Railway preservation in New Zealand

Railway preservation in New Zealand

Railway preservation in New Zealand is the preservation of historically significant facets of New Zealand's rail transport history.

History

Early initiatives

Early preservation efforts in New Zealand were restricted to static public display of locomotives, probably the first being a Double Fairlie E class in Dunedin in the 1920s. In 1944 rail enthusiasts formed the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society and branches were soon established up and down the country. The NZRLS Otago Branch initiated active rail preservation in Dunedin in 1960 with a small industrial steam locomotive on the Ocean Beach Railway. Similar works were soon started in Christchurch (Ferrymead Railway), Auckland (Glenbrook Vintage Railway), Wellington (Silver Stream Railway) and the Waikato by the NZRLS Canterbury Branch, Railway Enthusiasts Society (former NZRLS Auckland Branch), NZRLS Wellington Branch and NZRLS Waikato Branch.

Later developments

Other notable efforts during the 1960s and 70s were begun by Steam Incorporated of Wellington, Pleasant Point Museum and Railway, Ashburton Railway and Preservation Society, Museum of Transport and Technology, Canterbury Steam Preservation Society and the Otago Excursion Train Trust. Most of these groups had their beginnings in the demise of steam from New Zealand Railways during the era. Most of the early societies were established to acquire and preserve locomotives and rolling stock, with a short line on which to operate and in some cases extensive museum type displays. Steam Incorporated and the Otago Excursion Train Trust were however founded on the basis of running trains upon the main lines of the NZR and were later joined in this endeavour by the Railway Enthusiasts Society and a newer group, Mainline Steam. Early trips by these groups were diesel haulage of their respective carriage fleets but a relaxation of the NZR's steam ban in the early 1980s combined with the opportunity to commemorate some significant anniversaries led to the operation of heritage steam on the main lines. NZR also formed a preservation operation, the Kingston Flyer, in 1971 with two steam locomotives. This operation was later taken over by a private company.

Although the pace of preservation has slowed through the 1980s and beyond, several more operations involving longer lines have been established, as well as the more traditional museum-focused operation. The Weka Pass Railway, Bay of Islands Vintage Railway, Taieri Gorge Railway and Goldfields Steam Train Society took over parts of old lines in Canterbury, Northland, Otago and the Bay of Plenty respectively. Christchurch's Diesel Traction Group was formed in 1983 to preserve diesel locomotives exclusively and now has a collection of four such locomotives based on the Ferrymead Railway. Several other groups also acquired some of the early mainline diesels as they were withdrawn from NZR service.

Other societies and museums have been established in Oamaru, Dunedin, Southland, Nelson, Reefton, Westport, Greymouth, Blenheim, Carterton (Wairarapa Railway Restoration Society), Feilding (Feilding and District Steam Rail Society), Wanganui, Pahiatua (Pahiatua Railcar Society), Waitara, Gisborne and other places.

Current projects

The most ambitious heritage project to date is the Rimutaka Incline Railway, which proposes to construct from scratch a railway line over an existing historic formation abandoned in 1955. This is the route of the former Rimutaka railway and Rimutaka Incline over a distance of some 20 km, including 5 km of the 1 in 15 incline worked by the Fell centre-rail system. Although the Taieri Gorge Railway in Dunedin is a much longer and successful heritage railway at 60 km length, it has the advantage that all its track was still in place when it was set up in 1990. The Rimutaka proposal faces many obstacles from the construction of new track and formation rehabilitation works, to the building of new locomotives of the Fell type. The project is in the planning stages and it will be some years before any construction starts.

Another ambitious project is currently being undertaken by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Trust, which has recovered the remains of WMR No. 9/NZR N 453 and aims to restore it to full operational condition. No locomotive used on the Wellington and Manawatu Railway was believed to still exist, as they had all been scrapped and dumped by the end of 1931, and no WMR wagons are known to survive either, but the remains of No. 9 were found near Arthur's Pass and retrieved in 2003. The ultimate goal of the Trust is to operate main-line heritage trains with a restored No. 9; these trains will also include a refrigerated wagon restored to be a historically-accurate replica of a wagon used on the WMR.

ee also

* List of New Zealand railway museums and heritage lines


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society — The New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society Inc (NZRLS) is a society of railway enthusiasts, based in Wellington. The Society publishes a magazine, the New Zealand Railway Observer and a newsletter Turntable. The Society publishes books on… …   Wikipedia

  • List of New Zealand railway museums and heritage lines — This is a list of groups involved in Railway preservation in New Zealand. Contents 1 Members of the Federation of Rail Organisations New Zealand 1.1 North Island 1.2 South Island 1.3 …   Wikipedia

  • New Zealand Historic Places Trust — logo Purpose/focus Protecting heritage buildings in New Zealand Headquarters …   Wikipedia

  • New Zealand — New Zealander. /zee leuhnd/ a country in the S Pacific, SE of Australia, consisting of North Island, South Island, and adjacent small islands: a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. 3,587,275; 103,416 sq. mi. (267,845 sq. km). Cap.: Wellington …   Universalium

  • Rail transport in New Zealand — Infobox rail railroad name = Rail transport in New Zealand logo filename = logo size = system map caption = The current New Zealand railway network. marks = locale = NZL start year = 1863 end year = predecessor line = successor line = gauge =… …   Wikipedia

  • List of New Zealand railway lines — The New Zealand railway network consists of four main lines, seven secondary lines and numerous short branch lines in almost every region. It links all major urban centres, with the notable exceptions of Nelson and Taupo. The network is owned and …   Wikipedia

  • List of Statutes of New Zealand (1800-1980) — This is a list of Statutes of New Zealand before 1980. For statutes of New Zealand since 1980, see List of Statutes of New Zealand (1980 present) 1800s 1830s 1837 * Wills Act 1840s 1846 * New Zealand Constitution Act 1846 (UK) 1850s 1852 * New… …   Wikipedia

  • National parks of New Zealand — National Park, New Zealand is the name of a village and railway station near Tongariro National Park. Map of New Zealand with the national parks marked in green. The national parks of New Zealand are 14 protected areas administered by the… …   Wikipedia

  • Woodside Railway Station, New Zealand — Infobox Station name=Woodside type=Metlink regional rail image size= image caption=Woodside Station address=Wallace Street, Woodside coordinates= coord|41|4|2.61|S|175|24|7.05|E|type:railwaystation region:NZ line=Wairarapa Line other=Tranzit… …   Wikipedia

  • Timeline of New Zealand history — This is a timeline of the History of New Zealand. Pre Colonial Timeline (to 1839) Before 1600* 180: Lake Taupo erupts violently. * 1000 1300: Archaeological evidence (such as the cabbage tree ovens on the Otago Peninsula) indicates that… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”