[2][3] The Railway Commissioners arranged a special low-cost excursion mail train from Sydney, which departed 9pm on the 29th, arriving in Cooma at 11.45am the next day.

A special train, which had departed Redfern at midnight the previous Wednesday, carried a number of dignitaries, including Bruce Smith, Minister for Works, Daniel O'Connor, Postmaster-General and about twenty members of parliament to Cooma for a major celebration.

[5] A substantial complex had been built to provide a large town and developing district the benefits which rail could bring to the area.

In 1912 a signal box was erected on the Cooma platform, replacing the original interlocking system, and the line was extended to Nimmitabel.

[1] The era of the Snowy Mountains Scheme, from the 1950s to 1970s, prompted further changes such as additional facilities and upgrading from steam to diesel locomotives.

The Scheme was the largest engineering project ever undertaken in Australia, and provided a major source of employment for post-war migrants.

[6][1] A rapid decline of activity at the station, due partly to the completion of the Scheme, resulted in a decrease in freight and passengers, and NSW Railways could not justify repairs required to the track and the old timber trestle bridge over the Numeralla River.

[1] The station building is a standard roadside design, symmetrically planned with awning supported on cast iron posts and decorative brackets.

The brick building comprises seven main rooms, toilet skillion, entrance vestibule with verandahs and platform with awning.

The building, erected in 1888, has undergone a series of modifications but still displays its Railway Gothic architectural style with many original elements and decorative features in situ.

[1] The signal box was erected on the platform in 1912 and is a small scalloped weatherboard building with a corrugated iron pitched gable roof.

[1] The engine store has concrete footings, scalloped weatherboard walls, timber doors and window frames, and a corrugated iron roof.

[1] The turntable is 60 ft in length with timber and steel platform set on a concrete pit directly connected to the engine shed and yard.

[1] The DLE's office is a single storey face brick building, constructed in an L shape, with a corrugated galvanised iron gable roof, and timber doors, window frames, and fascias.

The institute hall has exposed brick piers, asbestos cement sheet cladding, and a corrugated iron roof.

Since then gardening at railway stations has become a tradition with such features as rose species in forecourts, approaches lined with trees and plants in tubs on platforms.

There are a number of rare items at the site but the two most significant are the signalling equipment, the most complete of its kind in Australia, and the straight type engine shed, being only one of four extant and considered to be the most intact example.

[1] Cooma railway station was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.

Extension of the railway line from Goulburn to Cooma, and finally to Bombala, had a major effect on the development of the Monaro.

The capacity of the station was an important factor in selection of the town as the headquarters for the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority (SMHEA).

Owing to its operation over 100 years and expansion of facilities to suit the needs of the community the precinct demonstrates growth phases over a century.

John Whitton was trained as an architect as well as an engineer and the station buildings erected during his tenure of Engineer-in-Chief, such as Cooma, exhibit interesting Victorian architectural detailing which illustrate his design skills.

[1] The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

The Cooma railway precinct is considered to be the only site in NSW which so completely illustrates the development of rail from steam to diesel.

The barracks, although altered, is representative of standard railway accommodation built for crew workers during the mid 20th Century.

[1] This Wikipedia article was originally based on Cooma Railway Station and yard group, entry number 01116 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on 2 June 2018.