AS he stood on the platform at Maitland railway station, listening to the shriek of the whistle and watching the steam billow as steam locomotive R766 approached, Chris Richards had the look of a proud parent.
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"It's like giving birth, I suppose," Mr Richards said.
To a rail enthusiast, the day was almost as momentous as a birth. Or perhaps a rebirth. And, as the custodian of the 70-year-old former Victorian Railways steam locomotive, Chris Richards was the father of this marathon project.
After about 16 years of restoration at the Hunter Valley Railway Trust's workshop at North Rothbury, R766 was back on the rails, carrying passengers on a special journey to Port Waratah and back, and it was creating history. The locomotive had undergone a gauge conversion so that it could travel on NSW rails, something that was meant to happen back in the 1950s, before the rise of the diesel locomotive.
"It's never happened in the world where a broad-gauge steam locomotive has been converted to a standard-gauge steam locomotive," Mr Richards said.
"This is a part of railway history that's been delayed for 70 years, and now it's about to happen. And it's with a locomotive that's one of the last ever built in the world, the pinnacle of steam technology, then that was it. Steam finished. Like the dinosaur era, they disappeared."
But, as the hundreds waiting on the platform for the train indicated, the steam age remains alive in the public imagination.
"Like dinosaurs, rail preservation has an enormous following," Mr Richards said. "They're like magnets."
Ever since he saw the driver of a passing locomotive wave at him when he was a boy, Chris Richards has been in love with steam trains.
That love can be measured in the number of vintage carriages (about 100) and other rail artefacts he has at the North Rothbury site, which he previously owned.
His love could perhaps be measured in his founding of Steamfest, Maitland's celebration of steam that has grown into a major tourist event, which organisers say is the largest of its type in Australia.
Or perhaps Chris Richards' love of steam trains can be measured in the amount of money he has poured into the restoration of R766.
"I stopped counting at about $1.3 million," said Mr Richards, adding that figure would be from about eight years ago. "A lot of it has continued on with volunteer work."
One of those volunteers is Mark Stapleton, the project manager and the driver of the train on this inaugural passenger journey.
"It's a good feeling," said Mr Stapleton. "It's the culmination of 16 years' work."
For Mr Richards' three children, the sight of the locomotive finally on the tracks was almost a relief.
"We used to joke it was our illegitimate fourth sibling," said Bronte Richards, the second child. "It's now fully a part of the family and functioning. It's fantastic to see it coming to life."
"It's now outshining us all," added eldest child Tom Richards.
At the launch ceremony on the Maitland station platform, the city's mayor, Cr Philip Penfold, expressed gratitude to Mr Richards and his fellow railway enthusiasts for basing the locomotive in the Lower Hunter.
"Maitland is a steam engine town, and it gives us great joy to welcome R766 here with us today," Cr Penfold said.
However, it is not assured the steam locomotive will stay in the Hunter.
Chris Richards and his fellow members of the Hunter Valley Railway Trust have been in talks and involved in a court case with the developers of Huntlee Estate over the train enthusiasts' group remaining at its North Rothbury site, where it has been for more than 30 years.
Mr Richards said it was likely the group would have to move from its base and had been negotiating to find a new home in the Hunter, either at Broadmeadow or Paterson.
"If those two don't come off, we'll have no choice but to leave the valley and go to Goulburn, and as far away as a place in Victoria called Dimboola," Mr Richards said.
"We definitely do not want to move out of the Hunter Valley. That would be a tragedy for thousands of people in the region, and for tourism as well."
Councillor Penfold said the locomotive should remain in the Hunter.
"It would be very important to do all that is possible, with the support of other governments, for an engine of this quality to remain in the area," he said.
Chris Richards believes this restored piece of the past is integral to the future of the Hunter, particularly Maitland, as it looks to tap deeper into tourism.
"As coal diminishes, tourism, I believe, has a very good role here," he said. "And every time we arrive in a town, we bring up to 450 passengers who spend their money in the town."
The local locomotive will feature in this year's Steamfest, to be held on April 9 and 10. R766 is to race another renowned steam locomotive, 3801, from Broadmeadow to Maitland.
"After nearly 70 years of waiting, the two will be able to hammer it out," Mr Richards said. "It's like a world boxing event."
The chairman of the Steamfest Working Group, Cr Peter Garnham, was delighted to see the arrival of R766.
"It's fantastic," he said. "We've been holding out for the arrival of this train for a number of years. It's an iconic steam engine from Victoria.
"It concretes Maitland as a type of Mecca for rail heritage, especially the steam heritage."
R766 is at the front of "The Picnic Train" and will be used for rail excursions, aimed at raising funds to help keep the locomotive on the rails. The Picnic Train's first journeys, from Maitland to Singleton and return, are being held this weekend.
"We like the idea you bring a picnic on the train and celebrate with friends and family," said Simone de Beuzeville, director of The Picnic Train and a steam locomotive driver. "It's just a great excuse to get back with people."
During Friday's launch journey, R766 passed great mounds of coal around Port Waratah. But these days, after a conversion, the locomotive's engine doesn't rely on coal; it is fired by oil. On board in the restored vintage carriages were invited guests from as far away as Victoria.
Brett Lancaster had travelled from Corowa in southern NSW to ride the train. His grandfather, father and uncle had worked on the railways, and he loves steam trains.
"It's the thrill of hearing a steam train, because a steam train is a life in itself," he said. "It lives and breathes."
The inaugural journey took a little longer than expected, with a "few little teething problems", according to Chris Richards.
But he was happy to see R766 finally on track and carrying passengers.
"I'm very confident, if we can stay in the Hunter, it will be an ambassador for Maitland and the Hunter Valley," Chris Richards said.
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