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    • Wb steam locomotive display at Railex 2016
      • <!-- if(window.da2a)da2a.script_load(); //--> The cab front, side and back of 1898 Baldwin steam locomotive Wb 299 was on display at RailEx over the weekend of 19-20 November 2016. The display was prominent among the variety of exhibits in the Walter Nash Centre, in the middle of the large sports stadium. The cab was popular with young and old, as visitors were welcome to try out the driver's seat and work the interactive display of  lights, gauges and other artefacts.

    • Cab work continues for steam loco Wb 299
      • <!-- if(window.da2a)da2a.script_load(); //--> Work continues on rebuilding the cab for 1898 Baldwin steam locomotive Wb 299. The photo above shows progress with fabricating the cab front on 24 September 2016. The curves for the roof and firebox cut-out took some time to mark out, having radii of 87.657" and 27". It was fantastic to see the distinctive cab outline come together as the cut-outs were completed.

    • NZRLS jigger test run
      • <!-- if(window.da2a)da2a.script_load(); //--> A trial run of rubber-tyred 3-man motor trolley #7002 was made at Maymorn on 30 May 2016, The NZRLS-owned trolley has been restored to operating order by Ray Randle. After pre-run inspection checks and sign-off the trolley was gradually coaxed back to life. Some minor adjustments were needed to the Briggs and Stratton motor and gear lever, but otherwise it performed well.

    • Shed shunt - May 2016
      • <!-- if(window.da2a)da2a.script_load(); //--> A fairly extensive shunt of the shed was done on Saturday 14 May 2016, in preparation for storing another 56-foot carriage inside. Sleeping car Aa1060 and Gumdigger A255 were moved onto the inspection pit area of road 1, clear of steam locomotive Ab745. We took the opportunity to pose Ab745 and Tr189 outside the shed for a photo, part way through the shunt.

    • Concrete floor, steps and wall cladding
      • An update on work done on Saturday 7 May 2016 - we placed 2.4m3 of concrete, casting a set of steps into the road 1 inspection pit, and two floor slabs. Complicated form work and a lot of manual concrete placing - but well worth the effort. The steps and floor slabs have tidied up the inspection pit area of the shed, finishing up some loose ends from previous pours.

    • Workshop update - Summer 2015/16
      • <!-- if(window.da2a)da2a.script_load(); //--> Since our last update on 7 December - Workshop floor gets funding boost - we have placed over 20 cubic metres of concrete floor in the workshop. The transformation to the workshop building is significant - its fantastic to have so much usable floor area. Only one road of the shed will be fitted with rails at this stage, and the "road three" rail beams are being boarded over to provide a continuous floor for machine tools, work benches and storage areas.

    • Workshop floor gets funding boost
      • <!-- if(window.da2a)da2a.script_load(); //--> We're grateful for recent grants from Cossie Club Upper Hutt and Rimutaka Trust, which have given us a much needed boost towards completing our workshop. Reinforcing steel and concrete will be purchased with the funding, and by the end of December we are likely to have most of the floor in place.  A few photos of recent work follows:

    • Loop track ballast drop
      • <!-- if(window.da2a)da2a.script_load(); //--> On Saturday 26 September 2015 the track gang joined up the track sets on the new loop track, and dropped three wagon loads of ballast. By the end of the day the track was able to be used to store five ballast wagons, freeing up our mainline track.

    • Work in progress 5 September 2015
      • <!-- if(window.da2a)da2a.script_load(); //--> Another ballast wagon is in the paint shop. Rust and old flaking paint has been removed with a needle-gun, making short work of this laborious job. Individual components from shunt locomotive ORB #1 are also being prepped and painted, including areas of the frame, headstocks and sand boxes. We have also added a lot of backfill into the floor area of the workshop extension to our shed, using a small rubber-tracked excavator to move around 20m3 of hard fill. A few photos from recent weeks follow.

    • Loop track construction update
      • More progress with our loop track at Maymorn, following on from the previous Loop track build starts story from July and August. Rails have been crowed to form the curve off the double slip, cut and drilled. Good to finish that part of the loop and get on to the straight lengths.  

    • Loop track build starts
      • <!-- da2a.script_load(); //--> During July and August we have started building the loop track at Maymorn, which extends eastwards from the double slip. The formation is already prepared for the loop, sloping to the cess drain to the north side. The loop passes through a short curve past the slip, then its straight-running through to and past the pedestrian crossing. The loop will initially be used as a storage siding and will be useful to shunt wagons and carriages that are 'uphill' of our shunt loco.

    • 130 year old carriage saved by Trust
      • <!-- da2a.script_load(); //--> An 1884-vintage "Gumdigger" type carriage is destined to run again on the Rimutaka Incline Railway. The Trust has recently been offered the two carriage body halves of Gumdigger carriage A255, which have been transported from Dunedin to its base at Maymorn, Upper Hutt.  A255 was built at Addington Railway Workshops in 1884, saw service in and around Christchurch until 1964,

    • Gumdigger carriage transported north
      • <!-- da2a.script_load(); //--> The first half of Gumdigger carriage A255 in transit at Dunedin in December 2014. Photo: Clark McCarthy. The two halves of Gumdigger carriage A255 were reunited in Dunedin in May 2015, and traveled by rail from Dunedin to Wellington from 12-16 May, They will be placed onto the carriage underframe and into safe, dry storage in our rail vehicle shed. Once the workshop is finished we plan to start work rebuilding the underframe, bogies and compartments.

    • Gardner 8L3 diesel engine started on Ohai Railway Board No.1
      • <!-- da2a.script_load(); //--> Gardner 8L3 diesel engine being test-started by Tony Shaw of Shaw Diesels on 3 April 2015. A successful start, with a goodly amount of leaves and dust blown through! Oil pressure was brought up using an external pump and starting current to the starter motor from a battery set. The oil pressure held well and the engine churned back into life without any further problems.

    • Work in progress 7 March 2015
      • <!-- da2a.script_load(); //--> Native shrubs and trees Bart and Graeme have done a wonderful job tending to the native shrubs and trees planted at our Maymorn site. A host of native shrubs and trees have been planted alongside our future mainline formation to the Kaitoke side of the pedestrian crossing. The plants have taken despite the arduous ground conditions and occasional accidental dose of weedspray - a vast improvement over the gorse and blackberry the previously occupied the area.

    • Trust display at Upper Hutt Summer Carnival
      • <!-- da2a.script_load(); //--> A brilliantly fine day at Trentham Memorial Park for the 2015 Upper Hutt Summer Carnival - a great venue for the Trust to promote its activities and operating days. Prominent in the display was the cab and bunker side of steam loco Wb 299, which proved popular with the public. As earlier published in Wb 299 rebuild under way the cab is an interactive exhibit, folk are free to try out the driver's seat and glance out the cab window - and get a sense of the scale and heritage of the loco. 

    • Track extended past gate
      • <!-- da2a.script_load(); //--> On 7 February 2015 we extended our mainline track past the gate towards Maymorn station. Just a short distance, but great to be heading "up the hill" with the track again. A few tasks had to be completed in the preceding weeks, including excavating and installing a field-drain to take surface water away from the pedestrian crossing area, rails cut and drilled, sleepers adzed and pre-bored. Further extension is pending removal of hard fill from the future loop formation. Photos: Glenn Fitzgerald, Hugh McCracken

    • Earthworks for workshop and track extension
      • <!-- da2a.script_load(); //--> A 12-tonne excavator and dump truck were hard at work at Maymorn on Monday 12 January, excavating and moving spoil from the north end of our station to backfill the foundations of our workshop. The formation for our forthcoming track extension was widened and tidied up as well - with additional space cleared alongside the loop formation and a cross-drain put in. Around 50 cubic metres of good quality base course was moved into the workshop formation, as the photos below show. Over the next week or two this will be spread and compacted in preparation for the concrete floor.

    • Wb 299 rebuild under way
      • <!-- da2a.script_load(); //--> The rebuild of Baldwin steam locomotive Wb 299 is now well under way. The first major components - cab and bunker side were fabricated in time for display at RailEx. A cab seat and raised section of cab floor were added to make a more interesting exhibit, which proved quite popular with visitors.

    • Workshop foundation wall completed
      • <!-- da2a.script_load(); //--> On Saturday 29th November we passed another milestone with our workshop shed construction - completing the foundation wall. A few weeks of preparing formwork had paid off with a single building inspection and pour, a central column pod included in the job. We also completed five small sections of floor slabs inside the main shed, along with a short length of inspection pit floor and a support wall. Work can now proceed on backfilling the workshop floor area and preparing rail beams and slabs for inspection and concrete placement.  All photos: Glenn Fitzgerald.

    • Diesel locomotive welcome addition to railway
      • <!-- da2a.script_load(); //--> On Tuesday 21st October we took delivery of ex-Ohai Railway Board locomotive No.1 at our Maymorn railway heritage site. The locomotive was built by Drewry/Vulcan in 1947 for the Ohai Railway Board and along with being used on coal trains was used on some of the first diesel locomotive hauled passenger trains in New Zealand.

    • Workshop build progress
      • <!-- da2a.script_load(); //--> A huge effort put into the workshop over the weekend of 4-5 October, all four barge boards lifted up, flashings fitted and soffit installed at the Upper Hutt end. We're very close to completing the roof - which will be a most welcomed milestone in this project. The weather was patchy at best, but thankfully not as bad as was forecast, and we got a huge amount of work done. Thanks to all who helped out! We're now able to clad the Upper Hutt end wall - the ColorSteel sheets on site ready to install.  

    • Ballasting operations 23 August 2014
      • <!-- da2a.script_load(); //--> On Saturday 23 August 2014 we were fortunate to have Peter O'Flaherty, local Upper Hutt Contractor, load up ballast wagons for us at Maymorn.  Four of our fleet of Yc ballast wagons were pressed into service, including recently overhauled Yc817, hauled by our Hillside Tr189. Ballast was discharged and spread at a few different spots, including the shed yard and a stretch of our mainline.

    • History of Ohai Railway Board No.1
      • <!-- da2a.script_load(); //--> Drewry 2248 /1947 was built for the Ohai Railway Board as their No. 1 and was joined by sister engine No.2 in 1957 effectively dieselising the Ohai Railway Boards Line. ORB No. 1 is the forerunner to the NZR Ds class of locomotive which were first put into service as heavy shunters during 1949. In 1968 Ohai Railway Board replaced the two Drewry locomotives with two new locomotives built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. No 1 along with No.2 were dispatched to the State Mines railway between Stirling and Kaitangata in Otago. Project: Shunting Loco ORB No.1ORB No.1 hauling a passenger train on the Ohai Railway Board Line near Nightcaps. [Archives Reference: AAVK 6390 W3493/180 B3895] Archives New Zealand The Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua

    • First public run of Cyclops at Maymorn
      • <!-- da2a.script_load(); //--> Another milestone for our railway on Sunday 11 May - the first public operation with a locomotive-hauled train. Our Hillside Tr189 did the honours, hauling D2411, one of the trailer cars that make up the 'Cyclops' electric multiple unit set. With the locomotive-hauled train we can now cater for trains rides for around 40 people at a time. People can enjoy a short ride in our station yard, with the added nostalgia of the English Electric units that were withdrawn from service on the Wellington network back in 2012.

    • Storage siding rebuild at Maymorn
      • <!-- da2a.script_load(); //--> Visitors to our Maymorn site will notice a change in our track layout, with the rebuilding of road 4 alongside the rail vehicle shed. A temporary connection had been made in February 2013 so that Cyclops could be placed onto its storage track (check out Cyclops' journey into preservation at Maymorn). We removed two tracksets from the siding shortly afterwards to give better truck access to the workshop construction site - but kept the rails to hand for later reinstatement. 

    • CAD design work begins for Wb locos
      • <!-- da2a.script_load(); //--> CAD (Computer Aided Design) work has begun for the rebuilding of two Wb class Baldwin tank locomotives at the Rimutaka Incline Railway. Wb 292 and Wb 299 were salvaged from a dump site at Seddonville on the West Coast in 1989, having been dumped after withdrawal from service in 1958 and 1960. They have been in storage at Maymorn since 2008, and the frames of both locomotives are now inside the rail vehicle shed awaiting attention.

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