How to celebrate the Murrurundi Railway Station 150th anniversary

You’re invited to celebrate 150 years of Murrurundi Railway Station with a festival of events on Saturday 2 April and Sunday 3 April.

Murrurundi railway 1870-1872
Murrurundi Railway Station
Murrurundi railway February 1972 after a trip to Glen Innes

About Murrurundi Railway Station

From 1855 onwards, construction of the Great Northern Railway inched from Newcastle up to the Hunter Valley. It then continued across the Liverpool Plains to the New England Region, right up to the Northern Tablelands.

By April 1871, the railway had arrived at Scone. For the next twelve months a group of 412 labourers aided by 158 horses carved the line between Parkville, Wingen, Murulla, Blandford and finally Murrurundi.

The Murrurundi Railway Station opened on the 4th of April 1872. The coming of the railway was transformative for the area, and the town grew in population from 400 to over 2000.

There was a building boom as new businesses were established and the demand for housing increased. By 1888 the line was completed to the Queensland border.

A current day view of the station and nearby area

What’s on

All are welcome to come along to the free MurruRail 150 Anniversary celebrations. Activities include:

Saturday 2 April from 9am-2pm and 4pm-8:15pm

  • Steam Train rides from Maitland to Murrurundi (The Picnic Train), and from Murrurundi to Murulla – ticket purchase below
  • MurruRail 150th Markets – featuring art, craft, produce & plants (Wilson oval & Remembrance Park) from 9am-2pm
  • Enjoy High Tea at the Railway pop up café presented by Murrurundi Arts & Crafts council from 9am-2pm
  • Model Train Exhibition presented by the Murrurundi Museum 9am-5pm
  • Ride a Cobb & Co Coach from the Railway Station into town courtesy of The Royal Hotel from 10am-2pm
  • Art & Photography of the Rails – an exhibition presented by the Murrurundi Arts & Crafts Council from 10am-4pm
  • Fun Fair rides operating from 10am-2pm and 4pm-8pm (Wilson oval)
  • Twilight Picnic (Wilson oval) from 4pm-8pm 
  • Fireworks extravaganza (Wilson oval) from 7:50pm-8:15pm

Sunday 3 April from 9am-2pm

  • Model Train Exhibition presented by the Murrurundi Museum from 9am-2pm
  • Murrurundi Country Markets from 9am-2pm
  • Ride a Cobb & Co Coach from the Railway Station into town courtesy of The Royal Hotel from 10am-2pm and
  • Art & Photography of the Rails – an exhibition presented by the Murrurundi Arts & Crafts Council from 10am-2pm.

Event map

For activity and off-street parking locations you can download a copy of the map (PDF, 117.63 KB), or please refer to the map below:

Ticket prices and purchase

Steam train tickets must be purchased prior to the event.

Limited tickets may be available to purchase on the day, but not guaranteed.

Contact

If you have any questions about the MurruRail 150th Anniversary, please contact our Community Liaison Representative on 1300 347 396 or via email at murrurail150@gmail.com