Rail-Ex 2004, Wellington

Rail-Ex display by the Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust, 9 October 2004. Photo: Hugh McCracken.

The Trust was invited to attend the 2004 Rail-Ex, held at the Events Centre, Wellington over the weekend of the 9th and 10th of October. Rail-Ex has been growing steadily both in terms of number of displays and number of visitors and this year's expo was no exception. Whilst it still has the objective of being "The Wellington Area's biggest and best Model Railway Exhibition", the number of trade stands and exhibitors of other railway interest made up a sizeable proportion of the 68 stands.

Fell track - a point of difference

The Trust determined that as Rail-Ex was predominantly a model railway exhibition, a point of difference would be required in order to publicise its mission and objectives. A full-size demonstration section of Fell railway was thought to be appropriate. Although a scale model of the Maymorn precinct had been constructed, it was primarily for the purpose of exploring layout of track and structures in relation to the Wairarapa railway and land boundaries - and was far from exhibition standards!

Steve Porter, Colin Craddock and Hugh McCracken constructing the demonstration Fell track. Photo: Glenn Fitzgerald

Within a short 1.8m length there would be room for three riser bracket and brace pairs, elevating a similar length of bullhead rail above the running rails. Reference to the original design and relics from the historic Roa Incline were made in the preparation of drawings for the fittings. On first inspection the fittings appear to be quite light and spindly, but were constructed from 3/8" (10mm) plate.

New rail was selected for the running rails, being the latest 50kg/m NZR specification, indicative of the Trust's intention to build a safe, reliable and durable railway. The original rail was 70lb/y (34.7kg/m) to the old British standard, having a height of 117.5mm, compared to 153.0mm of the new rail. Canted, ribbed bedplates were used rather than directly seating the rail on the sleepers, further adding to the height of the running top above the sleeper. Consequently the height of the timber baulk was increased from 117.5mm to 156mm. A lamination of three 300mm x 50mm timber slabs fitted the bill. Standard screwspikes were used to fasten the rails to Treated Pinus Radiata (TPR) sleepers and the centre-rail fittings to the timber baulk. Extra-long screws secured the timber baulk to position atop of the centre of the sleepers. To resist downward drift of rail due to traction and braking forces rail anchors were fitted either side of every sleeper.

The demonstration track was constructed at the Chairperson's residence beforehand, to ensure that all components fitted correctly. It was subsequently partially dismantled into subassemblies that were able be lifted by two people or less.

Reassembly was an interesting expercise, trundling in pieces of full-sized railway amongst a stream of model railway layouts, emerging from vans, trucks, trailers and cars. The finishing touch for any railway - ballast - was wheelbarrowed to position, and carefully dressed off for good effect. Of course, the track was inclined at a gradient of 1 in 15...

The expo itself

Colin Craddock and Barry Timms setting up the Trust's display at Rail-Ex 2004, Wellington. Photo: Glenn Fitzgerald

Trustees attended the display, discussing the Trust's proposal to reinstate a heritage railway over the Rimutaka Incline as a tourist attraction with the public. The public were very interested in the display, many recollecting journeys over the 'hill', either by Fell-hauled trains, the 'tin-hare' railcars, or latter-day cycle or walking visits. Quite a few thought that the centre-rail system involved rack and pillion similar to the Abt system (as recently reconstructed in Tasmania, forming the West Coast Wilderness Railway), and were surprised to learn that the running surfaces of the centre-rail were smooth! Clearly there is a lot of scope for educating the public on the detail of Fell's Patent.

A number of interesting and important contacts were made during the course of the expo, including discussions with a former railwayman who fired Fell and conventional locomotives on the last day of the incline (29 October 1955), neighbours to the railway formation in the Wairarapa, members of kindred railway organisations, an officer of the LTSA, and an executive member of FRONZ (the Federation of Rail Organisations of New Zealand) to name but a few.

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