The small mountain town of Blaxland is located 67 km west of Sydney in the Upper Blue Mountains…read more Blaxland station is on the Blue Mountains train line and was opened in 1867 when the rail line was extended to the area. At that time the area was known as Wascoes (what?) and renamed to Blaxland in 1879. The explorers Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth pioneered a route across the Great Dividing Range in 1813. The namesake Gregory Blaxland was an English pioneer farmer and explorer. In 1923 he published his Journal of a Tour of Discovery Across the Blue Mountains which included: "On Tuesday, May 11, 1813,, Mr. Gregory Blaxland, Mr. William Wentworth, and Lieutenant Lawson, attended by four servants, with five dogs, and four horses laden with provisions, ammunition, and other necessaries, left Mr. Blaxland's farm at the South Creek, for the purpose of endeavouring to effect a passage over the Blue Mountains ..." After finding a crossing over the Great Dividing Range, Blaxland continued to be a pioneer and around 1827 petitioned then Governor Darling that a "Trial by jury" and "Taxation by Representation" should be extended to the colony of New South Wales. It is sad that Greg Blaxland suffered the untimely deaths of his second son, youngest son and wife in rapid succession. He committed suicide in 1853 and was buried at All Saints Cemetery in Parramatta. Three Yelp stars in honour of Gregory Blaxland. An old lady who lived up here befriended me and told me about the politics of the town. Geez, who would have thought ... If you stop in the pub across the street you can probably have a good conversation with a local as long as you stick to first names only; this is always the rule in remote places. I seem to remember they keep a roaring fire when it is cold outside. Keep any eye on the time and cross the road in time to catch your train and resume your life.

Glenbrook is a residential mountain community 67 km west of Sydney in the Lower Blue Mountains…read more This picturesque little town of 5,000 people is the biggest community between Penrith and Springwood, further up the mountain. There is a Royal Australia Air Force Base in Glenbrook. Glenbrook station is on the Blue Mountains train line and was opened in 1913. The town was originally named Watertank and was a stop on the "little" zig-zag railway line. The purpose of the stop was so the steam trains could refill their engines with water from the Glenbrook Lagoon. Glenbrook Creek had been dammed up to make a lagoon to store water for the trains, and a pipe-line was constructed to transport water to a tank built alongside the rail line. When the township grew, the residents obviously realized you can't have a town called 'Watertank' so in 1879 they adopted the name Glenbrook after the Glenbrook Creek. The name Glenbrook was proposed by Sir John Jamieson who believed that the creek was a brook coming from Regents Glen. When we lived in the mountains we used to get the train to Glenbrook to go to the cute movie theatre here. Indy movies sometimes, or just regular.

Martin Place is a pedestrian mall in the heart of Sydney. Easy to visit several landmarks along…read morethis historic laneway. The old Sydney General Post Office has been transformed into the Sydney Fullerton Hotel. This was a perfect place to stay. So convenient and so beautiful. Tours are available. 25 Martin Place was once the tallest reinforced concrete office building in the world. It was controversial as several historic buildings were torn down for its construction. It houses the US Consulate. Several war memorials are in the mall. The Sydney Cenotaph is outside the old General Post Office. It honors the ANZAC forces that who fought in World War I. The Commando Memorial honors Australian commandos who fought in World War II and later wars. It is a small seat near the entrance to the Martin Place Station. The Sydney Hospital marks the end of the pedestrian mall. Read the information on the large displays along the mall to learn more.

This station is pretty much located in the heart of Sydney's financial district, however it…read morebasically only services a single line, and that is the line that heads out to Bondi Junction and Kings Cross. The station itself is okay, expect for the lack of restrooms, at least as far as I could see. Trains aren't all that frequent either. Then again, it really isn't one of those stations that I'd make a habit of disembarking the train from.

Redfern Station is a major Sydney city interchange station. This is where you can change from…read morewestern or southern lines and either go to the Domestic/ International Airport or go travel in a totally different direction. Parts of the station still have a rustic look and are probably heritage listed but the underground line to the airy is very modern and fairly new. This is also the nearest station to Sydney University, and many students use the train to get to lectures.

Springwood is located 72 km west of Sydney and "half-way up the mountain" in a local government…read morearea of the City of Blue Mountains. At the 2011 census, Springwood had a population of 8,437 people. It is largely Anglo-Celtic. I know the place well because we used to live here in the neighbouring town of Faulconbridge, and would usually get on and off the train at Springwood rather than Faulconbridge station. Not much to say about a train station really. This one gets the job done. Springwood is a large train station with most of the town shops on the south side, including *Springwood Pizza*. On the north side is a huge multi-storey parking structure. The "Mountain Train" from Sydney up to here and beyond is very relaxing once you start to rise up from the coastal plains after Penrith. You can feel your stress melt away. Lots of Sydney workers commute from here, and Springwood is about as far as you would want to commute. Those living higher up the mountain are more retired persons or local workers, etc. The people also get weirder going higher up the mountain, where it is more sparsely populated. Don't mean to offend anyone, but its true of many, but not all. Hard to give more than three stars for a train station. It's just there if you know what I mean.

Burwood Station is an inner west station of Sydney. It is very close to Mini Chinese Town, Burwood…read morePlaza and Burwood Westfield. Therefore a good shopping area. The station itself has a lift and is well posted . There is good signage to tell you when and which platforms are the next trains. You must have an Opal Card to travel on trains, buses and ferries in Sydney. There is concession cards and a senior card that you can apply for on line.

Like many of the stations in Sydney, especially the ones closer to the city, this station is a very…read moreaccessible station, and is also pretty close to the shopping district which, once again, seems to be a common factor with a lot of these stations. The other thing is that the trains through here are fairly frequent, though not all of them stop. Then again, this is a major line so I am not all that surprised since this isn't a major station.

For some reason I have it in my head that this is one of the largest suburban stations in…read moreAustralia. Well, considering that it is on the convergence of two lines, and that trains pass through here regularly (and pretty much they all stop here as well) is probably one of the reasons why it is so large. Also, there happens to be a major shopping centre a short walk from here as well. I guess that is one of the reasons why the Sydney Rail network is so convenient - the stations are pretty close to, well, everything.

With a name that would cause a race riot in America, it seems anti-climactic to sit here and wait…read morefor your train connection. But don't harass the locals - they breed 'em tough out here. I hail from close to here. Never liked Blacktown Station. Just sayin'. But they did refurbish it in the 1990's. Blacktown station opened on 2 July 1860 as Black Town Road with the construction of the Main Western railway line. Blacktown is an Easy Access (handicapped-accessible) station, with lift/elevator access to all platforms. The station is known as the "Mother Ship" as it looks like a UFO when lit up at night. As a major transport terminus, you can get to a lot of places from here, so it is a means to an end. A huge bus interchange is adjacent. Fast trains to Sydney from here are a godsend. The Sydney metropolitan area has one of the best public transport systems of any city in the world.

Starting off my series of reviews from my recent trip to Australia with a review on a light rail…read morestation. The Star Light Rail Stop is a station on the Dulwich Hill Line of the Sydney Light Rail. If you are not familiar with The Star, it is a casino located in Pyrmont which is a suburb of Sydney. The light rail station is located underneath the casino and provides easy public transportation access to this entertainment complex. If you are trying to access this station, you need to go inside The Star. There are signs that direct you to the station which is downstairs. Sydney Light Rail runs 24 hours. But from midnight to 6 am, trains run only between Central Station and The Star. It does not continue onto Dulwich Hill. As for the station itself, it is darkly lit. It feels like you are sort of waiting in an underground parking lot. To pay for your fare using your Opal card, there are card readers at this station. Once you get onboard, there is a person that polices the train car to ensure that you have paid your fare by checking your Opal card. This station is pretty close to Sydney Fish Market which is a couple stops away. Though I would recommend getting off at the Wentworth Park stop which is actually closer than the Fish Market stop. If you like to gamble or enjoy the nightlife at The Star, this stop is very convenient as you can use it to reach Central Station and get to walking distance of the Sydney CBD at all hours of the day.