THE CULLINAN MINOR STEAM RUN  30 MARCH 2008

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Well, there is so much to say about another outstanding performance fromRusty Clover and his team. The Cullinan Minor Steam Run was once again held inconjunction with Friends of the Rail and the Cullinan business community.Through Rusty s efforts, those of Radio 702, the Pretoria Record and a fewmotoring clubs, they put this nostalgic event into the limelight and turned itinto a stunning success.

Rusty Clover and his team were instrumental in organising this event for the second year in a row. It involves the co-ordination of aride in an old steam to Cullinan, along with a number of Morris Minors andother pre 1971 vintage cars and motorbikes.

For those driving to Cullinan, each car and motorbike wasphotographed next to the train. The photos were then either printed onto a mugor wall plate as a memento for each driver.

The steam trains belong to  Friends of the Rail , who under very difficult conditions, lovingly restore these powerful steam locos and rollingstock of yesteryear to their former glory. The residents of Gauteng can beproud and should feel very privileged to have a club of this nature and staturein our back yard. It is one of only a few in the whole world and we should allsupport them when we get the opportunity. Our thanks go to them for making theday such a memorable one.

We arrived at the Capital Park station in Pretoria in pleasantweather conditions to find a magnificently restored and well cared for puffing giant. The steam train normally caters for 350 people, but so effective was thecoverage that they had to fetch additional coaches to accommodate the more than 400 passengers. The cost of a return trip ticket was R 150.00 per seatand half price for kids.

Pretoria / Tshwane certainly lived up to its reputation as the arbourcity and it was a treat to cruise through its tree lined streets, with beautiful gardens as a backdrop. We drove behind an open topped 1915 model T Ford Speedster, surprisingly not leaking a drop of oil. It had chugged all theway from Benoni to participate in the event and even reached speeds of 90 kms perhour. Then, to add to our pleasure, the road between Rayton and Cullinan waslined with thousands of flowering Cosmos. After a short trip, we arrived at theold diamond village of Cullinan, which definitely has its own very specialmystique and ambiance and it was so pleasant to visit this area again.

The Club cannot thank Rusty s team enough for their efforts,which helped to raise a substantial amount of money for a charity. A number ofbusinesses in Cullinan donated prizes for the competitions and they went out oftheir way to accommodate everyone.

The dress code for the day was the Great Gatsby and therewere a number of folk who came dressed for the occasion. There were prizes forthe best dressed couples, the best Morris Minors and prizes for cars andmotorbikes from other clubs. They organised a Stake Your Claim competition for those who rode in the train and for the drivers as well. Our gratitude goes tothe Premier Diamond Mine for graciously donating diamonds again as prizes tothe winners of the various categories.

Cullinan is renowned for its Premier Diamond Mine, which is famous for the Cullinan Diamond. The quaint town has a number of restaurants tochoose from and some visitors took the opportunity to enjoy a picnic. There arenumerous shops for those who like to browse and located nearby, one can findgame lodges, nature reserves, guest houses, golf courses, spas and the Roodeplaat dam.

Those who arrived in their Minors with their families and friends wereJohn Webb, Terence Redmond, Neville Josman, Marius van Biljon, Tommy Smith, Koos Snyman and Karlien Erasmus who both rejoined the Club on the day, RustyClover, Albert van Heerden and yours truly. Others, like Harry Meintjes and his family chose to enjoy the trip on the train.

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By chance, a section of the Porsche 356 Club was in town and they joinedus for a short while. Hopefully they will join us next year.

For those of you who have access to the internet, go to  www.cullinanmeander.co.za  and  www.friendsoftherail.co.za   to get a view of what we experienced.

Don t miss this event next year! Diarise it now for Sunday 29 March 2009. It will be well worth your while to come along for a most enjoyable day.

Rusty, what a fantastic performance! The Club is deeply indebted and grateful to you and your team for your efforts.