All aboard! Tickets on sale for popular Picnic Train weekend

Locals will soon have a chance to experience a bygone era when steam travel ruled, with the seventh annual Wollongong Steam Trains weekend just around the corner.

“It’s always a wonderful opportunity to get another generation hooked on steam,” says train driver and the director of The Picnic Train, Simone de Beuzeville.

There’s growing excitement amongst organisers ahead the trips on 7-8 November, when history will be created and recreated.

Making history

For the first time, the giant Victorian steam locomotive R766 will take to the tracks to carry passengers between Wollongong and Scarborough. It’s the newest member of the Picnic Train fleet, and it made history as the first Victorian steam locomotive to be converted to standard gauge for operation in NSW.

Simone, one of the drivers for the Picnic Train weekend, says people seem to revel in the opportunity to travel as it used to be.

“A little slower and a lot more fun,” she said.

“I still love the sound of the engines and feeling the wind in your face.”

Simone has had a love affair with trains since she was a teenager.

“I grew up at the Zig Zag Railway near Lithgow and at the age of 16 I joined the crew and started out shovelling coal. By the time I was 20, I was promoted to become a driver.”

Before she knew it, driving trains became Simone’s profession and she moved from main live driving to commanding freight trains. She's now clocked up over 30 years as a driver but her love of steam trains has never wavered.

One of Simone’s biggest thrills is watching first-timers experience the same excitement that she remembers when she had her first encounter with a steam train.

“It’s that sense of emotion; the beat of the engine, the sounds and the smells. It’s the whole experience. The majority of passengers are family groups and friends. Many pack a picnic to enjoy a great day out together.”

Family connection

There are few bigger fans of trains in the Illawarra than David Bottin, of the hugely popular Lost Wollongong Facebook page.

His family connection to steam trains goes way back to early last century when his great-grandfather and grandfather worked on the railways at Temora.

“I guess I come from a long line of railwaymen and in the 1980s mum started looking for a hobby for her son, and for herself as things turned out,” David said.

Mother and son soon volunteered to support the Illawarra Light Railway Museum at Albion Park and the Bottin family’s strong connection with steam trains was reestablished.

“I guess steam locomotives are so unique. You can feel them and hear them. There’s nothing like them,” David said.

He was pleased to be present at the very beginning when the Picnic Trains first hit the tracks in 2019 and he was asked to assist with planning and marketing.

The good news for those looking for a unique and affordable travel experience is that tickets are still available for people wanting to climb aboard to enjoy a scenic journey through Wollongong’s northern suburbs on Saturday the 7th and Sunday the 8th of November.

There are a range of seating options in the classic 1930s carriages. Single first-class seats are $55, and groups can book an entire eight-person heritage carriage for $195. Each return trip is about an hour in duration.

For more information and to book, visit www.picnictrain.com.au.

For those unable to make the trip, you won’t miss the sound of the trains as they chug up and down the coast, and the word is, the distinctive sound of the R766 whistle will be heard kilometres away.