The Ghan of Australia. "The Ghan" service was notorious for delays caused by washouts of the track. A flatcar immediately behind the locomotive carried spare sleepers and railway tools, so passengers and crew could repair the line. The very uncertain service via this route was tolerated because steam locomotives needed large quantities of water, and Stuart's route to Alice Springs was the only one that had sufficient available water. During World War II the service had to be greatly expanded, putting great pressure on the limited water supplies. As a result, de-mineralisation towers, some of which survive to this day, were built
Home Country Direct Home Country Direct Home Country Direct is a telecommunications service to facilitate calling one's home country while traveling abroad. It made it possible to speak with an operator familiar with the language of the traveler. The Home Country Direct number is usually a domestic toll-free number, and is specific to the pairing of originating and receiving countries. The first such services were established in the early 1980s by AT&T as "USA Direct"; reciprocal services from the United States were later established, and other countries also established the services, such as Canada Direct established by the former Telecom Canada alliance. As