21 June, 2024.
The Steam season opened with the Thirlmere Festival of Steam. The two-day event was blessed with good weather and attracted thousands of happy families and steam train enthusiasts to celebrate the joys of bygone days. Over two full days the magnificent engines loudly tooted majestically. It was a joy to see the happy faces and the enthusiastic waving from the nostalgic passengers and onlookers lining the tracks. The community came together to provide an amazing Street Parade, free entertainment, a sparkling display of highly polished vintage cars and a firework display. The Eat Street represented every cuisine and a retail artisan market was bustling. The festival provided an opportunity for raising community awareness of services across Wollondilly and as a community we remain thankful to the fire services and police who work tirelessly to keep our community safe. Thank you to the organisers at the NSW Rail Museum, Transport Heritage NSW and Wollondilly Shire Council for organising this wonderful celebration and immense gratitude to the ongoing dedication of the teams for restoring and maintaining the magnificent steam trains bringing the Wollondilly community together to enjoy this wonderful day celebrating steam and amazing engineering.