The building, next to the Otago Central Rail Trail, is in "reasonable nick for its age" but has been repaired and is being painted in its original colour, a brownish red, as part of its face-lift, Department of Conservation (Doc) visitor and historic programme manager Anita Middlemiss, of Alexandra, said.
"It was originally painted a heritage red and at some time in the 1950s or 1960s, railway buildings were painted lighter colours, as the red paint blistered in the Central Otago heat," she said.
"Technology has moved on a lot since then and we can now repaint it the original colour and know the paint will cope with the extreme temperatures in this area."
The goods shed was opened on December 4, 1905, and originally had "Ophir" written on it.
In those days, Ophir was the bigger town, and Omakau's growth followed the railway's arrival, she said.
"We're very pleased to see it return to its right colour and to paint over the cream paint and salmon-coloured doors."
The building was repiled a couple of years ago and rotten boards have been replaced, along with some of the roofing iron.
Trains were shunted into the shed to unload and load goods.
Sulphurous fumes from the coal-burning engines caused corrosive condensation on the roof, so some of the iron needed replacing.
The paint job should be completed for the new year and was part of ongoing maintenance on the trail, she said.
Painter John Christie, of Alexandra, said the biggest task was preparing the corrugated iron building, as "the painting itself won't take that long".
He and his son James finished the roof section at the weekend, using a harness for the hot work, as temperatures topped 30 last Saturday.
"Hot work? That would be an understatement, but it's just part of the job and you try and work in the cooler part of the day, " he said.
The name of the town would be added last, painted on both ends of the building.
The Otago central railway line closed in 1990 and the 150km length from Clyde to Middlemarch was acquired by Doc in 1993 and developed into a walking and cycling trail, which opened in February 2000.
