Happenings in 2015
(February 2015 to January 2016)
November 2015 to January 2016
November 25th: We had a Other Hobbies/DVD night for this club night. Ewan brought his Bagnall DSA loco plate number 248. This loco was famous as it was in a collision with a Suburban Electric unit in Wellington. Both trains ended up at on a angle. John Pudsey bought his O gauge G loco which took him 7 years to build. Even the brakes work by putting the brake blocks against the wheels. John is now building a X class loco. Hamish bought some old lemonade bottles including a Marble bottle marked W Hodren Wanganui, a Thompson & Lewis bottle, a Fanta bottle, a Goodwin Dairy of Hawera bottle and a Huia Water Co bottle. Colin Hughes bought 2 bound volumes of the old Auckland weekly news from 1915 to 1919 showing interesting train pictures. The news mainly included World War 1 pictures which included pages of individual photos of soldiers who were either wounded or killed in the war. There were many photos of soldiers & Armies in action. Greg Tinnion bought along models from his overseas trips to China & Vietnam including a Rickshaw and wooden sail boat, a Tuktuk and a model of a high speed train from the China Railway Museum. He also had a book titled Re-signalling Britain and a NZR Tin First Aid Box. A very interesting night thanks to all who bought things to show. Article written by Colin Hughes
December 12th: The annual Christmas BBQ held between SRW and WMR&ES was held on this night. A great turnout of over 30 members & partners enjoyed a great night. SRW newest member (10 weeks old) Madison Coull was there with parents Hamish and Amanda. Greg even got in some practise holding the baby. A great evening was had by all, see photo below. Written by Colin Hughes.
January 23rd to 25th: SRW was once again involved with the Wanganui Vintage Weekend. On the Saturday we only had a jigger on display down by the tram advertising the next 2 days. The Sunday was busy with SRW helping out the Pahiatua Group with their visit with Standard Railcar RM31. We also had our doors open to the public. On the Monday we once again had our doors open and we gave Jiggers rides to the public for a gold coin donation. We were busy most of the day until about 2.30pm when it started to die down a bit. A big thank you to all members that helped out over the weekend. See Colins report below.
December 12th: The annual Christmas BBQ held between SRW and WMR&ES was held on this night. A great turnout of over 30 members & partners enjoyed a great night. SRW newest member (10 weeks old) Madison Coull was there with parents Hamish and Amanda. Greg even got in some practise holding the baby. A great evening was had by all, see photo below. Written by Colin Hughes.
January 23rd to 25th: SRW was once again involved with the Wanganui Vintage Weekend. On the Saturday we only had a jigger on display down by the tram advertising the next 2 days. The Sunday was busy with SRW helping out the Pahiatua Group with their visit with Standard Railcar RM31. We also had our doors open to the public. On the Monday we once again had our doors open and we gave Jiggers rides to the public for a gold coin donation. We were busy most of the day until about 2.30pm when it started to die down a bit. A big thank you to all members that helped out over the weekend. See Colins report below.
Construction/ Maintenance: We have continued with the clean-up of the flood damage. Although we are getting nearer to the end of this massive job. The building is starting to look a lot better with just silt from around the raised track still needing to be cleaned (see Ewan’s report below). We now have the shelves in the flammable storage cupboard and all the paint etc is now stored in it. Work has continued cleaning up the drewry parts we got from Waitara. The baby price loco has had its final drive cleaned and new oil put in, this also included clearing out the pump (see photos above). Also a big thankyou to Colin Pound for building us a new document/sign-in cupboard/desk.
Donations: Thank you to the following for their donations to the club.
Don Brace – 3 books and a 2000 piece Jigsaw.
The family of the late Bob Hessey – 2 saw horses and a home workshop saw.
Jurgens Demolition (C/O Mike Jurgens) – Left over diesel after filling up railcar.
D Mathews – 4 bridge punches.
Greg Tinnion – Relay for fridge
Colin Hughes – 10lt fuel container.
Donations: Thank you to the following for their donations to the club.
Don Brace – 3 books and a 2000 piece Jigsaw.
The family of the late Bob Hessey – 2 saw horses and a home workshop saw.
Jurgens Demolition (C/O Mike Jurgens) – Left over diesel after filling up railcar.
D Mathews – 4 bridge punches.
Greg Tinnion – Relay for fridge
Colin Hughes – 10lt fuel container.
SRW is now on Facebook. Go onto face book (www.facebook.com) and type SteamRail Wanganui Inc. into the search line and our page will come up and press Like to keep up with the latest goings on with the group.
Wanganui Vintage Weekend 2016
23rd – 25th January
SRW was once again busy over the long Wellington Anniversary Weekend, now known around Wanganui as Vintage weekend. On Saturday the 23rd we only had a jigger on display down next to the tram advertising what we were doing the other two days, with a lot of good feedback from the public.
Sunday the 24th was busy for us as we got asked to help out by the Pahiatua Railcar Societies visit. Standard Railcar RM 31 (Tokomaru) arrived 10mins early with a full load of passengers from Palmerston North and Pahiatua. During the day they did four full trips to East Town for the Wanganui locals. We also had our shed open for the public to have a look through while waiting for their ride on the railcar, and a table operating selling cold drinks. During the day we also had visits from a steam driven truck, vintage buses and Cars. We all had a great day and a big thank you for our help from the Pahiatua group, it was great working with them and we would love to see them across again.
On Monday 25th we once again gave jigger rides to the public as well as our doors were open to the public again, along with a sales table selling cold drinks and souvenirs. This was the first time we have done this since the floods back in June. After setup we had a steady stream of visitors wanting a ride and to look through our shed. Our thanks to Ross for providing music on his harmonica, accordion, bag pipes and penny whistle.
Thanks go to all who helped over the weekend, especially Natalie, Kylie and Leonie for their help with selling the refreshments. A great weekend was had by all.
Written by Colin Hughes. Photos taken by Colin Hughes, Blair Jordan, Ewan Pound & Charley Masters.
Sunday the 24th was busy for us as we got asked to help out by the Pahiatua Railcar Societies visit. Standard Railcar RM 31 (Tokomaru) arrived 10mins early with a full load of passengers from Palmerston North and Pahiatua. During the day they did four full trips to East Town for the Wanganui locals. We also had our shed open for the public to have a look through while waiting for their ride on the railcar, and a table operating selling cold drinks. During the day we also had visits from a steam driven truck, vintage buses and Cars. We all had a great day and a big thank you for our help from the Pahiatua group, it was great working with them and we would love to see them across again.
On Monday 25th we once again gave jigger rides to the public as well as our doors were open to the public again, along with a sales table selling cold drinks and souvenirs. This was the first time we have done this since the floods back in June. After setup we had a steady stream of visitors wanting a ride and to look through our shed. Our thanks to Ross for providing music on his harmonica, accordion, bag pipes and penny whistle.
Thanks go to all who helped over the weekend, especially Natalie, Kylie and Leonie for their help with selling the refreshments. A great weekend was had by all.
Written by Colin Hughes. Photos taken by Colin Hughes, Blair Jordan, Ewan Pound & Charley Masters.
Flood 2015
The clean-up continues…
Although we are now in February 2016, the clean-up from the Wanganui River flood of 21st June 2015 is still in progress, but in a very down-scaled way. It was estimated that some months would be required for the clean-up, but nobody quite realised the size of the task at hand, so here we are 7 months later still cleaning up silt!
Since my last report in newsletter issue 78/36 (August – October 2015) a lot of hours have continued to be put in by the club members cleaning up smaller items from the shed, some of which members have been cleaning at home. Items of clothing, Hi-vis vests, crockery, documentation and drawings, a spare loco air compressor, and an L. Gardner & Sons diesel engine injector repair kit are among the many items rescued at members’ homes.
Meanwhile, back down at the shed, with the majority of the thick silt having already been removed, there still remained a thin layer of silt around the bottom of the table legs, the bench grinder and drill press bases, on the sleepers of the above ground track, and over the asphalt floor itself. With the shed having now well and truly dried out, we didn’t want to let loose with a water blaster inside again as the building bottom plate, sleepers and many other items had already spent far too much time soaking wet! So it was decided to carry on cleaning up by sweeping and scrubbing with the assistance of a dust extractor and plenty of dust masks at hand. With the shed doors open at both ends, the regular breeze blowing up the river kept the airborne dust to a minimum. Although rather labour intensive, it was found a scrub with a wire brush was very successful at loosening the layer of silt stuck to sleepers and the asphalt floor. This is now almost complete with only the area underneath Drewry 2266 to be cleaned when this loco can be moved.
On the mechanical front, the locomotives have continued to receive attention to remove flood and silt contamination from various components. Price 149 (from the Waiouru Army Museum) has had the final drive gearbox thoroughly flushed out, including the circulating pump, and has been filled with new oil. Price 210 (Blair’s loco TR 113) is currently having its driving rods removed to clean up the brasses and crank pin journals. Price 212 (ex Imlay Freezing Works) is about to have its final drive gearbox flushed within a week or two, and price 210 will have the same treatment shortly afterwards. Down in the workshop area, the band saw still requires attention as its motor has been submerged. The extra portable air receiver and spare Drewry Epicyclic gearbox also need a clean internally.
Other members have also been busy sorting through various items and organising them, in particular storage areas for ease of access later. Items such as tools, loco spares, jigger spares, electrical equipment and memorabilia were moved everywhere after the flood, in order to access different areas for cleaning. These are now gradually being stored in an organised manner.
We were very fortunate that we did not ‘lose’ anything significant to the flood. The biggest loss being the various cupboards and cabinets that had been used for storage. The water damage to these was severe and so they were disposed of. A new documentation cabinet has been built by Colin Pound to keep the important operational paperwork in order. If anybody has an old stand-alone wardrobe they wish to get rid of (or similar tall cupboard) we would be interested as we currently have nowhere to store our old railways clothing and uniforms.
Once again a big thank you to all of you who have continued to assist with this mammoth task.
Ewan. P
Since my last report in newsletter issue 78/36 (August – October 2015) a lot of hours have continued to be put in by the club members cleaning up smaller items from the shed, some of which members have been cleaning at home. Items of clothing, Hi-vis vests, crockery, documentation and drawings, a spare loco air compressor, and an L. Gardner & Sons diesel engine injector repair kit are among the many items rescued at members’ homes.
Meanwhile, back down at the shed, with the majority of the thick silt having already been removed, there still remained a thin layer of silt around the bottom of the table legs, the bench grinder and drill press bases, on the sleepers of the above ground track, and over the asphalt floor itself. With the shed having now well and truly dried out, we didn’t want to let loose with a water blaster inside again as the building bottom plate, sleepers and many other items had already spent far too much time soaking wet! So it was decided to carry on cleaning up by sweeping and scrubbing with the assistance of a dust extractor and plenty of dust masks at hand. With the shed doors open at both ends, the regular breeze blowing up the river kept the airborne dust to a minimum. Although rather labour intensive, it was found a scrub with a wire brush was very successful at loosening the layer of silt stuck to sleepers and the asphalt floor. This is now almost complete with only the area underneath Drewry 2266 to be cleaned when this loco can be moved.
On the mechanical front, the locomotives have continued to receive attention to remove flood and silt contamination from various components. Price 149 (from the Waiouru Army Museum) has had the final drive gearbox thoroughly flushed out, including the circulating pump, and has been filled with new oil. Price 210 (Blair’s loco TR 113) is currently having its driving rods removed to clean up the brasses and crank pin journals. Price 212 (ex Imlay Freezing Works) is about to have its final drive gearbox flushed within a week or two, and price 210 will have the same treatment shortly afterwards. Down in the workshop area, the band saw still requires attention as its motor has been submerged. The extra portable air receiver and spare Drewry Epicyclic gearbox also need a clean internally.
Other members have also been busy sorting through various items and organising them, in particular storage areas for ease of access later. Items such as tools, loco spares, jigger spares, electrical equipment and memorabilia were moved everywhere after the flood, in order to access different areas for cleaning. These are now gradually being stored in an organised manner.
We were very fortunate that we did not ‘lose’ anything significant to the flood. The biggest loss being the various cupboards and cabinets that had been used for storage. The water damage to these was severe and so they were disposed of. A new documentation cabinet has been built by Colin Pound to keep the important operational paperwork in order. If anybody has an old stand-alone wardrobe they wish to get rid of (or similar tall cupboard) we would be interested as we currently have nowhere to store our old railways clothing and uniforms.
Once again a big thank you to all of you who have continued to assist with this mammoth task.
Ewan. P
August to October 2015
August 26th: We visited the Ward Observatory on this night. There was a good turn out by the group. The telescope was installed in 1904 but was made in 1859. The first planet we saw was Saturn. The rings were clearly visible. It takes 1hr for Saturn’s light to reach Earth. The telescope was then aimed at the Moon which was ¾. Clearly visible were the craters and seas. Outside telescopes had been set up and various stars including Alpha Century and other star clusters were viewed. Of railway interest were the large steel wheels (see photos). These were made in the Railway Workshops in Tunbridge UK. This was a very informative and enjoyable visit especially for those members who had never been to the Observatory and who had never seen the planet Saturn and the Moon close up. We thank Mark Lee and his members for their hospitality and informative talk. Written and photos by Colin Hughes
September 23rd: On this Club Night we have a run your model train night on the WMR&ES club layouts, as a lot of our SRW members have models hidden away in cupboards etc. gathering dust. Blair had his “Wanganui Shunt” (at Keegan’s request) with 3 Dc’s, log wagons, container wagons and empty flat deck wagons. Ewan ran his GWR loco plus carriages, a LWR loco plus carriages and a tiny 2 man jigger. Charley ran her Thomas train on the N gauge layout. Some of the WMR&ES club models were also run on both the HO and N layouts. In all a very good night was had by all and a big thank you to the WMR&ES for letting us have the use of the layouts and to the WMR&ES members who came along to help out. Written by Colin Hughes.
September 26th & 27th: SRW had a stand at the WMR&ES show. A lot of the public took an interest in what we are doing and our future plans. Thank you to all members who helped out with this. To have a look at photos of the show go to www.wanganuimodelrailway.weebly.com
October 28th: A small number of members enjoyed our DVD night. Ewan bought his DVD the Flockton Flyer. The episode we watched showed a hand pump Propelled 4 wheeled trolley. Colin showed a DVD about a New York Scrap Yard where they scrap 500 cars and 20 buses per day. An enjoyable night was had by all. Written by Colin Hughes.
Construction/ Maintenance: The flood clean-up is the biggest main time consumer still down at our shed. Although most of the mud is out it is now the hard job of getting it out of all the tight spots like between all the fittings and springs on the bogies of the carriage and between the iron and the frame work of the building walls. We have removed two rotten sleepers on the track in our shed closest to the river and we are looking at the possibility of having a small drop pit here for oil changes on the locos etc.
Wanganui Heritage Weekend 2016: We will be having our doors open to the public again for this weekend (January 23rd to 25th) with a possible sausage sizzle. We have heard the Standard railcar RM31 will be in town on the Sunday and we hope to do jigger rides on the Monday. Members help would be appreciated.
September 26th & 27th: SRW had a stand at the WMR&ES show. A lot of the public took an interest in what we are doing and our future plans. Thank you to all members who helped out with this. To have a look at photos of the show go to www.wanganuimodelrailway.weebly.com
October 28th: A small number of members enjoyed our DVD night. Ewan bought his DVD the Flockton Flyer. The episode we watched showed a hand pump Propelled 4 wheeled trolley. Colin showed a DVD about a New York Scrap Yard where they scrap 500 cars and 20 buses per day. An enjoyable night was had by all. Written by Colin Hughes.
Construction/ Maintenance: The flood clean-up is the biggest main time consumer still down at our shed. Although most of the mud is out it is now the hard job of getting it out of all the tight spots like between all the fittings and springs on the bogies of the carriage and between the iron and the frame work of the building walls. We have removed two rotten sleepers on the track in our shed closest to the river and we are looking at the possibility of having a small drop pit here for oil changes on the locos etc.
Wanganui Heritage Weekend 2016: We will be having our doors open to the public again for this weekend (January 23rd to 25th) with a possible sausage sizzle. We have heard the Standard railcar RM31 will be in town on the Sunday and we hope to do jigger rides on the Monday. Members help would be appreciated.
May to July 2015
May 23rd: We combined
with WMR&ES again on this night for the club’s combined mid-year dinner. 23
members attended the meal at the Liffiton Castle. A good meal was had with
quite a few going back for seconds and a few for a thirds and a great time was
had by all. Thanks to the Liffiton Castle staff and to all that attended.
May 31st: Members fun day down at the yard. This day was used to practice our jigger driving and to get everything ready for the next day’s public Open Day. We even had some public turn up for a jigger ride.
June 1st: SRW Open Day to the public. We had a steady stream of people wanting jigger rides throughout the day. The rain threatened as we were setting up but it stayed away for the rest of the day reaching a warm 21degrees. Jiggers ran back to back and we even had a triple headed after the chain came off one of the trolleys. The sausage sizzle was popular and many people looked through our shed. A great day was had by all and thanks to everyone who helped out over the day with the trolley rides, sausage sizzle and crowd control. Written and photos by Colin Hughes.
May 31st: Members fun day down at the yard. This day was used to practice our jigger driving and to get everything ready for the next day’s public Open Day. We even had some public turn up for a jigger ride.
June 1st: SRW Open Day to the public. We had a steady stream of people wanting jigger rides throughout the day. The rain threatened as we were setting up but it stayed away for the rest of the day reaching a warm 21degrees. Jiggers ran back to back and we even had a triple headed after the chain came off one of the trolleys. The sausage sizzle was popular and many people looked through our shed. A great day was had by all and thanks to everyone who helped out over the day with the trolley rides, sausage sizzle and crowd control. Written and photos by Colin Hughes.
June 14th: Feilding Steam Rail visited Wanganui with their Steam
loco WAB 794. SRW was asked to help out with crowd control, a sausage sizzle
and shed open to the public. The loco was serviced and readied for it’s run to
Ruatangata (Whangaehu) for the Wanganui Public leaving at 12pm. On this run
Blair was asked to help fire the loco and he had a quick change into his
overalls, black shirt with white tie and cap (this was to access where Blair
was at with his steam training). The train returned at 2pm from Ruatangata and
Blair’s tie was still white. The loco was again serviced and turned on the
turntable before leaving on time at 3pm for Feilding. SRW members were offered
a ride to East Town and Mark, Hamish and Colin took up the offer. Thanks to
Ross for bringing them back to our yard. Thank you to Natalie and Amanda for
operating the BBQ and to all members who helped out during the day and a big
thank you to the Feilding group for including us in their plans, they were very
happy with our help and a great day was had by all. Written by Colin Hughes,
photos by Colin, Kylie Jordan, Cameron Persson and Charley Masters.
June 21st: After many years of SteamRail Wanganui missing
the floods we were hit, along with the KiwiRail yard. It was Wanganui's worst
flood on record. This will take several months to clear up. Thank you to Ewan
and Colin who went down beforehand and lifted smaller items clear just in case
we got flooded. See Ewan’s flood report further down along with photos.
June 24th: We started off this meeting talking about the floods. We then had John Pudsey as our guest speaker. John talked about his early years working with the NZR first at the East Town Railway Workshops, then transferring to the Wanganui loco depot with some relieving work also done at the Taihape depot before he moved North working in the Hamilton area prior to leaving rail and going to work at the Kinleith Pulp and Paper Mill. This was a very interesting night and we thank John for sharing part of his life with us.
July 22nd: A small number of members enjoyed a DVD night. Colin brought a Last of the Summer Wine DVD with an episode about a Steam Engine and also a Dad’s Army episode featuring a Burrell Steam Roller. We had a good laugh at these classic shows. We then viewed a DVD which Ewan brought along featuring AB663 on the Main Trunk including the Spiral back in June 1999. It was an enjoyable night.
Construction/ Maintenance: Up until the flood on the 21st of June work had been carrying on with the club projects which include more lights being wired up, our portable generator had a service, notice boards got a repaint, Price 149 (baby Price) had it’s spark plugs and points cleaned (it now starts a lot easier and quicker), the steam crane has been getting one of it’s brass bearings worked on and work on cleaning up the bits from Waitara continued also. Since the flood, every weekend and some week days have been digging, removing mud and cleaning items. Thank you to everyone one who has helped with the clean-up. Even if they couldn’t help with the digging just running the BBQ for lunches have been a big help (see Ewan’s report on the flood on page 8), the flood clean-up is going to carry on for a little while yet. Over the last 3 months members and volunteers have done approximately 710 man hours for the Club (including about 370hrs for flood clean up since the 21st of June).
June 24th: We started off this meeting talking about the floods. We then had John Pudsey as our guest speaker. John talked about his early years working with the NZR first at the East Town Railway Workshops, then transferring to the Wanganui loco depot with some relieving work also done at the Taihape depot before he moved North working in the Hamilton area prior to leaving rail and going to work at the Kinleith Pulp and Paper Mill. This was a very interesting night and we thank John for sharing part of his life with us.
July 22nd: A small number of members enjoyed a DVD night. Colin brought a Last of the Summer Wine DVD with an episode about a Steam Engine and also a Dad’s Army episode featuring a Burrell Steam Roller. We had a good laugh at these classic shows. We then viewed a DVD which Ewan brought along featuring AB663 on the Main Trunk including the Spiral back in June 1999. It was an enjoyable night.
Construction/ Maintenance: Up until the flood on the 21st of June work had been carrying on with the club projects which include more lights being wired up, our portable generator had a service, notice boards got a repaint, Price 149 (baby Price) had it’s spark plugs and points cleaned (it now starts a lot easier and quicker), the steam crane has been getting one of it’s brass bearings worked on and work on cleaning up the bits from Waitara continued also. Since the flood, every weekend and some week days have been digging, removing mud and cleaning items. Thank you to everyone one who has helped with the clean-up. Even if they couldn’t help with the digging just running the BBQ for lunches have been a big help (see Ewan’s report on the flood on page 8), the flood clean-up is going to carry on for a little while yet. Over the last 3 months members and volunteers have done approximately 710 man hours for the Club (including about 370hrs for flood clean up since the 21st of June).
Donations
SRW would like to thank the following for their kind donations:
Trevor Roberts and Ian Chamberlain for their donation of two steam loco speedometers and a tachometer.
SRW would like to thank the following for their kind donations:
Trevor Roberts and Ian Chamberlain for their donation of two steam loco speedometers and a tachometer.
Wanganui Flood, 21st June 2015.
On 20 June 2015, Wanganui and
surrounding regions received approximately 200mm of rain within a 24 hour
period. At about 4pm on Saturday afternoon I received a phone call from Hamish
to let me know the Wanganui River level at Pipiriki was at 14m and rising!
(This was established from the Horizons Regional Council River levels phone
line/web site, a service those of us who are ex PS Waimarie crew are familiar
with) I knew at that moment things would not be good regarding the river, it
was just the magnitude that was unknown!
By this time on Saturday afternoon some bridges were already closed, access where I live on Bastia Hill was already doubtful as there were slips everywhere on the hill, all main roads in and out of Wanganui were closed and it was raining- continuously!
The chances of the SteamRail shed being flooded were high, so I decided (against my better instincts to stay at home) to try and make it down to the shed and put some valuables up high. The records and paperwork cupboard was quickly emptied up into the Lc wagon, the small arc welder and generator were put up in the Lc also. Greg’s larger arc welder was put up on the workbench, and so was our compressor after I phoned Colin who came down to give me a lift. Other electrical items and some small items of machinery were put into the guards van. Shortly after 5pm it was nearly dark, so I made a dash for home hoping that at least one bridge would still be open- Thank goodness for the old faithful Dublin Street Bridge.
First light the next morning revealed a scene of devastation right across the Wanganui region. It was the biggest flood of the Whanganui River for over 100 years, the level which the water rose to in the central city was approximately equal with that of the 1904 flood, reaching about half way up the first block of Victoria Avenue, Wanganui’s main street. Large areas of Wanganui East were flooded and cut off, the residents having been evacuated during the night.
As expected the SteamRail shed did not escape unscathed with the floodwaters reaching a depth of approximately two feet on the river side of the shed. With much of the regions infrastructure, roads and railways severely damaged and access restrictions in place everywhere, no further action could be taken that weekend.
As the major clean-up began over the following days, access to most areas was again open by the following weekend. We were fortunate that no council restrictions were put on our building or the surrounding area, as this would have barred us from entering our own premises for months. So on Saturday June 27 it was all hands on deck for the big clean up.
Silt had to be shovelled from around doorways so they could be opened, revealing a thick 150mm layer of silt right through the shed, along with various items which had been drifting around; paint tins, timber, planks and containers lay strewn throughout the shed and piled up against the inside of the South end doors! The team of club members and other volunteers on hand must be commended for the manner in which they just got on with the job!
Slowly but surely over the following weekends hundreds of items have been removed from the shed and hosed off and tonnes of water sodden silt has been shovelled and wheel barrowed out of the shed onto stock piles. Some items are in storage at members’ homes to allow more space for the clean up. On Sunday June 28, after carefully ensuring all mechanical components were properly lubricated, Price 149 (ex Waiouru), Tr 113 (Price 210, Blair’s) and Price 212 (ex Imlay) were moved out of the shed. A couple of weeks later (July 11 & 12) the axle boxes of carriage A520 were cleaned out and the axles manually oiled, and ex East Town steam crane E120 was jacked up one end at a time also having axle bearings cleaned and manually oiled. After this was completed the whole rake was moved out of the shed so the last of the thick silt could be shovelled out. The little Price 149 protested a little at this task as the track was slippery and the wheels of the carriage and crane still had some silt causing resistance, although as much as possible had been removed. We have also discovered that water has made its way into the final drive gearboxes of the 3 loco’s. This is not good for them but will be dealt with shortly! Luckily our smoko room (aka the ex Aramoho North end signal box) was not flooded as the bearers it sits on kept the floor level just above that of the floodwaters.
The flood and its associated mess has had one good outcome for us however. It has allowed us to take the opportunity of a good sort out, and ‘dung out’ of unnecessary items. Fortunately the only items we have really ‘lost’ to the flood as such were some timber/MDF cupboards and cabinets. Some of these will need replacing in the near future.
Although the worst of the clean up is over, it will be ongoing for some weeks yet as we are still having to keep moving things around to get the bottom plate of the building cleaned, this will allow it to dry out properly and allow us to remove the last little pockets of silt sitting behind and under things- but the end is in sight! Lots of equipment and materials are laying everywhere so please mind your step when coming down to the shed until we get the clean up completed. Stage two will then be to sort and organise everything properly, including the manufacture of some extra cupboards and shelving.
Finally a few big Thank You’s! Thanks to all the folks who helped feed us with the lovely BBQ lunches, homemade pies and cakes which were put on during those first few long weekends, much appreciated. A big thanks also to the team who came to assist from the WRPS (Waitara Railway Preservation Society) you folks made a real difference to the task at hand. Thanks also to Michael Jurgens from Jurgens Demolition for the loan of their small digger and to Glen Bullock from B. Bullock & Co for the removal of the silt from site. Your generosity is greatly appreciated by us all. And last but not least, thanks to all of our members, friends and families who have helped in so many ways with the big ‘dung out’. It would not be possible without you.
Written by Ewan Pound and photos taken by Colin Hughes, Charley Masters, Greg Tinnion, Kylie Jordan and Blair Jordan.
By this time on Saturday afternoon some bridges were already closed, access where I live on Bastia Hill was already doubtful as there were slips everywhere on the hill, all main roads in and out of Wanganui were closed and it was raining- continuously!
The chances of the SteamRail shed being flooded were high, so I decided (against my better instincts to stay at home) to try and make it down to the shed and put some valuables up high. The records and paperwork cupboard was quickly emptied up into the Lc wagon, the small arc welder and generator were put up in the Lc also. Greg’s larger arc welder was put up on the workbench, and so was our compressor after I phoned Colin who came down to give me a lift. Other electrical items and some small items of machinery were put into the guards van. Shortly after 5pm it was nearly dark, so I made a dash for home hoping that at least one bridge would still be open- Thank goodness for the old faithful Dublin Street Bridge.
First light the next morning revealed a scene of devastation right across the Wanganui region. It was the biggest flood of the Whanganui River for over 100 years, the level which the water rose to in the central city was approximately equal with that of the 1904 flood, reaching about half way up the first block of Victoria Avenue, Wanganui’s main street. Large areas of Wanganui East were flooded and cut off, the residents having been evacuated during the night.
As expected the SteamRail shed did not escape unscathed with the floodwaters reaching a depth of approximately two feet on the river side of the shed. With much of the regions infrastructure, roads and railways severely damaged and access restrictions in place everywhere, no further action could be taken that weekend.
As the major clean-up began over the following days, access to most areas was again open by the following weekend. We were fortunate that no council restrictions were put on our building or the surrounding area, as this would have barred us from entering our own premises for months. So on Saturday June 27 it was all hands on deck for the big clean up.
Silt had to be shovelled from around doorways so they could be opened, revealing a thick 150mm layer of silt right through the shed, along with various items which had been drifting around; paint tins, timber, planks and containers lay strewn throughout the shed and piled up against the inside of the South end doors! The team of club members and other volunteers on hand must be commended for the manner in which they just got on with the job!
Slowly but surely over the following weekends hundreds of items have been removed from the shed and hosed off and tonnes of water sodden silt has been shovelled and wheel barrowed out of the shed onto stock piles. Some items are in storage at members’ homes to allow more space for the clean up. On Sunday June 28, after carefully ensuring all mechanical components were properly lubricated, Price 149 (ex Waiouru), Tr 113 (Price 210, Blair’s) and Price 212 (ex Imlay) were moved out of the shed. A couple of weeks later (July 11 & 12) the axle boxes of carriage A520 were cleaned out and the axles manually oiled, and ex East Town steam crane E120 was jacked up one end at a time also having axle bearings cleaned and manually oiled. After this was completed the whole rake was moved out of the shed so the last of the thick silt could be shovelled out. The little Price 149 protested a little at this task as the track was slippery and the wheels of the carriage and crane still had some silt causing resistance, although as much as possible had been removed. We have also discovered that water has made its way into the final drive gearboxes of the 3 loco’s. This is not good for them but will be dealt with shortly! Luckily our smoko room (aka the ex Aramoho North end signal box) was not flooded as the bearers it sits on kept the floor level just above that of the floodwaters.
The flood and its associated mess has had one good outcome for us however. It has allowed us to take the opportunity of a good sort out, and ‘dung out’ of unnecessary items. Fortunately the only items we have really ‘lost’ to the flood as such were some timber/MDF cupboards and cabinets. Some of these will need replacing in the near future.
Although the worst of the clean up is over, it will be ongoing for some weeks yet as we are still having to keep moving things around to get the bottom plate of the building cleaned, this will allow it to dry out properly and allow us to remove the last little pockets of silt sitting behind and under things- but the end is in sight! Lots of equipment and materials are laying everywhere so please mind your step when coming down to the shed until we get the clean up completed. Stage two will then be to sort and organise everything properly, including the manufacture of some extra cupboards and shelving.
Finally a few big Thank You’s! Thanks to all the folks who helped feed us with the lovely BBQ lunches, homemade pies and cakes which were put on during those first few long weekends, much appreciated. A big thanks also to the team who came to assist from the WRPS (Waitara Railway Preservation Society) you folks made a real difference to the task at hand. Thanks also to Michael Jurgens from Jurgens Demolition for the loan of their small digger and to Glen Bullock from B. Bullock & Co for the removal of the silt from site. Your generosity is greatly appreciated by us all. And last but not least, thanks to all of our members, friends and families who have helped in so many ways with the big ‘dung out’. It would not be possible without you.
Written by Ewan Pound and photos taken by Colin Hughes, Charley Masters, Greg Tinnion, Kylie Jordan and Blair Jordan.
February to April 2015
February 25th: We combined
with WMR&ES on this Club night to visit the Wanganui Tramway Museum. After
a short talk about the future projects and the new tram about to arrive we then
enjoyed riding on the Tram for about an hour followed by a look through the
Tram Shed which houses the tram (No 12) and the R & E Tingey Glass Wagon
(Horse Drawn) which is under restoration. An enjoyable night was had by all
especially by Keegan who rang the Tram bell and wore the inspector’s hat. A big
thank you to Mark Seconi for organising the night and to the members of the
Tramway Trust for opening their doors for us to have a look and rides. Written
by and photos taken by Colin Hughes.
March 1st &
2nd: The Silver Fern Railcar (RM 30) visited Wanganui on an excursion from
Auckland. It left New Plymouth at 8.55am and dropped off passengers in Hawera
for a visit to the Tawhiti Museum. It then proceeded to Waverley to drop off
the passengers who travelled by bus to Wanganui. The railcar then travelled to
Wanganui empty with stowaway Des Huddleston on board arriving in town at
4.45pm. It was stabled on the gantry
line and SRW was hired again to do the security overnight. On Monday morning
after loading luggage and the passengers the railcar left at 9.20am for
National Park. Thank you to all members who helped out with the security and
loading of the railcar. Written by Colin Hughes and photos taken by Colin and
Kylie Jordan.
March 15th: 7 members
attended this Club night which was a DVD night. This was held at Hamish’s home
so we could view these on his new 55” TV. First up we had a laugh at a Dad’s
Army DVD which had a Traction Engine and old Farm Machinery featured. We then
viewed the DVD we received from the Waitara Group on the restoration of their
bridge. We watched a great U Tube clip of traction engines pulling and we finished
off with a viewing of trains in Vietnam. Thanks to Hamish and Amanda for their
hospitality, nibbles and drinks. In all an enjoyable night. Written by Colin
Hughes.
April 22nd: The Club’s Annual General Meeting. The Committee stayed the same as the previous year and is as follows: - Board Chairman Blair Jordan and Board Managers Colin Hughes, Greg Tinnion, Russell Jackson, Ewan Pound and Hamish Coull. It was also agreed to raise the subs a little for next year. We finished off the night talking about Club projects.
Construction/ Maintenance: The biggest thing to happen over the last few months is the 2 day full working bee we had at our shed to replace and re-screw our building roof down. For years it has been rattling with every wind gust we got. A few months ago the guys arrived to find the wind had blown one sheet off. After a quick fix it job we managed to tie the sheet down but we could see many others were loose, so over the weekend of April 25th and 26th members got up there with new longer screws and replaced a lot of the old nails, put in two new clear sheets for light and replaced the broken sheet from a few months before. The roof is now a lot more structural and should last for many years to come and it’s a lot quieter in the shed without the roof moving and hopefully there won’t be as many leaks. Thank you to all members who helped with this. Work has continued on our other projects. The steam crane has been getting one of its bronze bearings worked on, the Club’s generator has had an oil change and turn up, new lights have been hung from the roof and we have started to run the new 3 phase cable so that we can run our big drill press and saw. Over the last 3 months members and volunteers have done approximately 382 man hours for the Club.
April 22nd: The Club’s Annual General Meeting. The Committee stayed the same as the previous year and is as follows: - Board Chairman Blair Jordan and Board Managers Colin Hughes, Greg Tinnion, Russell Jackson, Ewan Pound and Hamish Coull. It was also agreed to raise the subs a little for next year. We finished off the night talking about Club projects.
Construction/ Maintenance: The biggest thing to happen over the last few months is the 2 day full working bee we had at our shed to replace and re-screw our building roof down. For years it has been rattling with every wind gust we got. A few months ago the guys arrived to find the wind had blown one sheet off. After a quick fix it job we managed to tie the sheet down but we could see many others were loose, so over the weekend of April 25th and 26th members got up there with new longer screws and replaced a lot of the old nails, put in two new clear sheets for light and replaced the broken sheet from a few months before. The roof is now a lot more structural and should last for many years to come and it’s a lot quieter in the shed without the roof moving and hopefully there won’t be as many leaks. Thank you to all members who helped with this. Work has continued on our other projects. The steam crane has been getting one of its bronze bearings worked on, the Club’s generator has had an oil change and turn up, new lights have been hung from the roof and we have started to run the new 3 phase cable so that we can run our big drill press and saw. Over the last 3 months members and volunteers have done approximately 382 man hours for the Club.
Donations
SRW would like to thank the following for their kind donations:
Earl Turner for his donation of a Gas Plant.
Philips Electrical for their donation of more light fittings for our building
Lee’s Reinforcing Supplies for donation of steel rods for our gates.
SRW would like to thank the following for their kind donations:
Earl Turner for his donation of a Gas Plant.
Philips Electrical for their donation of more light fittings for our building
Lee’s Reinforcing Supplies for donation of steel rods for our gates.