The Dolly Parton Express

This morning after breakfast in a local cafe and checking out, we’ll return to the railway station to continue our rail cruise across central western NSW travelling through Narromine and Nyngan to the end of the line at Cobar and the heritage listed Cobar Railway Station, a bit over 350 kms away. This great railway journey unfolds over a number of legs, the first of which takes us past the vast new rail hub and junction of the massive Inland Rail project just west of Parkes. We then continue along the newly built section of the Inland Rail from Goobang Junction to Narromine, a smooth and fast run north. From there we join the original Great Western Railway and head onto the old line that once upon a time would’ve taken you all the way to Bourke. For us however, after passing Trangie and Nevertire, we stop at the junction town of Nyngan to have a leg stretch, some lunch, and visit the museum at the station. The last leg takes us onto the Cobar branch line which is kept open as an important freight line for the Cobar mine traffic.

Known affectionately as ‘The Copper City’, Cobar is a fascinating town rich in mining heritage and natural attractions. In the late 1800s, the Great Cobar Copper Mine was Australia’s leading producer of copper, with more than 2,000 workers operating the huge smelters and its 64-metre chimney stack. Today, remains of the smelter foundations are visible from the hill near the Great Cobar Heritage Centre and Fort Bourke Hill. Several fine heritage buildings from the late 1880s/early 1900s settlement are still in existence, including the Great Western Hotel (1898), claimed to have the longest veranda (at 91 metres) in New South Wales, the Cobar Post Office (1885), the Cobar Court House (1887) and Court House Hotel (1895) as well as the Cobar Heritage and Visitor Information Centre, located in the former Mines Office (1910).

We’ll visit all these significant sites during our time here, as well as the Cobar Sound Chapel, referred to as “the singing silo”. Opened in 2022, The Cobar Sound Chapel is a permanent multi-disciplinary artwork created by composer and sound artist Georges Lentz in collaboration with architect Glenn Murcutt. Consisting of a five-metre concrete cube with an oculus in its ceiling and with loudspeakers in its four walls, cast in situ inside a ten-metre-tall disused water tank from 1901, it is the permanent home of Lentz’s digital 24-hour surround-sound “String Quartet(s)” (2000–2022), a composition recorded over many years and inspired by the outback landscape and its starry night skies. Other influences of the artwork include aboriginal dot painting, the art and poetry of William Blake, the graffiti found on the tank’s walls, blue corner windows, created by Cobar Indigenous artist Sharron Ohlsen, and in some parts, an exploration of AI-generated sound. 

We’ll finish up our day with dinner at a local pub just a short walk from our hotel.

Overnight: Cobar Central Motor Inn, Cobar (B, L, D)

After breakfast at the brilliant Deja Brew Cafe around the corner and checking out, our first stop this morning is the Cobar Heritage Centre to view the museum and engage with the history of the town. Set inside the mine’s imposing administration building built in 1910, the Heritage Centre takes you on a journey through Cobar’s history from the time of the local Aboriginal people to the mining and agricultural era. We’ll then head up to the Fort Bourke lookout to view the vast open cut mine and the town beyond. 

After some free time to wander the town and grab a coffee, we’ll return to the station and our private railmotor and take off back down the line passing through Nyngan before pausing at Nevertire to have a hearty lunch at the pub across the road. 

It’s then back on board our private train, travelling through Narromine to Dubbo where we’ll transfer directly to the hotel to check in.  

Dinner tonight is a private event with live entertainment at the National Trust property of Dundullimal Homestead.

Overnight: Quest Hotel, Dubbo (B, L, D)

We have a special treat for breakfast this morning – a private event at the Royal Flying Doctor Service Dubbo station, where you’ll also have time to wander around the exhibits to learn about the amazing work this service provides. We’ll return to the Dubbo train station to board our train to Narromine and the Dolly Parton Festival.  

Upon arrival at Narromine, we’ll join in the morning street party hosted in town, and then take a short trip out of town on our train for lunch at the famed Imperial Hotel in Trangie, just a short stroll from the station. Back in Narromine, we’ll wander over to the formal festival area and settle into our VIP area for the afternoon and evening events. There’ll be plenty of food options available all-round the place during the festival. After the main act has concluded, our private coach will be standing by to take us back to Dubbo.

Overnight: Quest Hotel, Dubbo (B)

After check out and a hearty breakfast at a local cafe, it’s off to the station to board our private train for the journey to Bathurst. Along the way, we cross the Macquarie River at Wellington, have a leg stretch at Stuart Town to explore the quaint colonial era village, and stop at Millthorpe for lunch – provided at the Golden Memories Museum by the marvellous team of volunteers in the surroundings of their extraordinary collection. After lunch, you’ll have plenty of time to explore the many shops, galleries, cellar doors and boutiques before reboarding our train and rolling on to Bathurst, where we’ll pause to enjoy a visit to the Railway Museum next door to the station.  

It’s then back onto the train to continue to our destination for tonight, the historic railway junction town of Wallerawang.  Our accommodation tonight is at The Black Gold Motel and Resort, uniquely built around an old school house with modern rooms and a great bar and restaurant area.

Dinner tonight will be in the hotel.

Overnight: Black Gold Motel Inn, Wallerawang  (B, L, D)

This morning after checkout and a hearty breakfast, it’s back onto our private train to roll on down the line past Lithgow to a tiny station at the foot of a deep valley known as TheZig Zag Bottom Points station. Here we have a special diesel hauled train waiting for us for a privately chartered one hour excursion on the famous Zig Zag.

The Great Lithgow Zig Zag was the original route of the railway over the Blue Mountains. The challenge for engineers in the 1860’s was how to descend the steep ranges with the limited technology and budgets of the day. An ingenious system of switchbacks were built allowing trains to rise and fall on their way from the city to the west. Even though the Zig Zag was bypassed in the early 1900’s the structures remained and today our tourist train brings the history alive as it thunders up the range echoing off the surrounded mountains just as it did back in the day. 

Our special train brings us back down to Bottom Points where we re-board our private rail-motor for the scenic trip up and over the mountains on the Great Western Line, picking up a boxed lunch on the way to enjoy a travelling train picnic as we roll into Central Station, arriving in the early afternoon. This is where our short escape to the Dolly Parton Festival and beyond will come to an end, no doubt amidst renditions of “Jolene”, “9 to 5 ” and “Islands in the Stream”! 

(B,L)