To celebrate the 145th anniversary of the opening of the Main Western Line those lucky enough to score tickets in the sell-out event enjoyed trips to a number of locations including Tarana, Newbridge and Lithgow in a 1960s Vintage Rail Motor.

There was also a day trip to Sydney and return.

The trips were held on both Saturday and Sunday, with guests also enjoying a visit to the Bathurst Railway Museum after their journey.

Mayor of Bathurst, Bobby Bourke, caught the train to Newbridge on Saturday morning and said it was fantastic.

He said the event was a sell-out success, with everyone really enjoying themselves.

"The response from the community was fantastic.

"It was actually overwhelming.

"The Tarana trip sold out a week before the trip went ahead," he said.

Cr Bourke said the trains came from the Rail Motor Society at Paterson, near Maitland, who charter out a fleet of historic trains.

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Given the success of this weekend, he said it was likely council would consider hosting similar events again.

He said it was great to see so many people, including young children, experience rail travel like it used to be.

"I remember Mum and Dad taking me to Sydney on a train like this when I was a kid.

"That was our holiday," he said.

"It certainly brings back a lot of memories."

He said during the trip many people were reminiscing about life "back in the day."

"I was talking to some former shunters and drivers.

"We were talking about when we used to load the wool at Perthville.

"The trucks would come in with wool and we had to load it, it was one of the hardest jobs on the railway.

"It was great to sit back and remember the old stories."

He said many of the guests on the train were either train enthusiasts or former railway employees, or their families.

Cr Bourke himself has strong ties to the rail industry. He worked on the railway for 18 years, his Dad worked on the railway and his brother still does.

Both his grandparents were also railway men, working on the Tarana and Harden lines

Bernadette and Donogh Gethings were among the passengers on the train and said it was great fun.

They were joined on the trip by Bernadette's father, Bernard Carroll, who was based at Newbridge during the early years of his career on the railway, where he worked as the station assistant back in the 1970s.

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