Although the 6th December 1853 was chosen as the official day of celebration the first passenger train to arrive at Hereford Barrs Court Station arrived on Saturday 28th October en route from Shrewsbury. It consisted of two engines decorated with flags, which carried the Chairman of the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway Company, Mr Ormsby-Gore and the railway contractor Thomas Brassey. There were also 6 new first class carriages and a luggage van, which was occupied by a band of musicians. When the train arrived in Hereford the passengers had to disembark at the site of the station for as yet there were no buildings save an unfinished engine house and a water house. (Cavalcade of a Century, 1832-1932, 100 years of the Hereford Times: Hereford Record Office - BH74)

A banquet had been arranged at the Shire Hall and catered for by the manager of the City Arms in Broad Street but the reception to the trains was distinctly lukewarm, with few people turning out to see their arrival into the city. The organisers put the lacklustre reception down to the fact that it was a busy market day and few traders or customers were willing to put business on hold to greet the train.

An article in the Hereford Times described the reception to the first train as thus:

"We thought the good citizens of Hereford evinced considerable apathy on the occasion for though a considerable umber assembled to meet the maiden train from Shrewsbury, there was scarcely a hurrah given, not a bell was rung, not a cannon fired." (Cavalcade of a Century, 1832-1932, 100 years of the Hereford Times: Hereford Record Office - BH74)

It was decided to choose the day when the Newport and Abergavenny line was linked to the Shrewsbury and Hereford line as the official opening day of the railways in Hereford, so Tuesday 6th of December was chosen as 'The Great Railway Fete'.

The weather for the opening day stayed fine and the dawn was rung in by church bells across the city. All business in the city was suspended and the streets were decorated with flags bearing messages of goodwill for the railways.

The 1851 census of Hereford shows that the population of Hereford at this time was around 12,000 but the Hereford Times estimated that upwards of 60,000 filled the city streets to witness the special event. At the Barton and Above-Eign bridges 30,000 people gathered to line the track.

On the day Hereford was welcoming two trains, one on the Shrewsbury to Hereford line and the other on the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford line.

The Newport train, one of the longest ever seen, had left for Hereford at 10 o'clock, was made up of 3 engines and 31 carriages and brought with it the Mayors of Newport, Cardiff, Swansea and Brecon, the Chairman, directors and engineers of the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford Railway and the Band of the 1st Royals who were to play at a ball in the evening at Shire Hall. All in all the train rolled in with 670 passengers on board.

It had been planned that the train would arrive at Barrs Court Station at 1 o'clock, but unsurprisingly it arrived late. Once all the passengers had disembarked there was a procession to the Shire Hall. This procession was led by the Herefordshire Militia Band and Staff, the Hereford and Gloucester Navvie's Brass Band and the Band of the 1st Royals, followed by the trade guilds with banners depicting the various trades, and bringing up the rear were the dignitaries in horse drawn carriages.