Bathurst Steam Weekend

Published on 03 June 2024

Bathurst Rail Museum is again assisting peak body Transport Heritage NSW to bring steam locomotive Beyer-Garratt 6029 to Bathurst over the long weekend 8-10 June 2024. 

Similar to the hugely popular event in past years, local shuttles will operate from Bathurst to Wimbledon and return on Saturday and Sunday.  

A day trip from Bathurst to Orange, with a chance to alight at Millthorpe or Orange before re-joining the train for the return journey to Bathurst, will be held on public holiday Monday 10 June. 

Mayor of Bathurst Cr Jess Jennings expecting community support for the event to be very strong.   

“Bathurst Rail Museum has been working with Transport Heritage NSW to bring steam trains to Bathurst for a number of years”, he said.  

“It’s always a popular weekend with locals and visitors alike, bringing more than 4,000 people to Bathurst during last year’s event, and trainspotters will be pleased to see the return of the Beyer-Garratt 6029, which last visited Bathurst in 2016. 

“Bathurst Rail Museum will have activities to enjoy over the weekend, including a demonstration of smaller working steam machinery on Saturday and the ever-popular Rail Museum Markets on Sunday 9 June, together with music and entertainment from buskers and Mitchell Conservatorium across the weekend.” 

Steam train tickets issued by Transport Heritage will include a 20% discount on admission to Bathurst Rail Museum and Chifley Home. The museums have engaged with visitors of all ages and interests, providing a space to celebrate the many stories of local people and their connection to the development of rail in Bathurst and regional NSW.  

Steam train tickets are available through the Transport Heritage NSW website: https://www.thnsw.com.au/bathurst 

 ADDITIONAL NOTES 

 About Beyer-Garratt 6029 Locomotive 

Thanks to Transport Heritage NSW 

With a length of 33 metres, 32 wheels and weighing 264 tonnes, 6029 is the largest operating locomotive in the southern hemisphere.  

The 60 class engines adopted a concept developed by H. W. Garratt, whereby the boiler and driver’s cab is in the centre of the locomotive and there are two separate sets of wheels and motion, one at each end. The front engine unit carries a water tank, and a rear engine unit carries the coal bunker and another water tank. The weight of the locomotive is thus spread over many axles. For New South Wales, this meant that these engines could haul longer and heavy trains on lightly-built country lines.   

The last steam locomotives introduced into NSW, the 60 class were manufactured by Beyer, Peacock and Co. in Manchester UK.  The first of the class did not enter service until 1952. The original order for 25 locomotives was later increased to 50; but a change of mind as the advantages of diesels were recognised, meant that only 42 locomotives were delivered with a further 5 supplied unassembled, for use as spares.   

The lack of turning facilities in country areas – the 60 class needed longer turntables, or triangles – meant that by far the greatest use of these locomotives was on main lines. Even then the few turntables on the system with the capacity to turn them, meant that they often ran in reverse. From 1958, a number of them, including 6029, were fitted with a second set of controls to allow the driver to face the direction of travel when travelling ‘bunker first’, denoted by DC -  for dual controls - painted on the buffer beam. These locomotives also had their axle load increased to improve their tractive effort.  

In their main line, heavy haulage roles the 60 class were a considerable success. They were the very last steam locomotives to run in regular operation on the NSW Government Railways; the last of the 60 class ended their service in the Newcastle area early in 1973. They had outlived the first of their successors, the 40 class diesels.  

Locomotive 6029 entered service in April 1954, and received its dual controls in February 1959. It was withdrawn in 1972 having travelled just under a million kilometres during its working life. It was returned to service by the Australian Railway Historical Society (ACT Division) in 2015 and first appeared at the Thirlmere Festival of Steam to a record-breaking crowd in that year. In 2022 it was acquired for the state collection, the first purchase of a steam engine by the NSW Government for more than 60 years.work and play in the Bathurst region. 

About Transport Heritage NSW 

Transport Heritage NSW (THNSW) is a not-for-profit, member-based organisation focused on sector development, heritage and collections through a portfolio of primarily rail heritage assets owned by the NSW Government on behalf of Transport for NSW. 

THNSW also operates two public rail heritage attractions, the NSW Rail Museum and Valley Heights Locomotive Depot Heritage Museum, and deliver major events, heritage train experiences and education programs at the NSW Rail Museum and throughout NSW.  

About Bathurst Rail Museum 

The award winning Bathurst Rail Museum brings the rich social history of Bathurst and our story as a railway town to life, with personal recollections and interesting artefacts. Explore the stories of local people connected to the Railways, past and present, who have contributed to making Bathurst the thriving city and community it is today. 

The museum is housed in the historic Railway Institute building. Built in stages from 1909, it was the place to be for rail employees and their families to enjoy social gatherings, celebrations, and gain access to important vocational education courses. A fitting home for the Bathurst Rail Museum, the building has been extended to house the museum and a model railway the size of a tennis court. This scale model of the Main West railway during the 1950s and 1960s, displays the Tarana to Bathurst line and is complete with operating trains. 

ENDS  

Media contact: Therese Ryan Manager Corporate Communications P: 02 6333 6202  
M: 0437 958 478 E: therese.ryan@bathurst.nsw.gov.au