TARANA will again show that it knows how to throw a train station party when it marks a milestone this weekend.
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Music, food and drink will feature at an open day this Sunday in honour of the 150th anniversary of the village's station.
It will come two-and-a-half years after a band played at the station as the Bathurst Bullet stopped there for the first time.
Tarana Valley Community Group (TVCG) says this Sunday's celebration will also feature a special Tarana Farmers' Market close by.
As well, Lachlan Valley Rail will run the Blue Zephyr to Tarana, departing Lithgow at 9.45am and remaining at the station until 1pm before it returns to Lithgow.
TVCG says the first trains ran on the extension of the Main Western line from Rydal to Tarana and Locksley on April 22, 1872.
TVCG members say most of the heritage at the station has survived and will be on display, including the restored signal box, the station building incorporating the Station Master's house, a steel pedestrian bridge, water tank and jib crane.
They say Transport for NSW has recently completed extensive repair and conservation works at the station.
The rare signal box has been restored to simulate its original operation and will be open for inspection on the day.
Transport for NSW will also open the station building doors so the community can see the unrestored interiors before the next phase of repairs begins, according to TVCG members.
TVCG's Tim Poulter said Transport for NSW is working with TVCG and Lithgow Council to look at "innovative, community-based uses of the station buildings - potentially creating a community hub while protecting the strong heritage value of the site".
"We really need an indoor space for the community to get together for meetings or workshops," he said.
"Mostly we've been making do with the fire shed doubling up as a community hall.
"The recent fire emergencies and COVID have made life tough for the RFS. It would be great for us to be able to use the Station Master's house with rooms for meetings and displays of local history and art."
Tarana Farmers' Market president Annie Cook said there was a "fantastic future opportunity for us to move the monthly Tarana markets from the RFS ground down to the station precinct".
"Let's breathe some life back into the station for the next 150 years," she said.
The open day celebrations at the station will begin this Sunday, April 24 at 10.15am.
