From a mobile high tea to birthday celebrations, the possibilities are endless for heritage train rides on the Border – and a passionate group of train buffs are aiming high.
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Next weekend, restored 1920’s CPH Railmotors will run from Albury to Culcairn and Gerogery and from Culcairn to Henty, “for the first time in memorable history”.
The one-off rides will be a first taste of what the NSWGR 900 class “DEB set” restoration group want to bring permanently to the region.
Member Peter Allen said the proceeds from the rides, at $25 a ticket, would go towards moving the historic diesel trains from Newcastle to the Border.
“It’s a good fundraiser – people will have a chance to sit back with the windows open and amble up the track,” he said.
“(The DEB set) will be a little bit more involved than these trains, as it can cater to people with its own kitchenette, a toilet and these sorts of things,” he said.
“We can do party trips on the train – they could do a footy trip to Melbourne or a wine trip – whatever they want.”
Mr Allen said the weekend was crucial for progress on restoring the DEB sets, which ran under Riverina Express during the 1970s.
“It’s a slow process, we’ve been waiting two and a half years to get it down here,” he said.
“It takes time and money, and that’s why we’re doing this – even to bring it down here is an enormous fee.
“We’re looking for a place to put our Murray Railway Modellers club too, so if they’ve got the land we can work with them and the aim would be to make a model of the Albury-Wodonga area.”
Ross Jackson, who has been a major driver behind the restorations, said the project was gaining traction.
“We have a working bee planned in September to get it ready for its departure for further south,” he said.
“The smell of the old timber, the leather and so forth brings back an era that doesn’t exist anymore.”
Mr Jackson hoped bringing back the “Riverina Express” route for a weekend would attract interest in the DEB restoration project.
“We’re trying this from both a tourism and heritage perspective,” he said.
“We want to get the message out there that we’re here.
“The strength of social media is being proven – the original post was shared 160 times but we just need to get it a little further.”
The trains will depart from Albury at 9.30am on Saturday, July 30 and return from Gerogery at 10.43am, running the same times on Sunday.
There will also be loops from Albury to Culcairn.
Tickets can be purchased on the day but bookings are advised at www.lvr.com.au.
