s lunchtime in the timber-paneled “Queen Adelaide” dining car with its white linens and stamped-tin ceiling. Past the Jacquard curtains, red-earthed vistas roll by outside as we move rhythmically through the Australian outback. Though named for the tough Afghan cameleers who first exploited this route 150 years ago, our train, the “Ghan,” requires no roughing it. It provides, instead, a luxurious throwback to Old-World travel.

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