This year marked the 10th anniversary of the festival, and former deputy prime minister and avid train fanatic Tim Fischer was called in to mark the occasion.

“Rail is back in business – back in business right here in Junee,” Mr Fischer said at the opening. 

“Every state’s capital city except Darwin is looking at light rail and rail projects of one nature or another.” 

This year’s festival boasted more than 30 events, including live performances, markets, a youth disco, train spotting, a gnome-making challenge, the annual Poet’s Breakfast, and rides on heritage diesel trains. 

However, some residents feared the festival’s organisers might have been a little over ambitious, taking to Facebook to vent their frustrations. 

Some residents noted that the traffic management during Saturday’s street parade could have been handled better, while others complained about Friday afternoon’s train rides being cancelled without notice. 

However, festival president Nicholas Pyers said he was pleased with what his very new committee put together on such short notice. 

“Overall, I’m really, really happy with it,” Mr Pyers said.

“I only got the presidency six weeks ago – there’s always things to improve on, and I certainly learned a lot – but I thought the festival as a whole was really good.”