Thirlmere: At the train museum

 

If this were a gathering

Of old friends,

Imagine the stories

That would be exchanged –

Coal tippers, oil tankers,

Cattle carriers, Biscuit traders,

Even prison movers, Queen heralders:

Stories that made a nation

Built its backbone, united the factions

(And even the gauges)

 

Like old brooding minds

Recalling good times

Of bygone days

The sooty plumes of past

So hard to bring back –

The age of steam, then of fuel

Chapters changing,

Over a hundred years:

Now, the old friends, wearied,

Wonder what could have been different

 

The senescence hangs heavy

As you walk past

Yellowed pages that somehow

Still hold together in a musty portfolio

A few wonder though,

What’s the point?

Being treasured in a reliquary

When the outside world

Has changed so much?

What place there is for rusted past?

 

Until a few visitors pass by

Some amazed at the antiquity

Others curious of the behemoths

Many stopping to read the tales,

Relating to their struggles

Of coming from distant lands afar

To fill a nation with hope

To make that tiny change

That one day avalanches beyond dusty plains

To cities of dreams

 

Not just engines of dusty steel

They realise they were carriages of change

Bogies holding broken bits -

Flanges fusing a federation

Their stories are not done yet

The finale still unfolding

Whistling tales of the distant past

Reminding us what couldn’t have been

Without the chug-chug of their wearied wheels

On rail tracks across a land of red…

 

29^th December 2025

The NSW Rail Museum at Thirlmere, NSW, is Australia’s largest rail heritage museum and home to the country’s most extensive public collection of historic locomotives, carriages, wagons, and railway equipment, with over 100 pieces of rolling stock on display. Located alongside the historic Picton–Mittagong Loop Line, originally opened in 1867, the museum brings more than a century of rail history to life just over an hour southwest of Sydney. Visitors can climb into driver cabs, explore luxurious carriages, inspect prison vans, and learn how railways shaped towns, industries, and communities across the nation. Heritage train rides along the Loop Line give a living-history experience, while major events like the annual Thirlmere Festival of Steam allow visitors to witness rare steam locomotives in action. The museum is a must-visit for anyone interested in engineering, history, or the romance of rail, offering an immersive experience that connects people of all ages to Australia’s rich railway legacy.

Images: Author's archives