The Great Northern Railway was pushing inland.
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The section to Lochinvar was opened by the Chief Commissioner of Railways on Wednesday, 27 June 1863 and public traffic began on Monday 2, July.
The opening was a low-key affair but many residents of Lochinvar assembled at the station to welcome the first train.
Cuttings through rock at Harpers Hill were formidable and a viaduct was constructed to cross the Black Creek floodplain.
The line from Singleton toward Maitland had commenced and by 10 April, 1862, ballasting of that part of the line had begun. By 22 April, trains were running as far as Branxton and on 13 May tenders were called for the construction of a goods shed at Branxton station.
By 24 May, 350 men were employed on building the railway according to the Maitland Mercury.
The railway to Singleton was to be opened on St Patrick's Day, 17 March, 1863 but heavy rains and flooding in February affected the line and the need for repairs delayed the opening.
By 5 March, considerable progress had been made on the building of Singleton Railway Station and the goods shed was expected to be completed in three months.
Finally, the opening was scheduled for Thursday, 7 May, 1863 and it was accordingly arranged to invite the Governor to take part in the ceremonies.
On the appointed day, the Governor, his Excellency the Right Honourable Sir John Young, Baronet, and his party arrived in Newcastle on the steamer Coonanbara early in the morning. His Excellency was met by was the Major of Newcastle,
Mr RT Bishop and other gentlemen, and at 8am was entertained at a public breakfast in the Court House attended by about sixty dignitaries. Lady Young was unable to attend, but Lord John Taylor, Mr Turville, Mr Cowper, Mr Arnold and Mr Whitton, Chief Engineer of Railways, made up the official party. After the obligatory speeches and replies, the party boarded the train to Singleton with stops at East Maitland and West Maitland where His Excellency was presented with numerous loyal and complimentary addresses to which he replied.
The train arrived in Singleton at about 11 o'clock, greeted by a dense crowd of people assembled on the platform.
Mr Loder's carriage conveyed His Excellency to the Royal Hotel accompanied by the West Maitland, Morpeth, East Maitland and Newcastle Volunteer Rifle Companies.
On arrival at the hotel, His Excellency was greeted by a contingent of Mounted Police, under the command of Inspector Walker.
Entertainment by the Rifle Company's bands pleased the crowds and the celebrations ended in the evening with a fireworks display and a ball. In the meantime, a road/rail bridge was under construction across the Hunter and the line was proceeding toward Liddell. The railway was to reach Wallangarra on the Queensland border in 1888.
The bridge across the Hawkesbury River, linking the GNR to Sydney, was completed in 1889.
