TRAVELLING THROUGH TIME

The Temora Railway Museum is a celebration of railway life – a beautifully preserved building that evokes memories of a bygone era. The museum is also home to a bronze statue of Temora’s famous railway dog, Boofhead, whose incredible legend will be told for years to come. 

Temora Railway Museum volunteer Rodney Kite remembers the glory days of the railways and enjoys regaling visitors with tales from his time as a locomotive driver. 

“The railways aren’t the way they used to be,” Rodney says. “It’s good to tell the younger generation how things worked in the old days. I like talking to people and tell a lot of stories.” 

Rodney’s grandparents lived across the road from the Temora Railway Station, and some of his earliest memories were of listening to the trains clanging by. After he finished school, Rodney dabbled in other industries before taking a job with the railways in 1973. 

“I tried a bit of farming and worked as a motorbike mechanic for a while but I got sick of the routine and needed something with a bit of variety,” he says. “I was walking across the railway tracks to my grandparents’ house one day and I saw my mate, who was working on a shunting engine at the station. It was a quiet day, so he was sitting there with his feet up, having a snooze. I thought, ‘He’s getting paid for that!’ So, I put in for a job.” Rodney never looked back, driving trains first in rural NSW before eventually moving to passenger trains in Sydney. 

“No two days here were ever the same,” he relates. “Every day I’d be somewhere different working with another crew of mates. The life really suited me.” 

After spending years in Sydney, Rodney retired and moved back home to Temora. Volunteering at the museum allows him to contribute his knowledge of the railways and spend time with people who share his interest. 

“I’ve got my comrades here,” he says. “We have a good laugh.”