Grey Ghosts to join Sylvia's Gap run

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Owner-Driver  /  April 20, 2018

A dinner and road run at Gundagai in June will raise funds for a permanent truck museum.

A Grey Ghost or two are likely to take part in the 2018 Sylvia’s Gap Road Run on Sunday morning, June 10.

Old and new trucks and cars will leave from the showgrounds at Gundagai, New South Wales, and travel along Sylvia’s Gap Road before returning to the showgrounds.

Bypassed from the Hume Highway in 1983, Sylvia’s cutting is now on private property, but the owners will open the gates for the run.

The road run is held annually as part of the Australian Road Transport Heritage Centre (ARTHC) Gundagai fundraising weekend which also includes a fundraising dinner on Saturday night, June 9.

Bookings are essential for the dinner which will feature a guest speaker and an auction to raise funds for a larger, permanent truck museum at Gundagai.

The ARTHC has chosen ‘Express Freight of Yesteryear’ for this year’s theme. All ARTHC supporters are invited to attend the weekend’s activities, but former express drivers will be especially welcome.

Colin Southwell of Wyee, NSW, carted overnight express freight in the 1970s and plans to attend the Gundagai weekend. He joined Kwikasair in 1973 and spent six years driving Grey Ghosts, usually between Sydney and Yass.

Produced at Kenworth’s Bayswater factory, the K125s were the first Kenworths built in Australia. The trucks and their drivers have earned a place in Australian trucking lore. "Apparently now we're legends," Colin laughs.

"Some people hated us, but I think it was mostly jealousy because of the pay rate. We were getting pretty well paid and there was no physical work. When you got into the depot, you just got out of your truck."

If the Grey Ghosts are restored in time, watching them drive through Sylvia’s Cutting will be a highlight of the ARTHC event.

For more information about the ARTHC Gundagai weekend visit www.arthc.com.au or the ‘Australian Road Transport Heritage Centre, Gundagai – ARTHC’ Facebook page.