Birthday Break

My brother Mark and I have birthdays only two weeks apart. I have just had mine and tomorrow he hits the big SIX OH. Young whippersnapper. Anyway, because he is a railway fancier, Mark's wife booked a surprise couple of days away at the old Rydal station master's residence which actually sits ON the old platform and past which interurban passenger expresses and long distance freight trains still rumble. It is truly a unique place to stay.

Rydal itself has a fascinating history and for a time during the nineteenth century was the furthest terminus for the main western line out of Sydney. At that time Rydal looked like becoming a major city but eventually westerly track construction resumed and these days it is no more than a sleepy rural hamlet.

The last actual station master (manager?) to be employed at the depot, retired in 1984 and was never replaced. The old residence (just behind the public platform façade) has been restored but has never lost its old fireplaces and antique fittings. It is decked out as a kind of local railway museum and is available for holiday rent. Needless to say, Mark is enjoying himself hugely. Just above (right) you can see the silver birch garden leading to the residence front door.