The route was selected in 1862 by John Whitton, engineer-in-chief for the NSW Government Railway. He chose the least expensive way, which traversed a ridge on the western side of the Bargo River. In doing so he avoided the more direct line carrying the Southern Road (now Old Hume Highway) through the Bargo Brush that would have required bridges and tunnels then beyond the means of the developing colony.

Mittagong was the southern terminus of the single-track railway until contractors completed the line through to Bowral and Moss Vale, where stations opened on December 2, 1867. Moss Vale Station (initially named Sutton Forest) was then the terminus until Goulburn opened to traffic in May 1869.

This year, 2017, we celebrate the 150th anniversary, or sesquicentenary, of services between Picton and Moss Vale on the Great Southern Railway, and the opening of Mittagong, Bowral and Moss Vale stations.

The official opening of the Picton-Nattai section of line was held on February 28, 1867. A special 15-carriage train left Sydney at 10am, conveying Members of Parliament and distinguished visitors to Nattai. More people boarded at Picton and the carriages were divided between two engines to cope with the steep grades.

The opening function was held at the new station, named Mittagong, an Aboriginal word which had already been adopted as the locality’s parish name.

The first train arrived at 1.30pm to refreshment booths and sundry amusements. The senior member for the district, John Morrice MLA, took the chair and many speeches were made. A luncheon was attended by 160 paying guests and, in tents nearby, Larkin & Wakeford, the company that built the line, provided food and ale for its 200 navvies and their families.

On March 1, 1867 the single line was handed over to the government and opened to traffic. Loop lines and refuge sidings had been provided at intervals so opposing trains could pass, or slower goods trains overtaken. It would be another 50 years before a duplicated line was built on an alternate alignment through Bargo.

Mittagong Station was the first to open in the local district. Although later extended to cope with increased goods traffic and passenger usage, the precinct’s heritage buildings remain substantially intact today.

In 1867 the station complex consisted of one platform (now Platform 1) and a small station building. The platform was set back from the main line, on a loop siding. There was another short loop line on the other side of the main line adjacent to an engine turntable, 40 foot (12.1m) in diameter, set in its rotational pit, and connected to the main line by a short siding. This arrangement allowed engines of terminating trains, once detached, to be turned and shunted to the train’s other end for the return journey.

From 1867 a goods shed was in use near the Sydney end of the platform. Level crossings were installed at both ends of the station complex for road traffic.

A temporary refreshment room, opened in 1870, was replaced in 1873 with a substantial two-storey building which housed the first Railway Refreshment Room on the Southern Line where food, beverages and accommodation were available.

In 1874 a stationmaster’s residence was built nearby in Victorian Rustic Gothic style. It is still a feature in the landscape and, although no longer owned by State Rail, forms an important part of the heritage precinct.

In 1881 a 5-tonne yard crane was installed and a water supply system with tank, pump and jib was erected to supply steam locomotives with their essential supply. The engine turntable was later removed and transferred to Moss Vale.

Once the Great Southern Railway opened to Albury in 1881, passenger and freight services increased further.

In 1882, Mittagong Station’s platform was extended by some dozen yards (15m) at the Sydney end and a parcels office and toilet block were erected. Thus, over its first 15 years, Mittagong Station grew. This expansion would continue.