Blayney's reputation as being one of the coldest places in Australia comes not from any statistical basis, it comes from the thousands of national servicemen who found themselves on the platform during the 1950's and 60's.
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Coming from warmer climes such as Parkes and Forbes in the west and Cowra to the south, Blayney's altitude knocked a few degrees off the thermometer.
What they may have suffered with the cold though they compensated by being able to enjoy a delicious hot pie and a delightful cup of coffee as they waited for the next train.
From March 1955 to April 1956 Cowra's Vic and Dawn Smith ran the refreshment rooms at Blayney Railway Station and worked long and difficult hours to keep the travellers well-fed and warm.
"It was a hive of activity, during the night mainly back then, when the mail trains would arrive," she said.
"From about ten at night through to eleven we'd have the three big mail trains, the Bourke mail, the Forbes mail and the Coonamble mail arrive.
"We were the only ones that were allowed to attend the bar and we had to supervise everything.
"There were people in the waiting room all night and Vic would work until the mail trains were gone, go home and have some sleep and be back at 3.30 to take over the bar from me."
Unlike today rail travel was the predominant mode of transport and Blayney station soon won a reputation for having two of the most sought after delights.
"We were well-known for having the best pies and coffee," Mrs Smith said.
"The pies were provided to us although I did use to make some of my own pies because Vic said that they were better."
Making their own pies did run a risk though with the possibility that the inspector could knock them back.
"The inspector could just step off the train unannounced and would check to make sure that there was the correct amount of meat in it and that the rooms were clean and tidy," she said.
The coffee though wasn't what you'd expect to find in your modern cafe. There were no flat whites in the 50's.
"We made the coffee using an essence from scratch," she said.
"It had all sorts of things in it like mustard and eggshells and we'd have a big jug of fresh milk just kept off the boil ready to mix the coffee essence in with it."
Of course tea and scones were also a favourite amongst the travellers.
"I loved baking in the old coal stove and could do 200 scones at once in that and the tea was served in silver teapots that always had to be polished," Mrs Smith said.
Mark Logan
Started working in newspapers in the 1990's in the darkroom of the Pastoral Times in Deniliquin before moving to Millthorpe in 2003. Soon after arriving I started as a photographer at the CWD. Now a journalist at the Blayney Chronicle.
Started working in newspapers in the 1990's in the darkroom of the Pastoral Times in Deniliquin before moving to Millthorpe in 2003. Soon after arriving I started as a photographer at the CWD. Now a journalist at the Blayney Chronicle.
