Bathurst Rail Museum

“A visit here is a lovely, unique experience. Layout is easy to access and the biggest railway diorama room in Australia must be seen to be believed! Very nostalgic and tells a big story of the Bathurst region about its rail past. Big thanks to Tim and Sam for making our visit fantastic. Tim went the extra mile to show details of the big room and some of the hidden Easter eggs.”

“I hate not giving 5 stars but I am going to be honest, I thought the museum was overpriced for what it is. 90-95% of the museum experience is really made up of what is certainly an impressive miniature train set and a play area for kids with predominantly Brio trains. I felt the museum lacked artefacts and more information on trains and their history in the region (I am not saying this information was non-existent, I am just saying this needed to bigger and better to justify the ticket price). The museum felt like it was maximising profit with a sizeable gift shop and adjoining cafe at the expense of making the actual museum as good as possible. Like maybe they could actually have a real train on display? Or parts of a real train? Is that asking too much? You know being a train museum…Or maybe they could have made better use of the staff member standing guard over them the miniature train set (lol). Like maybe he could do a presentation or at least invite people to ask questions or something? I just felt like the train experience was better at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney and that’s not even a train museum…and it’s free. So not bad, but I think they need to either lower the ticket price to adjust expectations or improve the museum experience.”

“We had a great time visiting this museum yesterday morning. We got there before the opening time because we wanted our toddler to be able to play in their Kids Central area which we booked in advance. We were told though that you only need to book the Kids Central area in advance during peak times, which I can only assume means weekends and school holidays. It is a great area for kids of all ages, as the Brio tracks are set up. But there is also an area where the kids can build their own. There is seating for parents to sit and chill out, while watching their kids play and sipping on a coffee from the attached cafe. The museum part itself is small, but still top notch. There is some history to read through, but we loved - especially my toddler - the large model train display. The staff there were also more than happy to engage with visitors, sharing information and answering questions. The gift shop also had some great merch - I just think they should restock their popular designs in different sizes so visitors aren’t disappointed. For families, there is a parent room which has an accessible toilet and a changing table. There is plenty of room if you need to take a stroller in there. Parking is plentiful in front of the museum - I think I even saw electric vehicle parking. If it is full, I’m quite sure you can use the parking outside Bathurst train station, which is just next door. We really enjoyed our visit and would highly recommend if you’re visiting Bathurst!”