THE Bathurst Steam Weekend made its triumphant return over the weekend, with thousands of people choo, choo, choo-sing to spend the King's Birthday holiday taking a trip on a classic steam engine.
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Offering rides in the largest operating steam locomotive in the Southern Hemisphere, a Beyer-Garratt 6029, attendees could choo-se from a variety of different routes to travel.
The weekend, which was run from June 8, to June 10, was organised in conjunction with Transport Heritage NSW and the Bathurst Rail Museum.
And rail museum coordinator Ali Wright was seriously impressed with the events reception.
"It has been fantastic, everybody has been really happy to come along and either ride on the steam train or watch the steam trains as something positive and fun to do over the long weekend," she said.
"We've had lots of people through the museum, yesterday with our steam engines, people were enjoying coming in and looking to see how they work, and the markets have been excellent.
Over the course of the weekend, Ms Wright confirmed that at least 1500 people made their way through the museum doors, and approximately 3000 people took a trip on the steam train.
With people travelling from Sydney, Melbourne, the Central Coast and throughout the Central West, Ms Wright said the popularity of the event was based on a few different factors.
"The machines themselves are quite a sight to see and are magnificent in what they are," she said.
"And also it's a bit of nostalgia for the older people, and for the rest of us, it's kind of a link to history that we can see and feel and be a part of."
Railway photographer returns to Bathurst
This was exactly the case for Bruce Wheatley.
Travelling from Sydney with his son, and family friends, Mr Wheatley was ready to relive the days of his youth, and reminisce on the times in which he spent photographing steam engines on the railway.
Now, 60 years later, the walls of the Bathurst Railway Museum are adorned with these photographs.
Beginning this passion project at the age of 13 alongside his brother Robert Wheatley, there are photographs from all over the Central West region that were taken from around 1963 to 1967.
Now, these photos cover the museum interior.
And, according to Mr Wheatley, these photos stood out from the typical photography of the time.
"A lot of railway photographers just took pictures of engines or trains going along the track," he said.
"They had a fixed mindset, whereas my brother and I took photos of the infrastructure, men working on the railway, and the true grit and grime of it - the human interest part of railways, and the broader perspective."
Looking back, Mr Wheatley said that at the time, the duo never really knew just how special their photographs were.
"I suppose I didn't really realise how good of photographers that my brother and I were when we were photographing steam," he said.
But now, the Bathurst Railway Museum is living proof of the power of these pictures.
And, over the course of the steam weekend, Mr Wheatley said he was looking forward to taking a few more snaps to add to the archives.
