LVR To Recommence Train Trips In Cowra

It’s been a long time coming, but Lachlan Valley Railway will finally be able to restart its tourist train trips, with the hope of being able to launch its first trip on Good Friday.

With the help of numerous volunteers and contractors, LVR was able to reconstruct the railway line between Cowra Railway Station and the Lachlan River railway bridge, which overpasses the Lachlan Valley Way south of Cowra near Lachlan Fertilisers. The train trips will run from Cowra Station to the start of the bridge, but not over it.

The works have been made possible by a Federal Government grant of around $140,000 to repair the old railway line, which hasn’t been used since 2009.

The funds were originally supposed to go towards repairing the line between Cowra Station and Holmwood, however flooding in that area in November last year caused further damage to the line, increasing the cost of repairs exponentially.

LVR then made the decision to repair the line in the opposite direction, with work on the 3km stretch starting in December, and completed last Friday.

Regulatory approval is now all that is required for the LVR to commence its train trips, with the LVR confident it will happen before Friday. Should a trip be available on Friday, tickets will be sold at the gate at Cowra Station immediately prior to departure. LVR staff member Cass Mendham said it was exciting to see train trips in Cowra about to finally come to life again.

“Our volunteers and contractors have been amazing, and it wouldn’t have been possible without them,” she said. “We’ve had volunteers aged 14-78 and they’re amazing people. They completed the first kilometre by themselves, and Onrail Industries assisted with the rest. They can lay 130 sleepers per hour compared with our volunteers’ 10.”

“We plan to run the trips either fortnightly or monthly. The trip time is yet to be determined but the train will only travel at around 10km/h, so it will be a nice trip that everyone can enjoy.”

The LVR’s ‘Planet’ shunning engine locomotive will be used to for the trips, along with two R-Car carriages, each with a capacity of 56 people.

A Suzuki Sierra high rail engine car - a car that can drive on roads and railway tracks with its interchangeable wheels - has been used to test the line so far. Despite the railway line from Cowra to Holmwood remaining in disrepair, Ms Mendham said LVR would still fight for additional grant funding to one day have the line reopened for train trips.

“We’ll be engaging an engineer to inspect and quote for repairs to the Wau-goola Bridge, which was damaged in the floods,” she said.

LVR will announce whether it can run its first trip on Good Friday via its social media pages.

• Topics:
• Tourism
• Community Groups
• Grant / Funding