There was movement at the station for the word had passed around that a steam train would be arriving with some dignitaries on board.
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A train hauled by two steam locomotives arrived at Tarana station June 9. The trip was arranged by Transport Heritage NSW to mark the opening of renovated facilities at the station.
An unexpectedly large crowd was there to greet the train and were entertained by a jazz band, with food supplied by the local community association, coffee by GET Roasted and a display of local artworks and history books. As Tarana has a population well under 200, people had come to the party from all around the area.
On display were the rooms in the residence, the refurbished signal box and what would have been most important for travellers using Tarana station for the Bathurst Bullet or the XPT, toilet facilities. There hadn't been a public toilet on Tarana station for 30 years. (Symbolically, the "ribbon" cut to declare the new station open was actually a length of toilet paper.)
One feature of the station renewal was the unveiling of a copy of an original station identification sign. The original enamel-on-steel sign was long gone and it took careful examination of old photographs to find what it looked like.
The new sign was unveiled by Oberon's Mayor Mark Kellam and Lithgow Mayor Maree Statham. Tarana is seen as a relative of both towns, lying as it does about halfway between them despite being in the Lithgow LGA,
The train continued on to Bathurst with carriages full of school students who would probably have been amazed to know that the locomotives had been built before their great grandparents had been born.
"A fabulous event, and well done to the Tarana community, and Transport Heritage," said local resident and historian Sandy Bathgate.
About Tarana station
Tarana railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main Western line. The station opened on 22 August 1872 and was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. There were originally two tracks, but the rails were removed from the northern platform in 1996 when the section of the Main Western line between Wallerawang and Tarana was taken back to a single track. It was the junction for the Oberon line that closed in 1979.
For train enthusiasts
Here is some history of the two locomotives that pulled the train.
Locomotive 3526 was built in 1917 at the NSWGR workshop at Eveleigh. It was originally given the number1314 and renumbered in 1924. 3526 was withdrawn from service in 1967 for preservation and given a major overhaul completed in 2018.
Locomotive 3642 was built by Clyde Engineering and entered service in 1926. It was withdrawn in 1969 before being retained for preservation. The 36 class locomotives were designed to be able to operate non-stop for 100 miles.
