Cooma Monaro Railway
Cooma Monaro Railway
Our links are divided into several groups, covering rail enthusists sites, Cooma attractions, and accomodation in the Cooma area. This page will continue to be augmented as opportunities permit.
Enthusiast Sites
http://www.railmotorsociety.org.au is the site for the Rail Motor Society, based at Paterson, near Dungog NSW. It contains, amongst other things, an excellent history and technical appraisal of the CPH Railmotor.
A Rail Motor Society visit to the Royal National Park in Sydney's south.
At the 150 Years of NSW Railways celebration weekend, it was good to see the Rail Motor Society in action there. Based at the Mortuary Platform, they were giving rides using their well known units CPH 7 and CPH 1. CMR's John Wynes was again the man on the spot for a photo.
Of course, CMR is not the only group to be restoring a CPH currently. CPH 18 is being given a total rebirth by State Rail Apprentices (documented on the website http://cph18.fotopic.net/. It will be based at the RTM Thirlmere. It was on display at Central Station during the 150 Years of NSW Railways celebration recently, where CMR member Peter Lawrence took this fine portrait.
We are also aware of the great effort that the Glenreagh Mountain Railway is making to restore CPH 11, a task that is well documented on their website at http://www.gmr.org.au/cph_11.htm. Given this hive of activity, we can look forward to the time when many of the original 37 units in the class will be in running order at various locations around the state.
http://www.railpage.org.au/ is the leading site for rail enthusiasts in Australia. Copious amounts of information, picture libraries, links locally and overseas, and much more is available here.
http://www.freewebs.com/aunewenglandrailwayinc/ New England Railway Inc. is a Volunteer based Heritage Tourist Railway group with bases at Armidale, Glen Innes and Jennings/Wallangarra in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales Australia. New England plans to run a tourist passenger service from Armidale to Wallangarra, starting off with short destinations when access becomes available.
http://yrm.yass.mine.nu/ is the site for the Yass Railway Museum. Located in the town, the YRM exhibits a host of railway memorabilia housed in it's original station building and includes static displays of original period steam engines, carriages and goods vans.
www.arhsact.org.au/ will take you to The Australian Railway Historical Society (ACT), which operates steam and CPH railmotors on the Michelago Tourist Railway, inter-state train tours, the Canberra Railway Museum and a CountryLink Ticketing Agency.
(Now here's an idea - why not combine a railway tour of Cooma, Canberra and Yass into one weekend.)
http://www.nswrail.net This is a magnificent site containing a variety of information about the NSW railway network, including map and photographic content. It has chosen to concentrate on recording the infrastructure of the state, especially on the abandoned branch lines.
Brian Leedham is a Central Coast (NSW) based enthusiast who has created a number of sites to do with railcars and also the New England and Binnaway groups. His site(s) can be accessed through www.freewebs.com/neriau/ .
Other Railway Related Sites
In 2005 the NSW railways celebrates its 150th anniversary. http://www.railcorp.info/150years is a website that contains a calendar of events to commemorate the occasion and enable people to learn more about our railway heritage. A collaboration between a range of rail operators and heritage groups, the calendar lists events occurring throughout the year that celebrate our rail history. Also on view are some of the memorabilia available to mark the anniversary.
www.perisherblue.com.au/winter/skitube will give you details of the operation of Skitube, accessing the Snowy high country.
http://www.staterail.nsw.gov.au/ - the NSW Government Railways.
http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/ is the NSW Department of Transport. This site has lots of good links to both Australia and overseas.
Attractions in the Cooma Monaro
http://www.snowyhydro.com.au/ gives you access to the Snowy Mountains Authority, including details of dam visits etc.
http://www.travelaustralia.com.au/page1/51349_1.html contains contact details for the Cooma Visitors Centre, who can give you full information on attractions and accommodation in the Cooma Monaro area.
http://www.canberragliding.org/ is the site of the Canberra Gliding Club. Gliding is arguably the most challenging and beautiful form of flying available. The Canberra Club operate out of Bunyan (the Railway's half way point) and offer pilot training in gliders, trial instructional flights, where you can fly the aircraft under instruction, and joy flights, all conducted by experienced qualified members, in modern fiberglass aircraft.
Accommodation in and around Cooma and the Snowy Mountains
http://www.highcountrymoteltours.com.au/ will take you to the High Country Motel website. Here are 40 ground-floor units of which 19 are family rooms that can accommodate up to 9 guests. The spacious, open lounge overlooks the pool and the adjacent hillside, guests can enjoy, in comfort, the lovely log fire and the beautiful view or have a game of pool and a drink from the bar. The restaurant has magnificent views over Cooma and the surrounding countryside. Meal times are orchestrated by their enthusiastic professional team.
http://www.cml.net.au/ is the page for the Cooma Motor Lodge.
For those who like B & B accommodation, the village of Bredbo (20 minutes north of Cooma) offers 'Feathers', which has been designed and furnished to provide guests with country charm blended with urban chic. Visit http://www.feathersbb.com/ or contact your hosts at trish.hughston-wynne@bigpond.com.
http://www.providencelodge.com.au
Providence Lodge is a 3.5 star rated ski lodge accommodation situated on the shores of Lake Eucumbene in the Kosciuszko National Park. They are the closest accommodation to the Mt Selwyn Ski Resort. Activities include snow skiing, tobogganing, fishing, mountain bike riding, horseback riding, bushwalking, sightseeing and 4x4 touring. With spectacular views from the Lodge to Lake Eucumbene and the surrounding mountains, Providence Lodge offers an all year round holiday option.
Winter: Skiing
Spring/Bright: Wildflowers
Autumn: Spectacular autumn colours
They are a short drive to most of the attractions in the area including the Yarrangobilly Caves, Snowy Hydro power stations, historic Kiandra, Mt Kosciuszko and the towns of Adaminaby, Talbingo, Cabramurra, Tumut, Cooma and Jindabyne. Mt Selwyn is a 20 minute drive and offers Australia's best family skiing.
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