Orange Region Tourism [ORT] will occupy three rooms and share a meeting room inside the station.

Interim executive officer Justin Byrne said three full-time and one part-time staff members were being appointed with the general manager expected to be announced next week.

He said the group had begun moving in but were awaiting refurbishments.

The new group will provide tourism services for the Orange, Cabonne and Blayney council areas and replace Brand Orange.

A key role of the new group will be in promoting tourism to villages around Orange for which the part-time staff member will be given responsibility.

“A lot of people who stay in Orange like to get out to the villages,” Mr Byrne said.

History is likely to receive a bigger focus however food and wine will remain key tourist attractions.

“I don’t think we are going to walk away from food and wine as planks for [promoting Orange] as an attractive place for tourists to come,” he said.

Mr Byrne said the new ORT board, of which Peter Robson is the chairman, would likely encompass council, tourism industry and other representatives with particular skills.

“[For example] it might be appropriate to have an accountant on the board who is not a member,” he said.

The Marsden Rural History Centre has vacated the railway premises to make way for ORT.

President Russell Moor said their new base was a private museum on the Mitchell Highway at The Rocks.

“Most of the research is now done at various people’s houses,” he said.