Bathurst will take a trip down memory lane when a historic steam engine arrives in town this June long weekend.
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The steam locomotive Beyer-Garratt 6029, the same train that was in Bathurst during the 2022 long weekend, will be offering rides to the public from Saturday, June 8, to Monday, June 10.
Similar to events 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 Monday.
Bathurst mayor Jess Jennings is expecting community support for the event to be very strong.
"It's always a popular weekend with locals and visitors alike, bringing more than 4000 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 2022."
![The Beyer-Garratt 6029. Picture supplied The Beyer-Garratt 6029. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/33jmgggMux4cQ6bJ2r3hFg4/311ba23c-8a02-43c7-8539-e3bd71b02061.jpg/r922_1129_5184_3813_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"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 June 9, together with music and entertainment from buskers and Mitchell Conservatorium across the weekend."
Steam train tickets are available through the Transport Heritage NSW website.
Steam train tickets issued by Transport Heritage will include a 20 per cent discount on admission to Bathurst Rail Museum and Chifley Home.
History of the Beyer-Garratt
With a length of 33 metres, 32 wheels and weighing 264 tonnes, 6029 is the largest operating locomotive in the southern hemisphere.
The last steam locomotives introduced into NSW, the first of the class did not enter service until 1952.
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.
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.
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.