Newsletter #19, June 2007
Sleeping carriage Aa1060 leaving the Akatarawa Valley on Friday 4 May. Photo: Hugh McCracken.
In this issue:
$150,000 grant for rail vehicle shed
Historic sleeping carriage secured by Trust.
The Chairperson’s inclinations.
Sponsor a length of track.
Want to see some track at Maymorn? Here’s your opportunity to help us get started.
Wagons Roll!.
Maymorn progress:
- Guards van module GM63.
- New Zealand Community Trust grant for fence.
Recent displays.
$150,000 grant for rail vehicle shed
Lottery Grants Board has approved a $150,000 grant on 1 June 2007 for a rail vehicle shed to be constructed at Maymorn. The grant covers both foundations and structural steel for the shed, and the Trust is extremely grateful to receive this level of support.
This is in addition to two grants previously approved by Rimutaka Trust and The Community Trust of Wellington for $25,000 and $50,000 respectively — and means that the full 80-metre length of shed will now be possible.
Meantime, plans are nearing completion, having been reviewed by structural engineers, and required modifications taken in. The rail vehicle shed is pending a Resource Consent application, lodged with Upper Hutt City Council on 17 May. All going well, construction will commence in Spring.
Historic sleeping carriage secured by Trust
On 8 April 2007 we inspected sleeping carriage Aa1060, located on a farm in the Akatarawa Valley, Upper Hutt. Note the closed-in end, within which was located a lavatory. The other end of the carriage has a balcony, gates and steps.
The Trust has recently acquired former North Island Main Trunk sleeping carriage Aa1060 built at Petone Railway Workshops in 1909. Members of the Trust spent a considerable amount of time preparing the carriage for transport through April and May. It was transported from Akatarawa Valley to the Trust’s Maymorn railway station depot on Friday 4 May.
Aa1060 was one of eight wooden-clad sleeping carriages built for the newly opened main trunk, sharing many proportions and design features with the first and second-class day cars of the day. Notably, these were the first type of sleeping carriage built by New Zealand Railways.
It is one of two surviving sleeping carriages, the other located at MoTaT, Auckland. They were replaced by later sleeping carriage designs; both saw non-revenue service in work trains, with only a few modifications made. Five compartments remain relatively intact in Aa1060, with at least one compartment and one of the two lavatories removed.
Most other early sleeping carriages were altered for suburban use for the latter part of their service. Aa1060 was initially preserved by Silver Stream Railway, but was on-sold privately in the late 1990s. It languished in a paddock in the Akatarawa Valley, Upper Hutt until being offered to the Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust in April 2007.
Preparation and transport
(All images Hugh McCracken, unless otherwise credited.)
Surprisingly some of the sleeping comaprtments are still in remarkably good condition. Seats 16 and 17 still in place, the back squab tilts and lifts up to form the top sleeping bunk.
By ANZAC day, 25 April, we were full-swing into preparing the carriage for transport. King-pins of both bogies has been pulled, the carriage jacked and blocked up at each end. We turned one bogie through 90-degrees in order to pull the carriage out from its resting place — thus saving a considerable amount of excavation and/or crane work. Temporary track was ramped up onto a pigsty of sleepers, and the carriage pulled around and up the ramp using a chain hoist.
The following Saturday 28 April we continued to prepare the carriage for transport, extracting both bogies from underneath, and jacking the body up onto blocks. Late in the day we rolled the second bogie out from the balcony end of the carriage.
By the end of Sunday 29 April we had jacked the carriage body up to provide the required clearance, and installed 250UB31 beams ready for placing onto a road trailer. Bogies were trucked to Maymorn by Richard Hammond early the next week.
On Friday 4 May a break in the weather appearing in what had otherwise been a very wet week. The New Zealand Freighters truck with carriage on board negotiates the difficult accessway, with a concrete culvert opening (right) shored up with sleeper blocks and timber as a precaution.
Having safely negotiated the Akatarawa Valley, the next challenge encountered was the Mangaroa hill. All road routes to Maymorn station have height constraints of one sort or another — the best available being 4.95m clearance under the Wellington-Masterton railway overbridge on the Mangaroa Hill Road. Unfortunately this route has steep gradients and tight curves...
The carriage had been safely delivered to Maymorn late Friday afternoon, and was left on the road trailer overnight. This gave Trust members sufficient time to transfer the beams and sleepers and build the necessary pig-sties in order to extract the road trailer. By 10am Sunday morning the transport operation was completed, and the New Zealand Freighters truck headed for Auckland on more routine consignment work.
The rest of Sunday 6 May was spent lowering the carriage onto its bogies. The team are seen hard at work — from left to right: Hugh McCracken, Ben Calcott, Steve Porter, Peter Milburn and Alex Maciver. Colin Craddock took a short break to take this photo!
By late afternoon the carriage had been lowered sufficiently to roll in the bogie at the balcony end, as above. An hour or two later saw the second bogie rolled into place, the operation complete.
Thanks are due to all involved — the former owners for donating the carriage, New Zealand Freighters, Hammond Crane and Cartage Limited and Trust members who worked many hours to prepare and transport the carriage, and Rotary Upper Hutt for sponsoring the transport expenses.
Protection from the elements
On Saturday 26 May the wooden sleeping carriage was clad with long-run Colorsteel, to protect it from the elements and vandalism. Peter Milburn, Colin Craddock and others carry the last 15.15m long sheet to the carriage. The cladding is a temporary solution, pending construction of the rail vehicle shed. Once the carriage is under cover the cladding will be removed and incorporated into the shed structure. Photo: Hugh McCracken.
The last sheet is installed onto the side of Aa1060. Photo: Hugh McCracken.
The Chairperson’s inclinations
Resource Consent
Our resource consent application was lodged with Upper Hutt City Council on Thursday 17 May 2007. It can be summarised as “a railway heritage tourism and educational facility at Maymorn, along with associated earthworks and utilities”. After a pre-application meeting with Upper Hutt City Council planners we added a considerable amount of additional information to the application, associated assessment of environmental effects and attachments, including:
- a full set of plans for the rail vehicle shed
- outline drawings of other proposed structures including a:
- station building,
- water vat,
- semaphore signals and
- signal box
- description of rail related activities proposed at the site
- landscaping, lighting and car parking plans
- services plans
- stormwater plans
- a geotechnical report, earthworks plan and specification
- noise management plan.
- supporting letter from New Zealand Railways Coporation (Ontrack), the requiring authority for the railways designation placed over the land.
- details of consultation undertaken, and a list of the relatively minor changes made to the application.
It has been determined that the consent application will be fully notified, which will extend timelines by a few weeks, but will have a decision by the end of winter. All going well site work may commence in spring.
Rail vehicle shed in brief
The shed plans have been validated by Dunning Thornton consulting engineers of Wellington. A relatively small number of detail changes will be made to the plans, the overall concept and dimensions of the structure being quite acceptable. The most significant change will be an up-sizing of portal frame steel section from 200UB30 to 360UB45, due to revised wind loading schedules. The universal beams will increase in depth from 200mm to 360mm, with a corresponding increase in weight from 30kg/m to 45kg/m. This will have minimal effect on the portal frame design, however, the increase in section being easily accomodated within the structure, without compromising clearances to the rail vehicle loading gauge.
Foundation details for end walls of the shed, a portion of sheet 1, one of 10 sheets of plans prepared for the shed, based on a 1911-vintage 2-road engine shed design.
Maymorn project
Work programme for winter will include:
- Final construction works associated with the security fencing along Ontrack boundary using materials purchased with a grant from the New Zealand Community Trust
- Continued construction of track between future rail vehicle shed and station building sites, which will be used to store ballast wagons in the short term
- Continued work on the pedestrian crossing facility through to the Ontrack station
- A start may be made on manufacturing portal frames for the rail vehicle shed.
Sponsor a length of track!
Help us to make tracks! The Trust invites you to sponsor a length of track. An opportunity to have a permanent record of your support for the Rimutaka Incline Railway. Plain track will be laid with either concrete or timber sleepers, depending on quality and availability considerations. An initial supply of suitable concrete sleepers has been sourced for initial track requirements at Maymorn.
As a sponsor you will receive a certificate recognising your contribution to the Rimutaka Incline Railway. Details that identify your sleeper will be included, along with the plan type.
You will also be able to find the exact location of the sponsored length of track, and view a photo of the track in its surroundings by using the new virtual track locator feature on our web site.
There are 3 levels of sponsorship: Bronze, Silver and Gold. To participate in this fundraising opportunity, check out the Trust’s web page: Sponsor a length of track! Or, if you are receiving a print copy of this newsletter a brochure will have been enclosed.
Current track requirements are for future mainline, loop and siding tracks at Maymorn, 6km northeast of Upper Hutt. A number of buildings and structures require railway track to function, including the planned station building, platform, rail vehicle shed, water tanks and turntable.
Your contribution through sponsoring a length of track will make a difference!
A view of the yard in the early evening of Saturday 24 March. Over 35 metres of track had been laid between the 0km peg and the future rail vehicle shed site. A gap of 17 metres has been left between the end of the track and the shed foundations, to leave room for excavation and construction activity this coming spring. Note also progress with the fence along the Ontrack boundary. Photo: Hugh McCracken.
Ballast wagons
A flying visit to Palmerston North on Good Friday 6 April 2007 resulted in this line-up of old and new in the freight yard. In the foregound, right to left are YC1250, 1578 and 1630, and background can be seen a rake of YJ wagons, numbers 161, 184, 218, 178 and 339, coupled to an EP class plough van. The Capital Connection SA carriages can be seen, far right, and in the distance behind the container stack, the Te Apiti wind farm. Photo: Hugh McCracken.
As outlined in our previous two newsletters, Ontrack have been generous in making surplus wagons available to the Trust at scrap rates, which means that a 7–tonne ‘Yc’ wagon will cost approximately $2,000 including transport to the Maymorn site.
We are grateful for donations and pledges that have been received, which will cover the purchase and transport of at least 9 of the 12 wagons, including:
- $2,000 from the Pelorus Trust towards transport expenses, and
- $4,000 from the New Zealand Community Trust,
along with a number of individuals and syndicates.
4-wheel ballast wagons located in the South Island have been decommissioned, including both YC and YF classes, and a start is expected on the North Island wagons shortly. The Trust expects to receive final documentation, including actual wagon numbers in the next couple of weeks.
By mid May all 40 of the new YJ” bogie ballast wagons had been released to traffic from Hillside Workshops, including:
| Location | Date | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 February 2007 | 8 April 2007 | 22 May 2007 | |
| Totals: | 26 | 39 | *39 |
| Auckland | - | - | 7 |
| Hamilton | - | 5 | - |
| Morrinsville | 10 | 5 | 7 |
| Palmerston North | - | - | 8 |
| Otaki | - | 5 | - |
| Picton | 12 | - | |
| Hapuku | - | 7 | - |
| Christchurch | - | - | 1 |
| Greymouth | - | - | 10 |
| Dunedin | - | - | 5 |
| Green Island | - | 13 | 1 |
| Invercargill | 4 | 4 | - |
*the 40th wagon, YJ535, had been completed by this date but presumably not yet commissioned.
The Trust needs your help to secure a dozen ballast wagons — opportunity to purchase the decommissioned wagons is approaching fast. Sponsorship of individual wagons would be a welcome gesture and we would entertain naming rights, logos or other signs put on wagons to acknowledge your support. Please contact the Trust if you can help sponsor a wagon: enquiries@rimutaka-incline-railway.org.nz or telephone 021 701 551.
YJ161 heads a rake of five new bogie ballast wagons awaiting their next turn of duty at Palmerston North, Good Friday 6 April 2007. Photo: Hugh McCracken.
Maymorn Progress
Guards van module GM63
A third guards van module, GM63, was collected from alongside the Mangaroa River in April 2007, whilst ground conditions were still relatively dry and firm. Photo: Glenn Fitzgerald.
GM63 joined two similar FM guards van modules GM96 and GM97 at the Maymorn site, initially placed within the secure carriage compound. Windows have been temporarily boarded up, and roof-top ventilator panels fitted, providing a good amount of protection from the weather and vandals in the meantime. The module was moved out of the compound to make room for the sleeping carriage — but may well be brought into use as a site office during construction of the rail vehicle shed close by.
New Zealand Community Trust grant for fence
The Trust is grateful for a $4,000 donation from the New Zealand Community Trust, which will be spent on further security fencing materials for the Maymorn site. The Trust intends to fence the site boundary as soon as is practicable. This will enhance public health and safety by precluding entry into potentially hazardous areas, and help protect assets from theft and vandalism.
The fence-building programme continued through the Summer and Autumn months, with half of the length of mesh installed in early April.
Ian Shore and Peter Milburn placing concrete along fenceline, 24 March 2007. Photo: Hugh McCracken.
Half of the New Zealand Community Trust fence, with mesh freshly installed on 2 April 2007. Photo: Hugh McCracken.
Upcoming events and work parties
Ballast wagon BBQ: Saturday 28 July, 12 noon.
An informal mid-winter get-together at our Maymorn site to welcome aboard our fleet of ballast wagons. Sponsors, members and friends welcome, BYO, refreshments will be provided.
Cocktail evening and charity auction: Friday 2 November.
Early notice of a cocktail evening and charity auction proposed for Friday 2 November in Upper Hutt. The event will most likely have a “Troup” theme, showcasing the plans produced for a replica Troup designed station building at Maymorn. A “Troop” costume theme is also being worked on — more details in our next newsletter.
If you could help with organising this event please contact any of the Trustees.
Maymorn site: every Saturday, 9am – 5pm.
We have a big work programme through winter, clearing current jobs before commencing on the rail vehicle shed in spring. We need your help — whether you can attend on the odd occasion, or on a more regular basis. Contact one of the Trustees for more information.
Contacts
Full contact details may be had on the Trust’s website at www.rimutaka-incline-railway.org.nz/contacts.html,
- phone 021 701 551,
- email: enquiries@rimutaka-incline-railway.org.nz
- or by mail: Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust, P O Box 39-299, Wellington 5045.
Rimutaka Railway
Rimutaka Incline — the world’s last Fell engine railway.
VHS: $29.95; DVD: $34.95; + $3.20 p&p
Order online at www.rimutaka-incline-railway.org.nz/shop.
Recent displays
The Trust has had a number of displays over the Autumn months, including:
- Mangaroa School
- Plateau Road School
- Wellington Vintage Machinery Club Fair
Plateau Road School display, 16 March. Photo: Hugh McCracken.
Display at Wellington Vintage Machinery Club Fair, Mangaroa on 9 April. Photo: Hugh McCracken.
Looking back…
Twin De locomotives amongst a sea of wooden-clad carriages at Summit, 1 October 1955.
Photo: Morgan for New Zealand Railways. Archives New Zealand / Te Rua Mahara o te Kawangatanga Wellington Office: [Archives reference: AAVK W3493 D-1541].
Electronic copy
An electronic copy of this newsletter will be available on the Trust’s website at www.rimutaka-incline-railway.org.nz/member-pages/newsletter-19.html from 30 June 2007. Further copies can be printed, or images viewed in colour (where applicable).
The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust.
31 May 2007.