The plan has been getting the cold shoulder from the NSW Government and Cabonne Shire Council had a look but gave in to complaints from adjoining landholders.

Former actor and now train-tour-operator Scott McGregor says the Molong-Cumnock district could do with a boost and if there was a rail trail he guarantees there would be huge benefits to the local communities.

The line was closed in 1991 and since then parts have been ripped up in places but just think if the rail trail was approved.

We could strap on the backpack, fill the water bottle and walk from Molong to Cumnock and Yeoval for a coffee or cold beer and a hamburger.

We could make friends along the way before walking back, kicking a ball, counting rail sleepers or playing a game of shuttlecock with the kids, knowing we’ve done our part in helping turn the closed railway line into a sustainable tourist attraction.

And there’s lots of scenery to look at: old railway bridges built in the 1920s, rusty cars dumped in paddocks, cows and sheep and ramshackle farm sheds.

What better way to spend a weekend?

Trains? Who needs ‘em.

EVERY Tom, Dick and Mary now wear jeans, although once they were simply tough duds with rivets made for factory workers by Levi Strauss, the company that began it all.

But when the likes of Elvis Presley and James Dean wore them in the 1950s, jeans became an international must-have, although for a while they were a symbol of youth rebellion and were often banned in theatres and restaurants.

You couldn’t wear them in licensed clubs in Orange because ‘clothing with rivets’ were frowned on but jeans slowly became general fashion for casual wear.

However, although jeans are now a must in every wardrobe, you need to be a rocket scientist to know which pair suits you.

For winter Orange shops have a big range of cuts in skinny, tapered, slim, straight, boot cut, narrow bottom, flare and every colour you can think of.

But why do they all have to ‘sit below the waist’ because they won’t stay up for people with a bit of a tummy.

Jeans have certainly come a long way since Levi made his first pair in May 1873.

A WARNING for Orange drivers: beware Mexicans in four-wheel-drives, or in cars as well.

The other day heading south in Woodward Street one changed lanes from the left across to the right without signalling and then, staying in the right lane, went on to the roundabout and then did a left turn into Summer Street, cutting off all other traffic.

It’s one of Mexico’s weird traffic rules that drivers make turns from the opposite lane so when you see a vehicle with a Victorian plate, give it a wide berth.

MICK approaches a man and asks him the time. “It’s 2.35,” he says.

“Thanks,” says Mick, “it’s the funniest thing. You’re the third person I’ve asked today and each time I’ve got a different answer.”