Ms Burnside hopes to form a trust to move the tiny Romahapa station to Waitati, which she said was in "desperate need" of a railway station to shelter passengers using Taieri Gorge train services.
The station was built at Romahapa, 20km south of Balclutha, in 1885, when the Catlins River branch railway line from Balclutha was opened as far as Romahapa. It has a ticket office at one end, a women's waiting room and toilet annex at the other, and a large covered porch in between.
The branch line was closed in 1971. The station was bought by local farmers in the 1980s and moved about 1km down the road.
The farmers planned to restore it, but that had not happened, Ms Burnside, the marketing manager for Taieri Gorge Railway, said yesterday.
"There have been sheep in it and it will need a bit of mucking out and a few weatherboards will need replacing, but considering it [was built] over 100 years ago, the interior is really solid."
The farmers were happy to give the station to be restored, but a trust would be needed to fund its relocation and restoration.
"I want this to be a Waitati project, not a Taieri Gorge Project," Ms Burnside said.
A public meeting will be held later this month to introduce the idea to locals and gauge interest.
It will take place in the Waitati Hall on October 24, at 7pm.
