Australian Railway Historical Society
(ACT Division)

General Correspondence: P.O. Box 1615, Queanbeyan NSW 2620

Street Address: Queanbeyan Railway Station, Henderson Rd, Queanbeyan

Office Hours: Mon-Fri: 10am-3pm

Bookings Phone: (02) 6284 2790 Facsimile: (02) 6284 2791

Tulip Time Express, Sat 27 Sept 2008

Canberra/Queanbeyan – Bowral/Mittagong

A day trip to the Southern Highlands featuring glorious Springtime gardens. Choice of 2 tours - one with 3 gardens and a packed lunch, the other with two gardens, sit-down lunch and Berrima craft shops. Or make your own arrangements at Bowral.

Alternatively, stay on the train and enjoy an afternoon in historic Picton - option to visit Thirlmere Rail Heritage Centre - own arrangements.

Pre-order breakfast and dinner on the train.

Our diesel-hauled train with comfortable heated and air-conditioned mainline carriages departs Canberra at 7.05am and Queanbeyan at 7.15am for Bowral, Mittagong and Picton.

The Tulip Time Express is timed to maximise your daytime at the destination, getting back to Queanbeyan at 9.05pm, and Canberra at 9.25pm.

Springtime is a great time to travel by train.

Fares: Adults $99-$146, children (2-15 yrs) $49-$99, depending on the excursion option you select. On-train breakfast & dinner also available.

Springtime is a great time to travel by train. The country is a riot of shades of green, and unlike other conveyances, you are free to move around and stretch your legs.

The Australian Railway Historical Society has run several Tulip Time Express trains to Bowral. Floriade has tended to overshadow the much older Southern Highlands Tulip Time Festival. However, Bowral’s festival has quietly reinvented itself and is well worth our visit. The number of grand private gardens open to the public has expanded, several with fine old plantings of rhododendron, camellias and azaleas dating back over seventy years. This simply can’t be matched by Floriade’s annual fresh plantings.

We’ve already visited Bowral, and have quite simply chosen the best.

Our tour option 1 includes three splendid gardens, including the festival’s centrepiece, Corbett Gardens. On the other hand, you might prefer tour option 2 which includes two magnificent gardens and allows time to visit Berrima. Not only is this described as the best remaining example of a small Australian town of the 1830s - with fine public buildings - but it also has fascinating shops, fine arts, crafts, cashmere and alpaca clothing, to mention a few.

Both tour options 1 & 2 include the traditional Corbett Gardens display of 100,000 tulips and 25,000 annuals in central Bowral, From there it’s a quick walk across to the station (or rejoin your coach) to catch our train at 5.05pm for the relaxing trip home. Snacks, tea, coffee and a fully-licensed bar are available at all times on the train. Breakfast and dinner can be pre- ordered on the attached booking form, as can a take-away dinner for the return journey.

Apart from the two excellent Southern Highlands tours (tour options 1 & 2) to choose from, you can opt to make your own arrangements (getting off the train at Bowral - tour option 3) to enjoy the 1pm street parade and Tulip Wine & Food Festival) or stay on the train for a longer trip to do your own thing at historic Picton (tour option 4), where the train reverses and lays over before heading back to Bowral to collect passengers for the run home. Perhaps call a taxi to take you to Thirlmere Rail Heritage Centre (any such arrangements are your own responsibility).

Tour options

Tour option 1. Tulip Time gardens - your train takes you to Mittagong where you’ll join a coach to visit a couple of the very best private gardens, Chinoiserie and Moidart - plus of course Bowral’s centrepiece, Corbett Gardens. Your fare for this option includes a packed lunch, taken at Mittagong’s pretty Alexandra Lake Reserve. Your coach will return you to Bowral Railway Station to reboard the train at 5.05pm.

Tour option 2. Berrima, and two gardens in Bowral and Mittagong. Your tour leaves the train at Mittagong and heads to Sturt Gallery and Garden, followed by lunch at Mittagong RSL. Then your itinerary includes a visit to Corbett Gardens at Bowral before your coach takes you to Berrima for free time at this historic village - so much to see and a browser’s delight! You return by coach to Bowral Station to reboard the train at 5.05pm.

Although snacks (potato chips, chocolate bars etc), tea and coffee and a good variety of soft and alcoholic drinks will be available on the train at reasonable prices, we ask you to pre-book and pre-pay any on-train hot meal needs using our tour booking form.

On-train meal options

Meal option A: Pre-purchase both breakfast and dinner (limited places available). Tick the relevant box on the booking form if you wish to order the breakfast - a continental breakfast including juice, cereal, croissants, fresh fruit, and tea or coffee. The evening meal is two courses: sliced roast chicken with scudalia potatoes and chef’s choice of vegetables; and strawberry gateau. The cost for breakfast and dinner at fully-set tables on this trip is only $35. Book early as these places on board are limited. (We regret it is not possible to purchase breakfast separately).

Meal option B: Pre-purchase dinner only. Tick the relevant box on the booking form if you wish to pre- order a hot take-away box of sliced roast chicken with scudalia potatoes and vegetables to take to your seat. All of our seats have tables. The cost is only $15. Again please book early.

Lunch: For lunch, the fare for tour Option 1 includes a picnic lunch of sandwiches, cake, fruit and fruit juice. Option 2 comes with a two-course lunch at Mittagong RSL - choice of 2 mains plus a dessert.

In all matters affecting food on the train, don’t hesitate to let us know on the booking form if you have any special dietary needs. Children under 2 can also be catered for but a seat cannot be guaranteed if a child’s fare is not paid.

Costs, and making a booking

If you would like to be part of this great day, the main thing is to book early - our Tulip Time Express trains are popular and seats are limited.

A booking form, showing costs, is on this website. Please see Making a Booking.

[An alternative: We will be happy to mail you a printed brochure with the above information - see email for a brochure].

Conditions of travel

All bookings will be acknowledged. Seat allocations are usually made a fortnight prior to the trip. These allocations, plus final timetable details, will be advised in a letter forwarded to the address shown on the booking form at least seven to ten days prior to date of travel, or immediately if booked within that time period.

ARHS (ACT Division) makes every endeavour to ensure that tours operate as advertised. Unfortunately, this may not always be possible owing to unforeseen circumstances such as mechanical failures or events beyond our control. In such events we reserve the right to make whatever changes are necessary, without compensation. However, any changes made will only be after we have exhausted all reasonable efforts to provide the tour as advertised. Trains and tour options will operate subject to sufficient demand.

Times shown on brochures are subject to approval of the relevant authorities and could differ on the day. As mentioned above, final times will be advised by mail. Refunds will not be given for change of destination or last minute variations to timetables caused by events outside the control of ARHS (ACT Division).

Reservations will be held on payment of a $40 per person deposit and must be paid in full just over a week prior to the trip (ie by 15 September 2008). Failure to observe the deadline may result in loss of deposit and booking.

In common with most operators, ARHS (ACT Division) Inc reserves the right to apply the following cancellation fees:

Deposited or fully-paid bookings cancelled prior to the full payment deadline above - $25;

Bookings cancelled seven days or less prior to date of travel, or no-show - no refund.

Requests for cancellation must be made to ARHS (ACT Division) in writing before any refund will be made.

No smoking is permitted on board, and passengers may only board or alight from the train at the platforms provided. Passengers placing themselves or others at risk of injury will be asked to leave the train at the next available stop.

Feel free to contact us at any time if you have any queries. We look forward to making your journey a pleasant one.