DO you have a hidden collection of railway memorabilia from the Narrogin Railway Station or Great Southern Railway that should be celebrated?
The Shire of Narrogin is calling for memorabilia to be donated for display at the station-turned visitor centre, when it opens later this year.
Shire of Narrogin chief executive officer Dale Stewart said they were now ready, willing and able to take phone calls and emails from people who might have memorabilia suitable for being preserved to "bring back the glory days of the Narrogin railway in its peak, late 1960s".
David Evenis, is the son of Ernie Evenis who generously donated to the collection a number of artefacts from his family and from his father.
His dad was a guard on the railway in Narrogin for about 45 years and the collection includes certificates, lapel badges, cufflinks, ticket books, ticket machines and guard notebooks.
"It's quite a generous collection that we will have great pleasure in accessioning into our museum collection policy and process," Mr Stewart said.
"And hopefully will be displaying it in all its full glory and colour when we fully develop the railway station, visitors centre and accompanying rail elements.
"We want to bring to life the colour, the characters and the stories of the railways in Narrogin from its inception in the late 1890's through to now."
Local resident Morrie Russell has spent countless hours over the past 12 months building a miniature railway model of the Narrogin railways to be displayed in the visitor centre.
"It will be a very unique, bespoke, one of a kind recreation of Narrogin railways in N scale (1:160) miniature railway form with the Narrogin steam engine known as PM706, and a fully operational miniature railway line with fully miniaturised buildings that existed in the 1960s," Mr Stewart said.
"People will be able to see that and push a button and see the trains go around the tracks and marvel at the creation and generous gift."
The railway station is important to the community of Narrogin and the broader district, starting as a private railway line in the 1890s, with up to eight lines in its peak during the 1960s.
"In its peak from about 1968 to 1972, the Narrogin railway lines employed about 350 individuals, so that's the era of the railway that most people have nostalgia for," Mr Stewart said.
"Those were the days when people went on railway journeys to the football and holidays to Albany for example.
"So we are happy to bring back the memories of that.
"We are extremely excited about the opportunity that the refurbishment of the railway station brings, and the ability to help celebrate the railway heritage for our community, with our community."
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