[5] When the town was a major Commonwealth Railways centre for track maintenance and locomotive and rolling stock repairs, it supported a school and hospital.

At that time, railway employees and their families depended on two weekly provisions trains for the delivery of supplies.

The short 1955 film Nullarbor Hideout was set in and around Cook; the first scenes give a good impression of the railway line and infrastructure, and a sense of the townspeople's isolation and their dependence on the railway.

The reliability of modern diesel locomotives and the introduction of concrete sleepers and continuously welded rail rendered resident employees redundant.

Track and facilities maintenance is undertaken by Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) and diesel refuelling facilities remain for Intermodal train services and the Indian Pacific; there is overnight accommodation for resting Pacific National train crews.