he Rail Motor Society is a mainline heritage rail operator based at Paterson, New South Wales, Australia. The Society offers unique heritage train journeys for the small to medium group tour market.

The Society was established in 1984 as a not-for-profit organisation to collect, preserve and operate a representative fleet of NSW Government Railways rail motors. The Society’s sole focus was to be on self-propelled or diesel multiple unit rolling stock, a principle that it still adheres to today. The Society's heritage listed collection of rail motors, as well as other items of railway memorabilia are available for public inspection at our Depot and Museum. Being located in the Lower Hunter Region close to the major population centre of Newcastle, the Society’s core client base is centred around a population base in excess of 650,000.

The Society is accredited as a rail transport operator by the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) under the Rail Safety National Law, 2012. Our accreditation covers operations in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and the standard gauge portions of the Queensland, Victorian and South Australian networks.

The Society provides day, weekend and extended excursions with a focus on the group tour market. The Society also provides specialised rail tours for the railway enthusiast market. The CPH Class rail motors provide the ideal vehicle for the tourist and enthusiast market as their all-round vision enables passengers to enjoy a more panoramic view of the railway landscape than other forms of rail travel. The CPH Class is also the lightest rail vehicle in NSW that enables them to be used across all lines in the State. Our 400 Class provides an ideal vehicle for inspection trains or small tour groups, while our 620 Class provides a suitable platform for comfortable long distance tours. The Society concentrates predominantly on tours to the Hunter Valley, the north, north coast and north west of the State. Other tourist destinations are locations such as Albury, Brisbane, Broken Hill, Dubbo, Griffith, Parkes, Warren and the Illawarra and Southern Highlands. The Society expects to expand tourist operations into southern Victoria and South Australia in 2021. The Society regularly participates in special events including railway founding anniversaries and local and regional celebrations, as well as charitable fund raising events.

The Society can also provide rolling stock to rail infrastructure owners for specialised on-track services such as radio testing, signal sighting, ballast testing, overhead wiring testing and executive inspection trains.

The Society is registered as a charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. This entitles the Society to hold the Deductible Gift Recipient status that allows donations of $2 and over to the Society to be tax deductible.

New members are always welcome.