Nothing takes you back in time like the distant whistle of a steam train – unless you happen to be on board one.

Over the weekend, July 29 and 30, nearly 1000 people wound back the clock to the 1950s and enjoyed this winter’s first Kiama Picnic Train from Tempe to Kiama and back.

They were travelling aboard the not-for-profit’s star attraction.

“The 5917 is a 1950’s locomotive,” The Picnic Train’s marketing manager David Bottin said. “[It] was built in the United States in the post-war years for the New South Wales government railways, and spent most of its time working freight trains, and was actually one of the last locomotives to retire in the early ’70s before going into preservation.”

As well as being one of the last locomotives of its class to retire, the 5917 is also the last of the surviving fleet to remain operational, with The Picnic Train reinstating the Sydney-to-Kiama journey five years ago. The unique heritage experience has become very popular.

“Everyone loves a steam train, from kids right through to adults,” David said.

“The kids love Thomas the Tank Engine, and the adults can remember when they were riding around on them themselves when they were kids, and it's just such an experience.

“It's such a unique thing you don't get to do every day, which is the reason why anyone who runs a steam train is bound to draw a crowd, whether it's people on the train or people waving and taking photos as it goes by. There is something about a steam train that people just love.”

The Picnic Train runs tours through the Blue Mountains, Central Coast and country NSW, but David says the Kiama journey is by far a favourite, with the postcard-worthy Illawarra and South Coast lines attracting tourists and day-tripping Sydneysiders.

“The Illawarra line is one of the prettiest lines in New South Wales, going from Georges River through the spectacular Royal National Park, and then following the coast there from Stanwell Park through to Wollongong, and then you have the beauty down there around Minnamurra River and Bombo Beach, Kiama Downs and Kiama itself,” David said.

“There are so many people in Sydney who like the idea of a day out in Kiama because Kiama is such an iconic tourism location.

“It's a very pretty, spectacular line for the passengers to enjoy the whole way along.”

The Picnic Train’s journeys across the state don’t just offer a day out for sightseers, but also for the volunteers who do everything from working on the heritage locomotives to driving the trains.

The organisation’s 100-strong volunteer force is largely made up of people with trade backgrounds, retirees and current or former rail workers – like David, who has been in rail preservation since the age of 12.

“We have a couple of paid employees who run The Picnic Train at a management level, but 99 per cent of our workforce is volunteers who dedicate their time to preserving our carriages and locomotives,” he said.

“They do everything from maintaining the carriages and locomotive through the cleaning, through the custom service, and also running the locomotives on tours.

“We look for people who enjoy spending time out with customers, running around the state with customers and showing them a good time… but also people with stronger skillsets such as carpentry or metalwork, boiler makers, people like that… people who have spent their life in customer service work or in manufacturing, and they're looking for something to do in their retirement years [as] rail preservation is a very popular place for retirees to come.

“You can't have a not-for-profit organisation such as The Picnic Train without volunteers – your volunteers are your everything.”

The Kiama Picnic Train and its volunteers will again course the Illawarra line for the next two weekends (August 5 & 6 and 12 & 13). Whilst these trips are near capacity, David says more opportunities to ride the Kiama Picnic Train will pop up in October, before the Illawarra receives its own steam-themed weekend in late spring.

“We run through autumn and then spring into the early summer months every year out of Sydney,” he said.

“Plus, we’re also going to have our Wollongong Steam Spectacular rides in November."