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Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust

On 8 August 2003 the Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust was incorporated as a Charitable Trust, the culmination of months of planning and consultation by the Steering Committee. The Trust formally came into existence on 16 July 2003. This represents another important milestone in the project to reinstate the Rimutaka Incline Railway.

Trust Board

Details of the Trust Board members.

Objectives

The Trust has the following objectives:

  1. To plan, fund, reinstate and operate a tourist heritage railway on former railway route between Upper Hutt and Featherston, and any other directly or indirectly connected railway;
  2. Acquire by agreement, lease or purchase such lands as are required to allow the reinstatement of the former railway route between Upper Hutt and Featherston and any other such lands as will further the objectives of the Trust;
  3. Acquire by agreement, lease or purchase such items of railway rolling stock, tools and material to facilitate the construction and operation of the tourist heritage railway;
  4. Raise funds for and facilitate the conservation and protection of the former railway route and heritage structures and features thereon;
  5. To plan, fund and construct appropriate buildings, structures, infrastructure and facilities to facilitate the construction and operation of the tourist heritage railway;
  6. To arrange interpretative displays for the public, to promote knowledge and education of heritage railways, and in particular the Rimutaka Incline Railway, the historic factors that led to its creation and raise awareness of the personalities involved;
  7. Facilitate research, discussion, education and interchange of information on topics related to the Rimutaka Incline Railway and environs.

Trust Deed

An HTML transcript of the Trust Deed, as amended 17 December 2003. An official copy of the Trust Deed may be viewed on the Companies Office website.

Annual Reports

The following annual reports and accounts are available:

2005-2006

2005-2006 Annual Report | 2005-2006 Accounts.

2004-2005

2004-2005 Annual Report | 2004-2005 Accounts.

Membership

Membership application form

Membership of the Trust has been available since 17 December 2003. The Trust welcomes your membership, participation and support.

Meetings

An initial information meeting was held for supporters of the Rimutaka Incline Railway on Thursday 28 August 2003. We welcomed those who wished to extend support to the Rimutaka Incline Railway project, outlined what the Steering Committee and latterly the Trust had achieved to date, and what was proposed for the heritage-tourist railway. Membership of the Trust was subsequently made available by the end of 2003.

There is plenty of scope to assist with the project, from planning, lobbying and publicity, to fundraising, construction, and eventual operation of the railway. Please let us know how you could contribute to the reinstatement of the Rimutaka Incline Railway.

Steering Committee Origins

The project originated at a ceremony that was held at Summit in July 2002. Two events were being celebrated: Historic Places Trust registration of the railway formation between Kaitoke and Cross Creek; and the Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand award for restoration of two bridges on the route. Bob Stott, Editor of Rails magazine, commented that the formation was like 'a well-tended grave' and suggested that a railway of some shape or form ought to be reinstated.

The Wellington Regional Council's Landcare Committee invited rail heritage groups to explore how a tourist heritage railway might be reinstated on the historic Rimutaka Incline railway formation. In August 2002 the Rimutaka Incline Railway Steering Committee was formed to coordinate the project, drawing members from established rail heritage groups and the Upper Hutt City Council.

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