Railway preservation in New Zealand is the preservation of historically significant facets of New Zealand's rail transport history. The earliest recorded preservation attempt took place in 1925, although the movement itself did not start properly until 1960.
Early preservation efforts in New Zealand were restricted to static public display of locomotives, and it is believed the first was Double Fairlie E class locomotive E 175 Josephine outside the Dunedin Railway Station in 1925. [1] After this, the preservation movement entered a hiatus until the founding of the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society in 1944, which established branches throughout the country. The first act of active railway preservation was started by the NZR&LS Otago Branch when they purchased a small 9-tonne Fowler 0-4-0T tank locomotive built in 1921 and formerly used by the Public Works Department as their NO 540, from the Otago Harbour Board for use on the fledgeling Ocean Beach Railway, established in 1963. [2]
Similar works were soon started in Christchurch by the NZR&LS Canterbury Branch at their new Ferrymead Railway in Christchurch, [3] the NZR&LS Auckland Branch at their Glenbrook Vintage Railway [4] and the NZR&LS Wellington Branch at their Silver Stream Railway. A railway museum was established at Te Awamutu by the NZR&LS Waikato Branch. However, this period also saw the breakaway of the NZR&LS Auckland and Canterbury Branches to become the Railway Enthusiasts Society and the Canterbury Railway Society respectively, although they retained an affiliation with the NZR&LS. [nb 1]
During the period from 1960 to 1979, the rail preservation scene began to increase as more railway museums and groups were established, helped in part by the closure of rural branch lines by New Zealand Railways. In this category, railway museum groups were set up by the Pleasant Point Museum and Railway at Pleasant Point and the Ashburton Railway and Preservation Society at Tinwald Domain near Ashburton in Canterbury. These groups at the time were attempting to save part of the fabric of rural branch lines that had been operated by New Zealand Railways but were being closed down.
As the replacement of steam was accelerated during this period and was completed in 1971, [2] other groups were initiated to preserve the mainline locomotives and rolling stock of NZR. The first group to do so was Steam Incorporated, based out of the former Paekakariki locomotive depot site just north of Wellington. The Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland also began to accept railway vehicles for preservation, [5] in conjunction with the Bush Tramway Club which was preserving former industrial locomotives used on the bush tramways of New Zealand. [6]
Following the end of steam in 1971, NZR placed a total steam ban on the national network, with the exception of its own heritage operation, the famous Kingston Flyer which began operation between Lumsden and Kingston on the Kingston Branch in that year. This ban required that if steam locomotives were to operate in New Zealand, they would be confined to either heritage railways, museums, or private sites. During this time, the majority of groups established began to expand their operations as NZR progressively modernised, and in some cases were able to extend their running lines or establish museum-type displays to showcase their rolling stock.
In 1977 the National Federation of Railway Societies was formed to provide a cohesive network between the different groups. This group would work as a coordinator and organiser in later years between different groups.
This period also saw the birth of the Otago Excursion Train Trust, founded in 1978 to run excursion trains over the scenic Otago Central Railway. Initially, these trains were run with NZR carriages and locomotives but later the OETT purchased its own fleet of carriages from NZR which were refurbished by Government apprentices and volunteers, first at Burnside railway station and later in the north yard at Dunedin railway station. This group was joined by Steam Incorporated and the Railway Enthusiasts Society in running similar excursions using NZR diesel locomotives but the organising group's own carriages.
In 1985, NZR agreed to remove the steam ban in conjunction with the centenary of the start of construction of the North Island Main Trunk. A steam excursion was run from Wellington to Auckland, using Steam Incorporated's KA 945 and the RES' JA 1250 to haul the train of mixed Steam Inc and RES stock. As NZR still used red as the colour for its coaching stock, these groups used their own liveries, predominantly brown or yellow.
Although the pace of preservation slowed into the early 1980s and beyond, several more groups were established to preserve longer branch lines as well as the more traditional museum-focused operation. The Weka Pass Railway in North Canterbury, the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway in Northland, the Otago-based Dunedin Railways, and the Goldfields Steam Train Society in the Bay of Plenty were all founded during the early 1980s using stock retired by NZR. In the case of Dunedin Railways (formerly known as Taieri Gorge Railway Limited), it was created by the OETT and the Dunedin City Council to preserve the 64-kilometre section of the Otago Central railway between Middlemarch and Wingatui through the Taieri Gorge for passenger operations after the New Zealand Railways Corporation closed the line in 1990.
In 1988, numerous preservation groups contributed to the Ferrymead 125 celebrations in Christchurch to mark 125 years since the first public railway opened in New Zealand.
With the retirement of the first-generation diesel locomotives, the Diesel Traction Group was founded in Christchurch in 1983 with an aim to preserve these locomotives. By 1990 this group had four locomotives at their Ferrymead base, all of which were built by English Electric. Other groups and individuals started to acquire other first-generation diesel locomotives to add to their fleet, such as Steam Incorporated's two DA class diesel locomotives which were purchased in 1988. Other individuals also purchased similar locomotives for preservation and based them at established heritage sites. NZR also selected numerous diesel and electric locomotives, along with two carriages, for inclusion in their own Heritage Fleet.
During this time, Ian Welch's Mainline Steam Trust emerged as a heritage operator with its fleet of preserved ex-NZR steam locomotives. This period also witnessed the creation of other groups such as the Oamaru District Steam & Rail Society, the Grand Tapawera Railroad Company/Nelson Railway Society, the narrow-gauge Blenheim Riverside Railway, and special interest groups such as the Pahiatua Railcar Society. Some groups, such as the Gisborne City Vintage Railway and the Feilding and District Steam Rail Society were formed to preserve a specific locomotive, in this case WA 165 at Gisborne and the NZR&LS' WAB 794 at Ferrymead.
Very few new groups emerged from 1990 to 2000. NZR's successor, Tranz Rail, did give further rolling stock to heritage groups, although a shortage of stock did see some of this recalled temporarily, while heritage diesel locomotives were leased from a private individual to alleviate the reduced number of locomotives. During this time, the NFRS became the Federation of Rail Organisations of New Zealand (FRONZ) to reflect its railway and tramway group members. In 1991 the Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand was formed with former NZR executive Euan McQueen as its chair, to preserve former NZR buildings and rolling stock, which was leased to other groups. [2] [7] The Rail Heritage trust pioneered the concept of "heritage rolling stock" which was leased to various preservation groups around New Zealand by Tranz Rail. Over 200 such items of rolling stock are now leased. [7]
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. Although four ex-WMR coaches and a small number of wagons have survived into preservation, it was believed for many years that no Wellington and Manawatu Railway locomotives were still extant. [nb 2] However, the remains of WMR NO 9 (N 453) were found at Bealey on the Midland Line, and in 2003 the locomotive's frames were retrieved, followed by the tender tank, underframe, and bogie frames in 2005.
The WMR Trust ultimately seek to restore NO 9 to working order, and operate this locomotive on the main line. This locomotive will be paired with a replica of a WMR goods wagon to act as a support wagon on the main line.
The Ferrymead Railway is a New Zealand heritage railway built upon the track formation of New Zealand's first public railway, from Ferrymead to Christchurch, which opened on 1 December 1863. On the opening of the line to Lyttelton on 9 December 1867, the Ferrymead Railway became the Ferrymead Branch and was closed shortly thereafter. In 1964, rail enthusiasts began relaying track on the historic formation and the new 3 ft 6 in narrow gauge. Ferrymead Railway officially reopened in 1977. It now operates steam, diesel and electric trains regularly and is recognised as one of the most significant rail preservation sites in New Zealand.
The Canterbury Railway Society is an organisation of railway enthusiasts based in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island, best known for their operation of The Ferrymead Railway at the Ferrymead Heritage Park.
Rail transport in New Zealand is an integral part of New Zealand's transport network, with a nationwide network of 4,375.5 km (2,718.8 mi) of track linking most major cities in the North and South Islands, connected by inter-island rail and road ferries. Rail transport in New Zealand has a particular focus on bulk freight exports and imports, with 19 million net tonnes moved by rail annually, accounting for more than half of rail revenue.
The New Zealand F class was the first important class of steam locomotive built to operate on New Zealand's railway network after the national gauge of 3 ft 6 in was adopted. The first locomotives built for the new gauge railways were two E class double Fairlies for the Dunedin and Port Chalmers Railway Company. The F class was the first class ordered by the central government, and between 1872 and 1888, a total of eighty-eight members of the class were constructed.
The NZR A class of 1873 consisted of three types of steam locomotives used on New Zealand's railway network of similar specification but differing detail. The first and most numerous were from the Dübs and Company, the next from the Wellington firm E.W. Mills Lion Foundry, and the last from the Scottish firm of Shanks. The specifications are for the Dubs Yorkshire engines.
Locomotives of New Zealand is a complete list of all locomotive classes that operate or have operated in New Zealand's railway network. It does not include locomotives used on bush tramways.
The NZR WD class was a class of tank locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works to operate on New Zealand's national rail network.
The New Zealand DJ class locomotive is a type of diesel-electric locomotive in service on the New Zealand rail network. The class were built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and introduced from 1968 to 1969 for the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) with a modernisation loan from the World Bank to replace steam locomotives in the South Island, where all of the class members worked most of their lives. Nine of the locomotives remain in use, mainly with Dunedin Railways.
The NZR C class consisted of twenty-four steam locomotives built to perform shunting duties on New Zealand's national rail network. It is sometimes known as the big C class to differentiate it from the C class of 1873.
The NZR WAB class locomotives were steam locomotives designed, built and used by New Zealand Railways Department (NZR). Their wheel arrangement is described by the Whyte notation 4-6-4T. The locomotives were designed by NZR chief draughtsman S.H. Jenkinson as tank versions of the AB class 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive. Initially, the locomotives were separated into two classes, designated WAB for mainline work and WS for suburban work.
The New Zealand DI class locomotive was a class of diesel-electric locomotive in New Zealand. They were built by English Electric at their plant in Rocklea, Queensland in Australia. The class is very similar to the Queensland Railways 1620 class locomotives. At the time of their introduction, the class was seen as an alternative to the DB class for use on lightly laid secondary and branch lines, more so in the South Island. The World Bank financed introduction of the Japanese built DJ class in 1968, which ensured that no further DI class locomotives were purchased by New Zealand Railways.
The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was corporatised on 1 April 1982 into the New Zealand Railways Corporation. Originally, railway construction and operation took place under the auspices of the former provincial governments and some private railways, before all of the provincial operations came under the central Public Works Department. The role of operating the rail network was subsequently separated from that of the network's construction. From 1895 to 1993 there was a responsible Minister, the Minister of Railways. He was often also the Minister of Public Works.
The New Zealand DG and DH class were classes of forty-two diesel-electric locomotives operated on New Zealand's rail network between 1955 and 1983.
The New Zealand DE class was a class of fifteen diesel-electric shunting locomotives, introduced by the New Zealand Railways (NZR) with an intention to replace steam locomotives on shunting duties with diesel power. The class was physically similar to the Tasmanian Government Railways X class, which was also of English Electric design.
The RM class was the classification used by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) and its successors gave to most railcars and railbuses that have operated on New Zealand's national rail network. "RM" stands for Rail Motor which was the common name at the turn of the 20th century for what became known in New Zealand as railcars. As many types of railcars are operated, class names have been given to each railcar type to differentiate them from others.
Steam Incorporated, often abbreviated to Steam Inc., is a railway heritage and preservation society based at the Paekākāriki railway station, Paekākāriki at the southern end of the Kāpiti Coast, approximately 50 minutes north of Wellington on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. Unlike some societies who operate on preserved sections of closed branch lines, Steam Incorporated owns a depot beside one of the country's most important railway lines, the North Island Main Trunk railway, and restores heritage locomotives and rolling stock for use on excursions on the regular national rail network.
A & G Price Limited is an engineering firm and locomotive manufacturer in Thames, New Zealand founded in 1868.
The Diesel Traction Group (DTG) is the Christchurch-based operator of a fleet of ex-New Zealand Railways Department diesel-electric locomotives. The fleet represents a full collection of New Zealand locomotive classes built by the English Electric Company and is a historically significant collection of early New Zealand diesel traction. All of the DTG's locomotives are owned by individual members through the sale of shareholdings.
The NZR DS class locomotive is a type of 16 diesel shunting locomotives built by the Vulcan Foundry and supplied by the Drewry Car Co from 1949–1955, for New Zealand Railways (NZR).