbine steamers on the Australian coast capable of beating the speediest racehorse that ever won the Melbourne Cup. When one thinks of vessels of 10,000 tons capacity being driven through the water at a speed of 25 knots per hour the slowness of our present fashion of running trains may be appreciated. There are trains in England and America which run normally for long distances at more than 60 mph. A train going east at that rate a perfectly practicable rate would cut the journey from kalgoorlie to Adelaide in 22 hours. A person could leave Kalgoorlie after breakfast and be in in time for an early breakfast in Adelaide next morning.
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