An interesting and relaxing weekend was enjoyed by a group of intrepid travellers from the Wellington Antique Motor Club who drove to Lithgow to be involved in the Festival of Steam at Mt Victoria. After staying overnight in Lithgow, they drove via a road less travelled to Mt Victoria, where the Wellington cars, which were over 30 years old, were placed on display in the local park along with cars from several other motoring clubs. There were some very interesting vehicles on display including early model Chryslers, Dodge and De Sotos from the Chrysler Restorer’s Club and some early model English cars from Mudgee.

After securing their cars, the group moved to the Mt Victoria railway station to book their seats on the vintage steam train which was to run from Mt Victoria to Clarence and back.

Having booked their tickets, the shopaholics in the group proceeded to search the antique (read junk) shops for bargains.

There were also some interesting stalls in the park and at the Mt Victoria Primary School where a market was held.

The not-so-keen shoppers visited the local coffee shops which in hindsight proved to be a wise move because the steam train was an hour late arriving.

Due to problems with coal and train timetables, the promised one-hour trip to Clarence took closer to three hours.

However, the travellers took it all in their stride and enjoyed the scenic, if slow, journey.

On return to Mt Victoria everyone was starving and there was a rush for the cafes and coffee shops.

This left little time for further browsing, causing some disappointment among the shopaholics.

Returning to Lithgow, most of the group decided to try the restaurant at the Zig Zag Motel while the balance took their chances at the Workies Club.

On Sunday morning everyone gathered to wish members John and Muriel Edwards, and Les and Colleen Langbein congratulations on their 40th wedding anniversaries, which happen to be on the same day. After this the group dispersed with some members returning to Mt Victoria while others visited the museum at the Small Arms Factory. Some returned to Wellington by a more direct route while others chose to travel via Kandos and Rylstone.