Richmond Vale Railway

The Richmond Vale Railway Museum is located just outside of Kurri Kurri New South Wales. Run by volunteers, it is set in the old Pelaw Main colliery and aims to preserve local railway history. Unfortunately a bushfire went through the area in early 2018, destroying a large section of track and many old wagons that were in storage. The volunteers have restored some of the track, so the trains are running again, but not out to the old colliery. You do however get to ride in a steam train.

The entry fee allows access to the grounds, manager’s residence and the steam train ride. The old colliery buildings and processing plant are fenced off for safety reasons, but you can still take photos as the view through the fence is good. Unfortunately, when we visited the old manager’s residence was locked, so we couldn’t look through the interior. However, it was worth a look around the outside of this impressive looking building.

On the grounds, you will find a nicely preserved old steam train and the steam train ride. The train runs regularly, so don’t worry if you miss it. The ride is not very long but enjoyable.

Steam Train at Richmond Vale Railway Museum

There is a small playground, where children can climb over a small train engine. Nearby a miniature train provides rides for visitors.

Old Coal Wagons Richmond Vale Railway — Old Coal Wagons

Old Mine Processing Plant Richmond Vale Railway Museum — Old Mine Processing Plant

To see what else there is to do in the Hunter Valley, please see some of our other stories.

Kurri Kurri Murals and Street Art

For an enjoyable few hours you can wander around the Hunter Valley town of Kurri Kurri and enjoy the over forty murals that have been painted on the town’s buildings.

We did the walk early on a Sunday morning, when there were few other people around. The tourist information and coffee shop were open though, so we did get our morning fix. Parking was easy in the main street and most of the murals are available either on, or just off Lang Street.

By following the local tourist map, we did not miss any in the town centre.

Kurri Kurri Buildings

The walk was very easy and on the trip, you get to see some of Kurri’s other interesting sites. There are two hotels on the main Lang Street, the Kurri Kurri Hotel and the Chelmsford. The Chelmsford looks like it needs some attention, but the Kurri Kurri looks very nice.

On our walk around we ran across the Masonic Temple.

Kurri Kurri Rotary Park

In the centre of town, you will find the Rotary Park. This contains the Big Kookaburra, the Miner’s Memorial and the War Memorial. The miner’s memorial commemorates all miners killed in the local coal mining industry. There is also a commemoration of the miners at Hill 60 near Ypres in World War One. We have visited this in our recent European trip and it was great to see this in the miner’s home town.