It was to be a remarkable building that could easily grace a city, a monument to railway confidence and bureaucratic power, yet, incongruously, a lonely citadel in the middle of the bush.

[1] In 1925, the office of the District Superintendent of Railways was moved from Murrurundi to Werris Creek and a second story was added to the station building to accommodate new staff.

Together with the decline in rail travel and freight, and the economic rationalising of the 1980s and 1990s, the town of Werris Creek lost much of its importance as a railway hub.

It dates to 1877 when the NSW Government decided that the Great Northern Line needed a depot and junction from where branches would run to the west and north-west, thus helping to open up and serve the rich pastoral areas further inland.

[5] An isolated bushland spot was chosen where the northern line at that time cut through George Single's paddock, halfway between Quirindi and Tamworth.

The town became the busiest rural freight base in the state as well as a key passenger junction as goods and people alike joined or left the main Sydney line destined to or coming from places like Gunnedah, Narrabri, Moree and many similar settlements that were emerging.

The NSW State Rail Authority Heritage Unit described it as "a remarkable building that could easily grace a city ...yet, incongruously, a lonely citadel in the middle of the bush".

It boasted an impressive refreshment room in the Victorian Free Classical style built of rich, red bricks in tuck-pointed Flemish bond with crisp stucco embellishments, pronounced cornices with paired brackets and moulded, grouped windows.

The population soared to 2,500 as workers flocked to staff and service the countless trains that came and went day and night and Werris Creek became known as the "town that never sleeps".

[1] For approximately 70 years, Werris Creek was the largest railway centre in northern New South Wales, the depot alone employing 800 people.

Even though passenger and freight trains still passed through Werris Creek, as they still do, it seemed destined to become yet another country town fading into oblivion.

[1] In 1989, a committee led by Chris Holley – a former porter, shunter, guard and controller, strongly supported by a band of fellow retired railmen such as veteran yard master Les Brown – vowed that Werris Creek would not die.

Their determination led to the acceptance of a plan envisaged by Dr Stuart Sharp, of the former NSW State Rail Authority Heritage Unit, involving creation of an Australian Railway Monument.

The 3-metre (9.8 ft) high stainless steel sculptures this comprises depict a fettler, shunter and firemen, a signalman, gatekeeper and flag lady.

[1][3] While funding came principally from the NSW Government ($1.3m), some 40 townsfolk – mostly former railway men and women pledged themselves as volunteers to run the complex.

It opened on 1 October 2005 as the Australian Railway Monument and the Rail Journeys Museum and since has averaged more than 10,000 visitors per annum.

[9][1] An historic display depicts the history of Werris Creek as the first railway town in Australia from the age of steam through to the modern day diesel.

MAJOR STRUCTURES – Managed by RailCorp Station Building – type 5, first class (1880, 1923) Railway Refreshment Rooms (1885, 1912) houses the Rail Journeys Museum Luggage Room (1902) Signal Box (1925) Platform face (1880) Footbridge (1893) Australian Railway Monument (2005)[1] MAJOR STRUCTURES – Managed by ARTC Station Master's Residence (1913) Workshop, and Staff Hut Former gas retort building, Down side Former electricity generator building Down side[1]

A parapet conceals the roof of the original RRR building and features a decorative entablature, two urns and a projecting cornice with classical consoles.

[1] A deep verandah roofed in corrugated sheet runs along the rail platforms and along the east and west elevation of the station building.

It is also of high architectural interest for the quality of the design and detail and of townscape importance because of its dominance in the town and its incongruity in the location.

Some of the adjacent buildings to the station date from the opening of the railway and are interesting remnants of workshops and support facilities that have rarely survived on the system.

It was the centre of the peripheral development of an entire city and also those surrounding rural communities that depended upon it for transport, communication and trade.

Furthermore, It is an impressive structure in the Victorian Free Classical Style, with lavish design qualities that earn it high aesthetic significance.

[1][13] Werris Creek railway station was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.

[1] The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

Recent works to the place have recovered aspects of significance such as the large refreshment room with its high ceilings and cast iron columns.

The place has some potential to reveal information about rail travel generally and about the design and operation of refreshments rooms and major country stations particularly with the ability to interpret this to the public in association with the present museum.

The SM's residence has local significance as an example of the standard of housing provided to railway employees in the early part of the twentieth century.

[1] This Wikipedia article contains material from Werris Creek Railway Station, yard group and movable relics, entry number 01285 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.