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Rail Vehicles

Baldwin Wb locomotives

Boiler of Wb 292 arrives at Maymorn.

The first steam locomotives have arrived at Maymorn— the boiler off Wb 292 amongst other Wb components on Hammond's truck arrive at site on 5 May 2008. Photo: Hugh McCracken.

On a snowy August 2008 morning Wb 292 and Wb 299 arrived at Maymorn from Paekakariki. Their journey here begun about 50 years ago when they were dumped into a river near Seddonville on the west coast of the south island as river protection.

In 1989 Hugh McCracken salvaged the two engines and moved them north with the intention of restoring them to service. The locomotives are stripped to components, frames and boilers being the largest recognisable portions.

Twelve Wb class 2-6-2T tank engines were built by Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, U.S.A. for New Zealand Railways. Two, numbers 297 and 298 were initially allocated to Wellington, where they worked trains between Wellington and Summit. Following the introduction of Wd class 2-6-4T tank locomotives in 1901, having greater coal bunker capacity, the two Wb class were transferred to Whangarei and Westport.

Wb 292 and Wb 299 were the last survivors of their class, having spent more than fifty years hauling coal trains at Westport.

Returning these locomotives to steam along their classmates' former stamping ground between Upper Hutt and Summit will be a huge achievement.

Thirteen YC-class ballast wagons purchased

The Trust has purchased thirteen YC-class ballast wagons from ONTRACK for future use on the Rimutaka Incline Railway. Around 200 wagons of YC, YF and YH classes will be withdrawn from service during 2007, to be replaced by a fleet of 40 modern YJ-class bogie hopper wagons. The Trust’s plans to construct and maintain an 18km heritage railway from Maymorn to Summit will require a ballast wagon train. This is a rare and not-to-be repeated opportunity to acquire suitable ballast wagons. The Trust is grateful to the many individuals and organisations that have sponsored a wagon or transport thereof, including New Zealand Community Trust, Pelorus Trust and Winstone Aggregates; and also to ONTRACK for the opportunity to purchase the vehicles.

The first eight wagons were transferred from Palmerston North to Wellington on 27 August 2007, marshalled in the middle of a scheduled Toll freight train. The wagons were transferred by road to Maymorn over the following week by Hammond Crane and Cartage of Upper Hutt. The next five will be road transported direct from Palmerston North to Maymorn, to eliminate the need to have the wagons re-certified.

YC wagons in midst of freight train, Plimmerton.

The rake of eight YC wagons were photographed in the middle of No.225 freight at Plimmerton on the night of 27 August 2007. In less than 25km their last mainline journey would be over. Photo: Hugh McCracken.

A video of the rake of ballast wagons in the middle of freight No.225 freight, climbing through Takapu Road, some 12km from Wellington on 27 August 2007.

YC wagons in Wellington rail yards.

The first eight YC class ballast wagons destined for the Rimutaka Incline Railway at Wellington rail yards on Thursday 30 August 2007. Photo: Hugh McCracken.

By 31 August the first three wagons had been road transported to Maymorn. The remaining five were shunted in Wellington yards to an accessible siding (as seen in the above video), so that remaining ballast could be emptied from them.

YC wagons being unloaded at Maymorn.

Hammond Crane and Cartage transported up to three wagons from Wellington to Maymorn in a shift. YC1175, left, is about to be placed onto Rimutaka Incline Railway sidings on 5 September. Photo: Hugh McCracken.

Two hundred YC-class ballast wagons were constructed in New Zealand Railways workshops between 1959 and 1961, the first batch of 40 being built at East Town Workshops, Wanganui. They were a considerable advance over their predecessors, the YB class, with double the cubic capacity at 10.3m3, and conforming to the then new, long wheelbase of 13' (3962mm). A side-discharge variant, the YF class, were built at Addington Workshops, Christchurch in 1964-5. The YC were in turn superceeded by the 16m3 capacity YH class wagons, 85 of which were built between 1978 and 1980, again at East Town Workshops. YC, YF and YH classes continued to be used into the 21st century.

YC2329 being loaded at Palmerston North.

YC2329 being loaded at Palmerston North on Wednesday 31 October 2007, the 12th ballast wagon destined for the Rimutaka Incline Railway. Photo: Alex Maciver.

Historic sleeping carriage secured by Trust

sleeping carriage Aa1060 leaves the Akatarawa Valley.

Sleeping carriage Aa1060 leaving the Akatarawa Valley on Friday 4 May. Photo: Hugh McCracken.

The Trust has 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.

Rail vehicle fleet

The nucleus of the Rimutaka Incline Railway rail vehicle fleet consists of:

Details are listed in the following table:

Rail vehicle details — Rimutaka Incline Railway
Original No TMS No Year outshopped Where built Arrival date at Maymorn Notes
A1896 A56113 1941 Otahuhu 20 Dec 2005 no bogies
A1914 AL2044 1940 Otahuhu 21 Dec 2005 no bogies
A1916 A56247 1939 Otahuhu 7 Dec 2005 no bogies
A1988 A56750 1943 Addington 9 Dec 2005 no bogies
A2000 A56868 1940 Addington 8 Dec 2005 no bogies
Aa1060 - 1909 Petone 4 May 2007 complete
F605 EA67715 1944 Otahuhu 23 Dec 2005 no bogies
GM63 ex-FM572 1977 Mitsubishi, Japan 3 April 2007 module only
GM96 ex-FM1070 1981 Daewoo, Korea 24 May 2006 module only
GM97 ex-FM1087 1981 Daewoo, Korea 20 May 2006 module only
Kp1497 KP6374 1961 England 27 July 2007 rolling chassis only
Kp2118 KP12994 1965 Japan 9 August 2008 Complete
Kp2589 KP17954 1966 Japan 8 August 2007 wagon body only
Kp3638 ? 1967 Japan 8 August 2007 wagon body only
Q1489 Q8019 1953 NZR 23 July 2006 complete
Q1534 Q8407 1953 NZR 23 July 2006 complete
Tr189 TR937 1976 NZR 30 July 2010 complete
Yc726 YC308 1959 NZR 5 September 2007 complete
Yc760 YC654 1960 NZR 16 October 2007 complete
Yc782 YC1083 1959-1961 NZR 5 September 2007 complete
Yc789 YC1175 1959-1961 NZR 5 September 2007 complete
Yc795 YC1238 1959-1961 NZR 6 September 2007 complete
Yc817 YC1486 1959-1961 NZR 6 September 2007 complete
Yc825 YC1578 1959-1961 NZR 30 August 2007 complete
Yc845 YC1768 1961 NZR 30 August 2007 complete
Yc877 YC2139 1961 NZR 19 November 2007 complete
Yc878 YC2145 1961 NZR 28 September 2007 complete
Yc891 YC2289 1961 NZR 28 September 2007 complete
Yc895 YC2329 1961 NZR 31 October 2007 complete
Yc896 YC2335 1961 NZR 30 August 2007 complete
Wb292 - 1898 Baldwin Locomotive Works #16172 9 August 2008 complete
Wb299 - 1898 Baldwin Locomotive Works #16175 9 August 2008 complete
Wd356 - 1901 Baldwin Locomotive Works #19260 23 July 2006 steam locomotive chassis

Carriage fence

A security fence has been erected to provide reasonably secure storage for carriages at the Maymorn site.

DXR8022 passes the nearly-completed carriage fence.

During a test-run on the Wairarapa mainline, DXR8022 passes the nearly-completed carriage fence, 28 January 2006. Photo: Hugh McCracken.

Security fencing for the carriages is nearly complete after many days of concerted effort in straining wire and placing chain-link mesh. To improve security even further, the inside of the fence has been electrified in similar fashion to some of the Wellington region’s multiple unit enclosures.

Many people have contributed towards the building of the carriage fence, both financially and through working parties. Thanks to everyone who has helped make this happen — it is invaluable in affording protection for the carriages while plans for a rail vehicle shed are finalised.

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