Our Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail had a special event recently – the first marathon was run using the 21km rail trail. It’s now an accredited marathon course!
The full marathon runners went out to Rosewood and came back to town, totalling 42km; the half marathon runners were driven out to Rosewood and ran back for 21km; the 10km runners and walkers ran out 5km and turned around. It was a great day!
Now for full disclosure our volunteer rail trail committee wasn’t involved in the organisation of it but we were used as volunteers at one of the drink stations, and our chairperson was one of the two ‘sweepers’ on bikes coming in behind all the runners and making sure everyone was OK. They had the slowest rides of their lives but enjoyed the social aspects of it all.
Those ‘running’ the event were experienced in this type of thing and did it all smoothly and easily. They usually organise a Hume and Hovell Ultra which is either a 50km or 100km run on the local Hume and Hovell Track. The event had to be cancelled in recent years due to bushfire damage of the track, so the marathon was put on in its place using the rail trail. Many are hoping the marathon becomes an annual event but that will depend on having people to help out, especially those with experience at running this sort of event.
It was an event to celebrate – the dedicated runners, the volunteers, the weather and the local community, all did a fantastic job!
The early morning fog was breathtaking but it was a bit chilly to start.
The marathon runners started at 7am, all were grateful and insisted on thanking the volunteers as they ran by.
The local Rotary Club had a sausage sizzle running and all competitors and volunteers were entitled to a free sausage sandwich.
Marathon Sweepers at the finish
The weather was perfect, the vibe was amazing and everyone was happy.
Huge congratulations to the organisers and helpers – these events take a lot of work and everyone did a great job, whether they were paid or volunteers.
Those who entered are amazing – for their dedication and fortitude!
What a great event to hold on our Rail Trail!
The medal was awesome – organised by SVC staff
How did you hear about us?
How did you hear about our rail trail? Did you see it on social media, or in print somewhere or from word of mouth? We’d be interested to hear from you.
Happy riding/walking/running/pushing a pram – however you use our rail trail!
The Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail team (volunteers)
As Australia uses the metric system, the Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail is a total of 21km from start to finish each way, so a 42km round trip.
(By the way did you know there is a marathon happening along the rail trail soon? More information can be found here Hume and Hovell Ultra).
These blue markers are placed at every kilometre along the trail, together with the latitude/location, making it easy for emergency service personnel to find you if needed. This one indicates it’s 19km to Rosewood.
19km marker heading to Rosewood
Keeping history alive
When the rail trail was constructed it was important to leave as much of the historical infrastructure in situ, and so it was that the ‘mile marker pegs’, measuring the distance from Sydney, were left in place.
Some have been refurbished by the local men’s Shed group and others are in their natural state. In those days Australia used the imperial system so miles it was.
Mile marker indicating it’s 399 miles from Sydney – this has been refurbished by the Men’s Shed and is located at Glenroy siding.
These markers were standard across the NSW rail system.
quarter mile marker on rail trail
half mile marker on rail trail
three quarter mile marker on rail trail
It’s interesting to note that opponents of the rail trail use the loss of rail history as an argument against rail trails. But to my mind this is preserving the history, as without the rail trail being built, these signs would be covered under weeds and blackberries and wouldn’t have seen the light of day ever again! Or they’d be in someone’s private collection.
How did you hear about our rail trail? Did you see it on social media, or in print somewhere or from word of mouth? We’d be interested to hear from you.
Happy riding/walking/running/pushing a pram – however you use our rail trail!
The Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail team (volunteers)
We are pleased to report that our Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail is going well with visitor numbers rising, especially as border restrictions start to ease across the country. Also the warmer weather and school holidays have helped bring people to town in droves.
During the past year we have experienced significant rain events and the rail trail has suffered in places. The committee continues to work with Snowy Valleys Council staff to help rectify issues but due to weather and time constraints some of these are still waiting to be completed.
The volunteer committee continues to work hard as a group, planting hundreds of trees along the trail over the past year, working with various local groups such as the Tumbarumba Men’s Shed, Historical Society and helping with the Rotary Club’s Tumba Triobikes.
Santa and helper on their way in the triobikes
Counters on the trail
There are two Traker-Count counters recording trail usage. They are located around 2km from each end of the trail. They record that somebody has passed, not how they are travelling or which is the direction of travel. Hence, they only give an estimate of trail usage as not all users pass a counter if they are only doing a section of the trail, and those travelling side by side past a counter would only be counted as one.
Both counters have increased by around 17000 over 2021, ie. around 17000 journeys along the trail, which equates to around 1430 journeys a month. This is a fantastic result in a year where COVID 19 and weather events have had a great effect during the year.
weather along the trail
Recent Articles and Interviews
A few recent articles and interviews have highlighted our trail to a wider audience than we can manage and we appreciate the opportunity to shine!
Andrew Bain from Traveller.com.au, interviewed committee members last year and his article appeared today online 4 January 2022 – you can read it here:
ABC News featured our rail trail in late December 2021 after visiting and interviewing Owen Fitzgerald and Grant & Debbie Harris and filming on the trail.
We have been fortunate to have lots of support from Rail Trails Australia and they have been fantastic with promoting it for us. We are featured in their magazine on a regular basis and we are very thankful!
How did you hear about us?
How did you hear about our rail trail? Did you see it on social media, or in print somewhere or from word of mouth? We’d be interested to hear from you.
Happy riding/walking/running/pushing a pram – however you use our rail trail!
The Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail team (volunteers)
We are happy to report our long awaited Family Fun Day and 1st birthday celebrations of the Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail actually went ahead as planned on Saturday 10 April 2021.
As you know it was our third attempt at running an opening celebration, each previous one thwarted by Covid restrictions. Last year on 3 April 2020 we ‘virtually’ opened the first rail trail on government owned land with pre-recorded videos and footage on Facebook.
This year though it was able to go ahead with a crowd and we had a very full schedule of fun events along the rail trail 🙂
Letter to the Editor of the local paper from the organisers:
To the Editor
On behalf of the hard-working Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail volunteer committee we would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank everyone for their involvement and support, for making the Family Fun Day and first birthday celebrations on 10 April 2021, such a successful day. This event was organised and run by volunteers, with the assistance of Karly Fynn from Turnstyle Events, partly funded by the Dunn’s Road Fire Recovery Grant and our sponsors.
It’s been a long time coming and our third attempt at an opening, but we did it!
Thanks to our dedicated team of volunteer helpers – Cathy and Owen Fitzgerald, Debbie and Grant Harris, Tony and Susie a’Beckett, Ros and Bob Gay, Ron and Cath Frew, Noelene Haslett, Jackie Lauder, Karen Doyle, Judy Szymoniczek, MaryAnne Marshall, Bernadette and Bruce Alleyn, Emma Ernst, Serena Matto, Jenny Murfett, Julie Giddings, Julia Ham – with the amazing sponsorship from many local businesses, we are thrilled to have celebrated the first birthday and a belated opening event in such a fun way. We would also like to acknowledge the Tumbarumba SVC staff for their support of the event.
All the events along the rail trail were well received and enjoyed by all ages. It worked out just as we had planned it, maybe apart from the coolish weather!
Thanks to Serena at the Rosewood General Store for her efforts in arranging the band in the park, the jumping castle, face painting, the Rosewood School P&C stall raising funds for the local school and for having food available all day!
Jenny at Gone Barny had a great market setup with music, Vin Bar and food and drinks available all day – so many cars and people there all day, Rosewood was really jumping all afternoon!
The free displays of old bikes and train memorabilia at Rosewood were also very popular. Thanks to Karen Doyle and Judy Szymoniczek for organising these displays and liaising with Serena and Jenny.
At Glenroy Hills Road, Kearsley’s was popular with the petting zoo and animal demonstrations, with hot drinks and food available to ward of the chilly temperatures. Thanks to Lauren for her setup, it was a much-appreciated break along the trail.
We had deliberately planned for Glenroy station to have activities for the young ones and those young at heart, with puppet shows, face painting, a photo booth, ice creams, warm waffles and coffee van, plus the stunt bike rider on the smallest bike imaginable. It was a great place to stop with the kids.
One of the highlights of the day were the two Cycling Without Age trikes which took 31 senior citizens for rides along parts of the trail all day, thanks to Woden Rotary and Pedal Power Canberra for loaning us these two trikes. It really put the ‘family’ into the Family Fun Day when all ages were catered for in this way. The stories and smiles from the seniors were pure joy to see. The pilots, Jeff Ibbotson from Canberra and locals Grant Harris and Rob Golgini, enjoyed their ride almost as much as their passengers did and they had smiles from ear to ear at the end of a big day of riding! Thanks to Christine Cameron, Amanda Lewis, Garry McClelland and the community transport bus drivers for helping on the day to make it happen.
The ‘Unofficial Official Opening’ at Figures St was a great sight for the committee, the crowds, the families, the visitors, the locals, the politicians, everyone enjoying the fact that our rail trail is the newest rail trail in NSW and is doing so well, with positive feedback from all areas.
We had great speeches from our Patron Greg Aplin, MP Justin Clancy, Mayor James Hayes, Owen Fitzgerald, Alistair Ferguson CEO of Bicycle NSW, Damian McCrohan President of Rail Trails Australia and all were ably led by Councillor Julia Ham as MC. Owen and Greg proudly cut the ribbon stretched across the railway gates and declared the rail trail open – finally!
Our very own Pipes and Drums Band made the ceremony even more special, as when the train station opened all those years ago in Tumbarumba, the Pipe Band played then too!
The winners of the colouring in and decorated bike competitions were announced with some great entries and prize money won. Luke Sweeney took out the first prize in the high school category in the decorated bikes with a red train, numbered 2653, attached to his bike, with Charlie Southwell winning with his decorated balance bike, and siblings Patricia Marriott winning the pre-school section and Max Marriott winning the Primary school section. Congratulations to all those who participated.
Several displays were set up from Rail Trails Australia, Bicycle NSW, SVC and Ride Tumba. Lots of giveaways and information were given out on the day. Several penny farthings were a welcome mobile exhibit along the trail, plus tandems, baby trailers, tag-alongs, motorised wheelchairs, scooters, recumbents and walkers. Thanks to members of the Historical Society for helping out at the Wagga road crossing and to Rotary for their help as parking attendants.
Our birthday cupcakes went down a treat, together with Rotary and Lions cooking egg and bacon rolls for an early breakfast. Our free slap bands were well received, and the Scavenger Hunt will be fun for those undertaking the trail in the future. These are available at the Visitor Info centre, Ride Tumba, Bikes and Blooms, Gone Barny and Rosewood General Store.
The addition of two free shuttles buses from Goodes Coaches, with bike trailers, were welcomed by many as they battled the cool temperatures and allowed everyone to enjoy the day without wearing themselves out, particularly those with kids riding. Our official photographer was Peter McDade.
All in all, we are happy with the celebrations and thank everyone again, for their unwavering support.
Regards.
Debbie and Cathy
You may also be interested in this video from the local news!
We are thrilled to have finally had an ‘opening celebration’ and will now continue to promote our rail trail far and wide!
We came up with 10, have we missed anyone? We’d love to hear about your favourite tea/coffee/food provider in the area.
If you’re visiting, always make sure you say you’re here to ride the rail trail, so the local businesses know how you found them. Tumbarumba Chamber of Commerce
What about pubs, restaurants and cellar doors?
More places to discover – pubs, clubs and cellar doors around the area – again in no particular order. Make sure you tell them the rail trail sent you!
Thanks to Bucycle NSW, Rail Trails Australia, Rail Trails for NSW for producing this video
Plus we have doctors, a hospital, police, forestry, ambulance, schools, childcare facilities, council, library, museum, post office, logging contractors, builders – it’s a great place and we love living here! Help keep us all safe and follow COVID-19 regulations.
Hope you can visit us one day and support these local businesses.
Cycling Without Age is a wonderful concept bringing joy and freedom to senior citizens who can no longer manage to ride a bike.
Cycling Without Age is a not-for-profit charity that provides a community service by connecting those no longer able to ride for themselves with their community and the outdoors by giving them free rides on trishaw ebikes, piloted by volunteer cyclists.
The average age of those in these photos is about 90 years old, with Ailsa Cottam in the bottom photo (on the left hand side) aged 98! Just look at her…
Finally our long awaited Family Fun Day and 1st birthday celebrations of the Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail are almost ready to happen – it’s all going ahead this coming Saturday 10 April 2021.
It’s our third attempt at running an opening celebration, each previous one thwarted by Covid restrictions. Luckily though each previous attempt had dreadful weather on the day, so we are kind of happy we had to wait! It will be cooler on Saturday than it has been these past few weeks but so far no rain is forecast!
We have a very full schedule of fun events across the rail trail and Tumbarumba and Rosewood.
It’s going to be the ‘Unofficial Official Opening’ and will be a fun day for all ages!
Here is a summary of the events taken from the program.
We also have a free shuttle bus running all day with bike trailers!
Tumbarumba to Rosewood Family Fun Day Saturday 10th April 2021
9.30am – 1pm: Glenroy Station Free Activities Puppet shows Photo booth Face painting Roving performer Ice Cream & Coffee vans
Kearsleys Function Centre Coffee and refreshments from 9am Bar open from 12pm 2pm-4pm – Petting zoo 2pm – Horsemanship demonstration 2:30pm – Pony cart demonstration 3pm – Dog Trial Expo
11am – 3pm: Wolseley Park Rail Trails Australia Munday’s Catering pre order collection
9am: Gone Barny, Rosewood Boutique Markets from 10am Ollie & Scuzzi performing from midday VinBar from midday
10am – 4pm: Pioneer Park, Rosewood Never Mind The Damage performing from 12pm Coffee and food available at Rosewood General Store Anzac biscuits stall Historical bikes and train displays Jumping castle and face painting
Other activities along the trail on the day will include: Instagram and Facebook frames Scavenger hunt & Geocaching Cycling Without Age trikes Pioneer Women’s Hut will be open at Glenroy, access only available by vehicle or bus – there is no direct access from the Rail Trail.
Rail Trail map from Australian Geographic story
We hope to see you there. But if you can’t make us, please wish us well!
Keen to know more about the newest rail trail in NSW?
Come to Tumbarumba in April and get excited.
• Hear about the success of the Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail one year on from its opening. • Listen to representatives from other rail trail committees around NSW share their stories. • Participate in a round table discussion about the way forward. • Learn from some experts on the nuts and bolts of Rail Trail development and construction.
Costs will be $40 for the one day event including morning and afternoon tea and lunch.
An optional dinner (additional $40) will be held at the Bowling Club on the Friday night.
On the following day Saturday 10 April, join the celebrations at the family fun day on Saturday 10 April and ride the 21 km trail to Rosewood. This is the third attempt at holding an opening event since the trail opened on 3 April 2020, during the pandemic. It had to be opened virtually due to restrictions.
Australia day 2021 saw Cathy and Owen Fitzgerald, the stalwarts of this project for almost 20 years, nominated as Citizens of the Year in Tumbarumba. They were humbled to be in such company as the other nominees. The worthy winner of this award was local hero during the bushfires, Mick Jones.
Our hard working volunteer committee were also recognised by being nominated in the Community Award category and we’re pleased to say we were announced as the winners!
Aus Day award 2021
The citation reads:
Winner of the best Community Group – The Tumbarumba Rosewood rail trail committee. After many years of hoard work negotiations, submissions and reports combined with countless meetings this group, headed by Owen Fitzgerald, finally saw their dream come true. The Tumbarumba to Rosewood” rail Trail was completed in April 2020. The fact that this is the first Rail Trail in NSW is a remarkable achievement and reflects the efforts and numerous frustrations experienced by this group. The result of their predictions, work efforts and site promotion can be seen by all. The recorded utilisation of the site is a true reflection of how this rail trail will remain as a long term tourist attraction. An economic asset for the shire. It will be the bench mark for any future rail trail development.
Debbie, Cathy & Owen collecting the award for Community Group of the Year in Tumbarumba 2021 on behalf of the committee
Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail 