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There's something about an old steam train isn't there?
It edges on romance, with a touch of Harry Potter delight, and a dash of a trip to the "old world".
An 18-year restoration project in NSW's Hunter region has offered up all the old world charm, along with rounding success, as a heritage steam locomotive took to the public tracks this week.
The Hudson Class 4-6-4 express passenger steam locomotive, number R766, was brought to the Hunter by rail enthusiast Chris Richards, backer of the Hunter Valley Railway Museum at North Rothbury.
Following a restoration process that cost more than $2 million, the 1951 Scottish-built locomotive passed speed and load trials on the public rail system.
Mr Richards said the R766 was the only R-Class loco converted from Victorian broad gauge to NSW standard gauge, and its coal-fired boiler was modified to run on diesel fuel oil, making it much cleaner, environmentally.
If you're a subscriber to the Maitland Mercury, you can read all about it here.
A little further south in NSW's Blue Mountains, a railway with just as much old world charm is edging towards success of its own.
The famous Zig Zag Railway is almost ready to come back to life.
It was announced the railway will received almost $1 million in extra funding from the NSW Government this week, money that will help it continue with repairs inflicted by bushfires in 2013 and 2019 and storm damage.
For those not familiar with the railway, it first opened in the 1860s linking Sydney with western NSW, but closed in 1910. It was then resurrected in the 1970s when volunteers founded the not-for-profit Zig Zag Railway Co-Op to restore tracks, locomotive and carriages.
It has been volunteers who've kept the tourism draw-card running and are now working so hard to get it back up and operational.
Just last year they celebrated a huge milestone as a steam train travelled the famous tracks for the first time in nine years.
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