I took The Overland train from Adelaide to Melbourne on Monday with my seven-year-old son James. I wanted a slow journey to connect with James and wean him off computer games for entertainment. The train was perfect. It’s a comfortable 828km trip, departing 7.40am from the Adelaide Parklands station just 1km from our home in Mile End. We had to arrive an hour beforehand to collect pre-paid tickets and check-in our baggage. It was immediately apparent that most of our fellow passengers were elderly, with a smattering of backpackers.