One of the most important projects that the Ferrymead Railway has undertaken is the restoration of a Ferrymead Railway 'Heritage Train'. This train is made up entirely of rolling stock from the 1800s and will be run on special occasions.
The Ferrymead Railway Heritage Train was commissioned and returned to service during a celebration of 140 years or railways in New Zealand over Labour Weekend, 25-27 October 2003.
Locomotive D140 was built by Scott Brothers in Christchurch in 1887. It bore their works number 36 and was one of ten D engines built between 1884 and 1887 by this early engineering company.
The D Class locomotives were built to supplement twenty-two similar engines imported from Scotland. They are a small general purpose tank locomotive with a small leading wheel set and four coupled driving wheels, each thirty-six inches in diameter. The D Class weighs seventeen tons, is twenty-wo feet in length and is characterised by its distinctive and somewhat unusual inclined cylinders and running plates.
Engines of this class were used extensively to haul trains between Christchurch and Lyttelton. They were all taken out of service and scrapped or disposed of by 1927 and replaced by newer and more powerful models.
Locomotive D140 has a long association and played a part in the development of Canterbury, serving as part of the early New Zealand Railways locomotive fleet until it was taken out of service and sold in 1920.
Carriage A516 is a 44 foot bogie carriage built to Blueprint 1703 by Addington Workshops 1896. Fitted with a clerestory roof and gas lighting with passenger seating for 48. Rebuilt by Ferrymead Railway in the 1980's, and been in regular use since then.
At least 2 more vehicles are held in storage awaiting restoration for Heritage Train use. They are A222, a bogie carriage built up from redundant C class carriages in the 1880's, and A518, a twin of A516 listed above.
D26 is a 4 wheel composite First Class/Second Class passenger carriage built by the Oldbury Carriage Company in Birmingham, England in 1874 and assembled in New Zealand at the old Madras Street Workshops that were located near the Christchurch railway station.
D26 carries 16 passengers, 8 in the First Class compartment and 8 in the Second Class compartment. First Class features leather seats while Second Class passengers sit on wood seats. Lighting in the two compartments was by oil lamp. Originally the exterior panels were teak, with interior panels of cedar. It is also equiped with hand brakes only.
D26 was used on the South Island Main Line and was taken out of service and sold by the Railways to Homebush Brick, Tile & Coal Company in 1916 for transporting miners.
It was received at Ferrymead in 1967 after being retired from use & placed in storage. Complete restoration was commenced in 1999 with the help of a Lotteries Heritage Grant, and completed 3 years later.
Car-van B231 is one of several 6 wheel carriages imported from the Oldbury Carriage Company, Birmingham,England in 1874 and classified as class C. In 1889 it was rebuilt at Addington Workshops with a new style 'clerestory' roof, and 2 - 4 wheel bogies replacing the original 6 wheels. In 1930 it was further modified, with a guards compartment fitted at one end, for use on the Springfield to Otira service. It was fully restored in its final configuration in 2004-5.
Goods on the Ferrymead Railway Heritage Train are carried in the goods wagon Lb4803. This is a pre-1900 four wheel wagon that was on the South island Main Line to carry general merchandise like sacks of seeds and wool and lumber. Distributed load is 6.5 tons.
Lb4903 has a wooden underframe and wood sides and is fitted with coil springs. It also has opening doors on either side. As with carriage D26, Lb4803 has only hand brakes.
F78 and F79 are early Guards Vans. These vans were initially used to assist in train braking before the advent of continuous air braking. They were assembled by New Zealand Railways at Addington Workshops, Christchurch in 1884 on 20 foot steel chassis manufactured by the Midland Railway Carriage and Wagon Co of Shrewsbury, England. They worked until being taken out of service in 1942. Both vans vans were used for various non-revenue purposes before eventually finding their way to Ferrymead.
Both have been fully restored, at the same time as D26. F79 having the 'extra' of a mail posting box.
In 2002 the Canterbury Railway Society won the Federation of Rail Organisations of New Zealand Rolling Stock Restoration Award for work on F79.
4 files, last one added on Feb 03, 2006
Last additions - The Ferrymead Railway Heritage Train
