Wings & Wheels by Private Train
From Sydney, To Illawarra, Goulburn. Cootamundra, Junee, Temora, Parkes, Forbes, Condobolin, Narromine, Stuart Town, Orange, Bathurst, Lithgow. - 6 Nights

Package Details

Overview

The 20th century saw the creation of fleets of classic planes, trains, and automobiles, many of which are still in fine working order and, on occasion, are rolled out for all to enjoy. On this tour, a special private train tour around southern and central NSW, we’ll have front row seats at the Temora Aviation Museum ‘Showcase’, a flying display of some of the most iconic vintage aircraft to fly in Australian skies. We also visit the historic collections in their original WWII hangars at Parkes and Narromine.

Details

Day 1 • Thursday 4 April: SYDNEY – GOULBURN
Your tour begins with a welcome briefing at Central Station before boarding our privately chartered heritage train, departing around 10:00 am. We head south along the Illawarra Line taking in the scenic vistas of the South Coast and the escarpment as the train rises up the cross country Unanderra to Moss Vale line. We pause for lunch along the way and then continue onto the Southern line and track our way to Goulburn where we detrain to check into the hotel just a short run from the station.

Goulburn was one of the first stations to be built outside the Sydney basin and was the place where the original shareholders of The Sydney Railway Company met to draw up plans for a NSW rail system. In keeping with that history we take a tour of the extensive Goulburn Roundhouse and museum that features a wide variety of historic rolling stock in the setting of a still working railway depot. To complement this story we also take a visit to the Goulburn Waterworks, another rare example of early industrial engineering in NSW. As the old engine turns over we hear about the crucial role this priceless machinery from the steam age played in the development of the city and its region.

Dinner this evening is hosted at the hotel.

Overnight: Mercure Goulburn (L, D)

Day 2: Friday 5 April: GOULBURN – JUNEE – COOTAMUNDRA 
This morning after breakfast in the hotel restaurant we transfer to the station for a great day of country train travel along the Southern railway to Junee. This section of the line is undoubtedly one of the most interesting between Sydney and Melbourne, indeed the state. Along with the split track at Frampton and the future junction of the Inland Rail at Ilabo, there’s the famous Bethungra Spiral which uses a series of loops, tunnels, and overpasses to descend the ranges. Junee, our destination is very much a railway town and thankfully has preserved its rich history in many of the old railway buildings and infrastructure. First, we bring the old Railway Refreshment room alive with a high morning tea. Then we take a tour into the heart of the still busy and historic Junee Roundhouse and Museum.

Lunch is a fine affair at the celebrated Junee Liquorice Factory. Originally an old Flour Mill, the modern-day factory is home to shops, the production of Liquorice, and delicious food. We return to the station and make the short, gentle trip back up the line to Cootamundra, enjoying the scenery and unusual railway formations and infrastructure from another angle. Our accommodation is a short walk from the railway station (300 metres) and after settling in we transfer to the Country Club for a hearty country dinner beside the forested championship golf course.

Overnight: Cootamundra Gardens or Wattle Tree Motel, Cootamundra (B, L, D)

Day 3 • Saturday 6 April: COOTAMUNDRA – TEMORA – PARKES
After breakfast, we board our train for the journey west through the junction village of Stockinbingal and further west to the once important railway hub of Temora. Our coaches will be on hand for the transfer to the Temora Aviation Museum, home to one of the largest collections of vintage aircraft in the country, many of which are in working order. Your day at the ‘Showcase’ will include flypasts of a variety of rare and iconic warbirds and operational historic flying machines. You have time between the many flying demonstrations to explore the excellent museum and have lunch either at the show or in town – we’ll have our coaches on hand to shuttle you to and from the CBD and, if you’d like, the Temora Rural Museum which also has a great collection of historic artifacts.

We re-board our train in the mid-afternoon and progress back to Stockinbingal Junction where we shunt our train onto the ‘Inland Rail’ line and begin our trek north. A short way up the line we’ll pause at Bribbaree, a tiny village with a great old country pub, the Rusty Horse, our location for an early dinner this evening. Then it’s back on board to enjoy the sun setting over the plains as we progress north through Qandialla and Forbes arriving in Parkes in the early evening. After we check into our motel, not far from the station, you can relax in the bar over a light evening supper and a drink or two with your fellow travellers and tour leaders.

Overnight: Parkview Motel, Parkes (B, D)

Day 4: Sunday 7 April: PARKES – FORBES – CONDOBOLIN – PARKES
Our day in the region begins after breakfast with a tour to the HARS Parkes Aviation Museum which showcases a large collection of vintage aircraft and memorabilia housed in and around the World War II hangars and out-buildings. The dedicated volunteers will also provide morning tea for us.

The Henry Parkes Centre is the next stop to view The King’s Castle Elvis Exhibition and Parkes Motor Museum. You have the option of an excursion to The Dish or alternately head off to Fobes to visit the excellent McFeeters Motor Museum. Both groups will meet in Forbes for lunch at the leafy Golf Club.

We take a short look around Forbes before heading out along the Lachlan Valley Way and the Sculpture Trail to Condobolin. All along the drive are stunning large art works in a riverside rural setting all which explore the themes of human relationship with the land in ancient and modern times. After a look around the busy rural town of ‘Condo’, we head down to the railway station to board our train for the return journey to Parkes and an evening at leisure.

Overnight: Parkview Motel, Parkes (B, L)

Day 5 • Monday 8 April: PARKES – NARROMINE – STUART TOWN – ORANGE
After breakfast at the motel, we head down to the railway station to board our train for the journey along the recently completed first stage of the Inland Rail to Narromine. Just outside the town we’ll view the main junction of the Inland Rail where the extensive infrastructure work is going on as part of this nation-building project. The newly laid heavy rail allows for maximum speed running so we’ll arrive in Narromine in good time for a visit to the excellent Aviation Museum built around the old WW2 RAAF base. After a look around and morning tea, we branch onto the line to Dubbo and the Great Western Railway, stopping at Stuart Town and the classic old Ironbark pub for lunch. It’s a short run up onto the Tablelands and into Orange, our base for the evening. You’ll have some free time in the newly built hotel, before wandering downstairs to the restaurant and a well deserved locally inspired dinner.

Overnight: The Remington Hotel, Orange (B, L, D)

Day 6 • Tuesday 9 April: ORANGE – BATHURST – WALLERAWANG
We depart Orange at a respectable hour this morning and our first stop on the journey east along the Tablelands is the heritage village of Millthorpe. Here you’ll have time to graze and browse in the excellent array of shops, galleries, cafes, and interesting museums all gathered within an easy walk from the station in this charming, compact, community.

Back on the train, we’re off down the line to Bathurst where we start with a visit to the acclaimed Bathurst Railway Museum to learn of the impact of the railway on the culture of the city and marvel at the extraordinary working model of the western line on show. Lunch is hosted in the lavish surrounds of Abercrombie House, a veritable Baronial Castle in the bush. In the afternoon you’ll have the option to visit the Motor Museum and Fossil and Mineral Museum or take a tour out to the spectacular Mayfield Gardens, one of the country’s most extensive private high-country gardens created with great detail and expense in the English style. Those on the garden tour will continue by coach at the end of the day to Wallerawang and our hotel for the evening.

Those choosing the museums and not the gardens will have the option to board our train in Bathurst in the late afternoon for the short run east to Wallerawang and the Black Gold Resort, our home and dinner venue for the night.

Overnight: Black Gold Motel, Wallerawang (B, L, D)

Day 7: Wednesday 10 April: WALLERAWANG – LITHGOW – SYDNEY 
After breakfast, our coaches will take us to visit the Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum which was the backbone of Australian munitions manufacturing for over a hundred years and once employed over 1,500 people. Displays show the production processes and social history of this renowned facility, and some of the myriad of commercial and domestic production which, between the wars, provided The Factory’s lifeblood and preserved the valuable skills of its workforce.

After enjoying a lavish morning tea put on by the volunteers, we’ll rejoin our train at Lithgow Station for the run up the mountains to Katoomba, where we’ll pause for some lunch. Then it’s onto Sydney and the end of our tour, arriving at Central Station mid-afternoon, thus completing a very special and bountiful Wings and Wheels escape (B, L).

Inclusions

• 6 nights’ accommodation in quality hotels
• Attendance at the Temora Showcase
• Breakfast daily, 6 lunches and 5 dinners
• Comfortable chartered coaches
• Entrances to museums as mentioned in the itinerary
• Specially chartered Rail Motor for rail travel throughout including on board morning and afternoon teas

Terms

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