The final piece of a unique heritage train project has been transported to Lumsden ready for preservation.
An 1877 rail passenger carriage was carefully lifted from the back yard of a property in Winton, where it had sat on concrete blocks for around 80 years. It will be restored and eventually form part of an impressive static rail display at the northern Southland town’s railway precinct.
Lumsden Heritage Trust chair John Titter says the “tricky” recovery operation on Tuesday, March 1, went perfectly to plan, and was completed in just a couple of hours.
“I’m ecstatic. It was always going to be a mission but King House Removals did a brilliant job.
“I find it a bit surreal that we got it out.”
The C class carriage, C100, was gifted to the trust by the current property owners Chris and Ruth McDermott, who had used it as a garden shed.
Mr Titter says C100 was one of the last of the carriages imported in kitset form and assembled in New Zealand. It was retired from service by New Zealand Railways in 1925 and served with the Ohai Railway Board until around 1941.
“We think C100 was possibly transported to Winton around then and therefore hasn’t moved for 81 years or thereabouts. Nobody’s really tampered with it at all.”
Initially the carriage sat in a farm paddock at Winton until the township was built up around it. The land later formed part of a residential property on the main street. The carriage was at the back of the McDermotts’ section, accessible only by driveway, which made its removal a logistical challenge.
The trust engaged Warren and Jake Willis, from King House Removals, to carry out the recovery.
First the carriage was raised with hydraulic jacks and the ground underneath was cleared away. The carriage was lifted on to a triple-axle trailer and towed out using a Ditch Witch, a small, powerful multi-purpose machine on tracks.
The carriage had to be jimmied into position so it could be towed down the driveway. “It was very impressive to watch,” Mr Titter says.
Once out, the trailer with carriage on board was towed by ute to Lumsden.
Mr Titter is thrilled with the condition of the carriage, which will make preservation much easier.
“Whoever put it on concrete blocks and put the corrugated iron over it did a great job of preserving it. The structure isn’t compromised underneath and there are no leaks. It’s just been out in the weather for around 81 years without a problem.”
Lumsden carpenter Gordon Lawrence, who did the restoration work on another of the trust’s historic passenger cars, A199, will again do the timber work on C100.
The under-frame for the carriage will be fabricated by Mark Hindle of Bulleid Engineering in Winton using the remnants of two stock wagons recovered from Hyde, in central Otago, in late January. Bulleid is also restoring an 1880 D class locomotive, which will eventually form the unique heritage display in Lumsden.
“All the pieces of the puzzle for the Lumsden heritage train are in place,” Mr Titter says.
“The plan is that D6 will sit at the front of the current carriages to create a pre-1900s heritage train consisting of carriages ranging from 1877 (C100) to 1883 (A199) to 1896 (A525).”