The Merriwa railway line is in northern New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The line branches from the Main North line

Main North railway line, New South Wales

The Main North Line is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Central Coast, Hunter and the New England regions. The line was the original main line between Sydney and Brisbane, however this required a change of gauge at Wallangarra...

 at Muswellbrook

Muswellbrook, New South Wales

Muswellbrook, a corruption of 'Muscle Brook', is a town and Local Government Area in New South Wales, Australia. The original spelling and etymology of the town's name is a matter of some debate...

 and travels north through Sandy Hollow

Sandy Hollow, New South Wales

Sandy Hollow is a small rural town in New South Wales, Australia in Muswellbrook Shire. The town is located on the Golden Highway in the far west of the Upper Hunter Valley region, about 260 km north of Sydney....

 to the town of Merriwa

Merriwa, New South Wales

Merriwa is a town in the far west of the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia, in Upper Hunter Shire. It is located on the Golden Highway, 273 kilometres northwest of Sydney and about half way between Newcastle and Dubbo...

, a distance of approximately 80 kilometres (49.7 mi). The line was completed to Merriwa on 29 October, 1917, however the section north of Sandy Hollow closed in 1988.. The section between Muswellbrook and Sandy Hollow, combined with the Sandy Hollow-Gulgong railway line

Sandy Hollow- Gulgong railway line, New South Wales

The Sandy Hollow- Gulgong railway line is a railway line in northern New South Wales, Australia. The line forms a cross country connection with the Main North line and the Gwabegar line and ultimately on to the Main West line creating a circuitous bypass of Sydney for freight traffic heading...

 forms the Australian Rail Track Corporation

Australian Rail Track Corporation

Australian Rail Track Corporation is a federal government owned corporation established in 1997 that owns, leases, maintains and controls the majority of main line standard gauge railway lines on the mainland of Australia, known as the Defined Interstate Rail Network .-History:The Interstate...

's Ulan line between Muswellbrook and Gulgong

Gulgong, New South Wales

Gulgong is a 19th century gold rush town in the Central-West of the Australian state of New South Wales. The town is located about north west of Sydney, and about 30 km north of Mudgee along the Castlereagh Highway. At the 2006 census, Gulgong had a population of 1,907 people...

 on the Gwabegar (Mudgee) line

Gwabegar railway line, New South Wales

The Gwabegar railway line is a railway line in the west of New South Wales, Australia which passes through the town of Mudgee to Gulgong and eventually heads to Gwabegar....

.

Restoration of Sandy Hollow to Merriwa section

There have been several attempts to launch a rail preservation

Historic preservation

Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...

 group to restore and maintain the Merriwa rail precinct and the section of line between Sandy Hollow and Merriwa.

A small group tried to form a preservation society (which was to be called Merriwa Railway Museum) to restore the station and goods shed to their original condition, as well as the railway yard including the historic steam era turntable and steam locomotive water column. The aim was to restore the line and have a steam locomotive run on it again using historic New South Wales Government Railways

New South Wales Government Railways

The New South Wales Government Railways was the government department that operated the New South Wales Government's railways until the establishment of the Public Transport Commission in 1972. Although later known officially as the Department of Railways, New South Wales, it was still generally...

 rolling stock. It was intended for tourists and train enthusiasts alike. This group was started in early 2002 but failed to progress.

Another attempt was made in 2007, but also failed to proceed past internet speculation.

In December 2009, a new railway society, The Merriwa Railway Society Incorporated (MRS), was legally incorporated

Incorporation (business)

Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...

. Consultation has been undertaken with Upper Hunter Shire Council, the Australian Rail Track Corporation

Australian Rail Track Corporation

Australian Rail Track Corporation is a federal government owned corporation established in 1997 that owns, leases, maintains and controls the majority of main line standard gauge railway lines on the mainland of Australia, known as the Defined Interstate Rail Network .-History:The Interstate...

 and the Independent Transport Safety and Reliability Regulator.

The main Society webpage is found at http://www.merriwarailwaysocietyinc.org.
The MRS was officially launched in Merriwa on 24 October 2009, with the launch being attended by over 42 locals and rail enthusiasts.

Since August 2009, the intentions and plans of MRS have been reported in 5 regional and Sydney based newspapers and on the local Upper Hunter ABC

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...

radio station, increasing local residents' awareness of the heritage railway restoration plans.

Check out the merriwa railway societies new Blog at,
http://mrsandmuseum.blogspot.com