Saturday’s special train to the Rylstone Show and the opening of the line to Rylstone may be considered a one off event for the moment.
Both the Lithgow State Mine Railway and the Kandos Museum, though, will be working with the relevant government departments to ensure it won’t be just a one hit wonder.
Both organisations are keen to develop a regular tourist service to the area from Lithgow.
The Rylstone Rambler sold out very early and generated a lot of interest along the way as it passed through the magnificent Capertee Valley and headed towards Kandos and Rylstone.
There was a great crowd waiting at Rylstone to meet the railcars as they rolled into the station where a small ceremony took place to mark the occasion of the first passenger train back to Rylstone in more than 10 years.
A number of dignitaries were on hand to jointly cut a red ribbon prior to the train pulling fully into the Rylstone platform to allow the passengers from near and far a chance to visit a country show.
Three shuttle runs were also operated between Rylstone and Kandos during the afternoon for the locals to experience the ride.
The shuttle runs were all very well patronised.
The Minister for Local Government and Member for Bathurst Paul Toole was on hand, together with David Ginn, the area manager for John Holland, Rob Mason, the CEO of Transport NSW TrainLink, Buzz Sanderson, chairman of the Kandos Museum and Michael Wilson, chairman of the Lithgow State Mine Railway.
The day would not have been possible without the assistance of a number of businesses and organisations, including Ben Hope, David Ginn and the team at John Holland who played a major role in getting the line open again, the Lachlan Valley Railway, operators of the train, and Tim Elderton and his maintenance staff from the Lithgow Railway Workshop who were on hand to ensure things went smoothly.
Organisers are heading back to Kandos for the Kandos Garden Fair on Saturday April 2.
Details and bookings are available through the Kandos Museum website: kandosmuseum.org.au.
Source: Mudgee Guardian, newspaper article, http://www.mudgeeguardian.com.au/story/3767895/rylstone-rail-not-just-a-one-hit-wonder/?cs=1485, accessed 4 March 2016.
