This year is already 1/4 gone and seems to be going at an alarming rate!
The extremely dry summer had all the hillsides really brown,
but drizzle early in April has 'greened' the hills up slightly and put
a bit of water in our tanks. Heavy rain since this Newsletter was started has meant we HAVE been able to run steam locos again.
STEAM LOCOS:
The three were inspected in-steam on 20/3 and all passed. The overhaul of The F took the longest, as there were more jobs to do.
A few days after the 20/3 - air was heard getting into the CB boiler and a holed tube was found. Richard cut the old tube out and put in a new tube, left over from when the boiler was retubed (about 12 - 15 years ago). This has been properly expanded into place and the firebox-end beaded over to stop the end burning in the fire. A pressure test showed no leaks.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
This was held on Sunday 6th March and quite well attended. Main topics discussed were categories of membership and private ownership.
After much discussion, the 'Paid Life memberships' will no longer be available. All existing ones, of course, will still stand.
At the 1999 A.G.M., it was proposed to have a "Student Membership". This was adopted.
Even more discussion ensued over the private ownership of a lot of the equipment at The Junction. The need for The Club to have some 'hold' over the gear was largely brought about by two factors:-
1/ To apply (let alone get) a grant to overhaul an item, the application form MUST STATE the gear is owned by The Club. Grants are not available (even if the owner says the overhaul can go ahead) for private equipment.
2/ Some of the gear is reaching the stage that a lot of money -(NOT to mention time) - MUST be spent on it, if it is to remain in any condition at all!! The income of The Club is NOT SUFFICIENT to do this work, and the owners don't seem to dig deep, or spend the time!
In the end, it was agreed that The Club is to write to all private owners with a view to sorting the problem out. A reasonably simple solution was talked about.
The annual election returned the same Committee as last year, with the addition of Sean Roche. After some discussion, he accepted The Treasurer's position (provided he is 'eased' into the job)!!
Therefore, your Committee is as follows:
CHAIR - Colin Ewing, VICE -CHAIR Alan Manning, TREASURER Sean Roche, SECRETARY (interim Treasurer) Teresa Bettison COMMITTEE Mike Andrews, Paula Bettison (Advertising/Press Releases), Ian Bettison, Bruce McLuckie and Andrew Thompson and GENERAL MANAGER Colin Jenner.
TOILET BLOCK:
This job is now pretty well completed. The painting was largely finished off by Teresa. (Any volunteers for fitting replacement hand-basins - stored in the workshop).
Ex-shop CANTEEN/UTILITY SHED:
Most work in the area has concentrated on this building. Jan spent 2 1/2 days scrubbing the interior to show that some re-vamping is needed.
The PD Crew spent 2 days opening up the old cable trench from the loco-shelter to the station - exposing and clearing around the existing cable and water pipe - laying new cable then
filling in most of the trench again. The first day, overseer Bob got all the PD Crew together and told them that the trench they had to dig had a water pipe and a LIVE CABLE in it. In his words "If you dig through the cable - you die - simple as that"!!! They put a hold in the water pipe, but strangely, not one in the cable.
They also dug in new trench as a take-off from the existing trench for the power and water supply to the 'old shop'.
Kerry was 'volunteered' by Teresa, to scrape and sand down the shop doors while the PD Crew undercoated them.
The plastic weatherboards are still to be finished!! (Yet again)!
Colin Webber has spread some more topsoil around, cut the long grass beside the roadway and laid 'grass seed' around the bare patches surrounding the station platform. Our visitors see a much tidier entrance at The Junction now.
STATION:
Wingnut and Teresa have waterblasted and scrubbed this building. Andrew has re-routed the loudspeaker cables under the station (so the birds can't perch on them and leave their 'trademarks' all over the weatherboards). He has also installed an emergency siren, but still has to tidy those wires up a bit. Jan used the PD Crew to help shift counters and display benches around, and generally have a tidy up.
CARRIAGES:
No 3 Car: Jan gave this a good scrub before open days began.
Car-Van: Work still continues on this, largely confined to the 'Guard's Compartment. A section of the floor was replaced (another section to do also) and painting is now largely completed internally. Another exterior coat yet!
Mines Car: Work continues on this - but seems to have come to a halt lately!! Some of the new timber has been cut to size and has had all necessary holes cut in it, and is ready to fit into place.
HAND CRANE:
The l-o-n-g overhaul of this continues. Mike has finally got all the slewing-ring sections out, and has taken them to Hamilton to have the broken teeth repaired.
The headstock and intermediate bearer are bolted in place - only the lengthwise bracing still needs cutting and fitting.
A broken leaf in one of the springs has been found (oh joy!!) so we need to get the springs repaired. I am presently trying to get a blueprint that shows the set of the springs (with success I might add now).
TRACKWORK:
A lot of spraying has been carried out in Pukemiro Yard by Richard and myself.
Wingnut has spent a few days packing some of the loose sleepers (picked up previously in his annual 'walk-about'). He also spent a couple of days bolting tracksets together to form the loop at the bottom terminus (and Andrew and he took only under an hour to replace six sleepers on the points - look out PD Crew!!)... but these all seem to be the 'easy ones'.
Even since starting this Newsletter, more work has been done in this area. Wingnut spent another couple of days packing sleeprs, from the bottom end of the line right up to Puke Junction.
We managed to get a PD Crew for a day, so spent the day working on the loop at the bottom-terminus. This loop is now starting to look like a 'rail-track' rather than a jumble of rails on rotten sleepers. When we got back ready to clean and oil the tools - Colin and Alan were waiting to go down the line with a weed-spray train! They had alread done some of the line to Glen Afton.
(We will draft a site-plan to show where all these buildings and track-lines run, to make it easier for our out-of-town members to associate these reports with).
TRAINING DAY:
This was held on Sunday 26th March, but with a disappointing turnout. It is very important the operating Members turn up for these. (On some railways, if you don't turn up, you are not able to run trains UNTIL you have completed the 'training day'). Another could be planned to fit in with a social day.
CHARTER TRIPS:
We are presently getting an extraordinary lot of enquiries - mostly from tour groups, often wanting them THE NEXT WEEK!!! While we try our best, sometimes we can't get a crew together at such short notice.
Most groups accept that currently we will need to use a diesel loco because of dry conditions.
OPEN DAYS:
The Sunday of long weekends and the difficulty getting enough available Members for them was discussed at The AGM. There will be NO OPERATING DAY ON LABOUR WEEKEND SUNDAY NOW. It is very doubtful if the Sunday of Easter in 2001 will see our trains running either. We are frequently faced with this 'problem' as it seems a lot our Members want to go away as well!
Easter Sunday 2000 had to be advertised due to the time available, but so far it seems at least 8 members won't be there to help. (The other two-thirds will have to work harder!!).
As I have often said - we need more members that WANT TO COME AND HELP ON OPEN DAYS. Even the shop and tickets are often short of helpers.
The next open days will be:
MAY 7TH
JUNE 4TH (also Queen's Birthday)
JULY 2ND....
which one will we see YOU AT??
Please make sure you fill out the work notice - my 'crystal ball' doesn't always tell me who is coming!!!......
WORKING BEES:
Let's hope the good work continues on:-
MAY 27 - 28th JUNE 24 - 25th JULY 22 - 23rd
which one will we see YOU AT?? .... ??????
Most Members have their 'own' jobs they go ahead with, but very often need a willing hand.
Some week days wee a really good turnout of Members. Keep this up.
DIESEL LOCOS:
DS Loco:- Mike continues to look at the condition of this loco, but the picture gets
worse. The radiator header tanks are "had it", so we need to look at a replacement radiator. He recently pulled up the wooden cab floor to replace it with plywood - but found
a lot of steel under and around the floor in very bad condition.
Sean was noticed with a tin of paint and panelbeaters 'coverall' -(BOG)- attending
to some covers that fit around the radiator.
The brakes are "almost" working. The handbrake pulls the brake blocks hard on one side while the other side needs a small bit of adjustment.
The loco was shunted into the workshop after April Open Day - so let's hope work speeds up on this. Not much sense having something under cover that isn't being worked on while other gear this is, being worked on , sits outside.
401:- Wingnut has put a couple of new wooden floor boards in the cab to replace some rotten ones.
402:- Alan and Colin spent a day changing the brake blocks on this loco. The old ones were worn out, so we used the partly worn ones from 401 that were changed when the overhauled wheelsets were put back under the loco.
There was much muttering -(or sometimes LOUDER)- about 'Pommy engineering' and their use of tapered pins. Needless to say, a bit of use of a drill and no more tapered pins now.!!
VISIT TO BARRY BRICKELLS (Driving Creek) RAILWAY:
This is 'planned' for Sunday 18th June. There is a list in The Shanty to add your name to it if you want to go. Nearer the time and when we know approximately how many want to go, we can make 'better arrangements'.
PUKEMIRO JUNCTION:
We have been visited by Gwyneth Jones of Tauranga who is writing a book on the history of the area. Gwen is collecting stories, photos and facts about the area. Kerry has been collecting some info for her book and Trev. Terry and he recently spent time with her. Kerry has given me a copy of a photo of The Junction taken in 1925 from the hills over the other side of the valley. It shows two railway houses - where Trev and Maxine's house is now, a whare where the hall is now and the old main road just below where our driveway from the toilets and station to the shanty is. Rather interesting.
The book is due out possibly in June......
WORKSHOP:
This is another project that has come to a 'halt'. The sliding door hangers are completed and the rail for them needs to have the holes drilled so it can be bolted to the posts.
Teresa recently spent some 'spare time' clearing up all the scrap wood and sawdust etc. that had accumulated here, and generally tidied up this area.
NEW BOILERS:-
Most railways in New Zealand continue to have to use pretty old boilers on their locos which often need pieces cut out and patches welded in.
There have recently been two new loco boilers built in NZ - one for WA 165 at Gisborne.
This was built at Dispatch Foundry in Greymouth. This loco is now in steam and I hear they will shortly be running on Tranzrail tracks - a few miles to the next station out from Gisborne - Matawhero.
The other new boiler was built by Lyttleton Engineering for K 88 at Ashburton. This loco was pulled from the Oreti River near Invercargill some years ago, overhauled and used for a few years until the boiler became due for major repairs. We have received a leaflet that The Plains Museum at Tinwald, Ashburton, will be having a 2 day steam festival on 25 & 26th November when it is hoping to recommission K88.
I noticed in a magazine recently about Cass Railway in Western Virginia USA that they have recently completed an overhaul of a Shay loco built in 1923 - while another Shay is undergoing a major rebuild. These Shays weigh approx. 100 tons. They are also planning a new boiler for their Heisler loco.
CARRIAGE HISTORIES cont.......:
Last time we outline the history of our 'Mines Car A 328', this time it is:
CAR -VAN:
built as A 1047 at Newmarket on 27 /6/ 1908 with longitudinal seats for 56, a second-class car.
It was reseated on 25/4/36 to its present type of seats for 40.
It was rebuilt as a car-van on 15/9/39 with 28 seats.
It was renumbered AF 1047 at this stage.
It was a rather odd re-build as it was different to most other conversions in that the guards compartment is smaller and the sliding doors hang outside the body - rather than inside. To allow the doors to open fully, the window-sills are cut back for a short distance. This would also mean that the 'usual' Guard's lookouts would not have been fitted.
It was part of the Auckland suburban fleet until 'written off' on 9/10/76 when it was purchased by B.T.C.
There are 8 car-vans still left, but ours is the only one of its kind.
A 998 - BUNKCAR:
Built 18/12/1907 at Petone as a composite 1st class - seating 14, 2nd class - seating 28.
The second-class seats were the usual longitudinal seats of the time.
It was reseated to 14 seats "1st Class" and 20 seats "Second Class". The Second Class seats were the same as our car-vans. It was again reseated on 10/12/49 to an all 2nd Class Car.
Its last work area was Wanganui where it was written of on 16/6/62 and
transferred to a 'Works Carriage EA 3638 and rebuilt with a single mans cabin at each end - and a tool store in the centre.
At some stage, it made its way to the Waikato and was 'spotted' by Bo and myself in a line of written off wagons at Hopu Hopu. It was purchased by Bo in October 1976. It was to be his (and one 'visitor's accommodation) until the shanty was built.
Bo donated the car the The Club, and it is still partly used for accommodation today.
This car is in need of steel roof repairs, windows and some tongue and grove timber replacement.
Our recent 'Lotto Grant' contained some money towards this much needed work.
(So don't say you can't find any projects to get involved with around The Junction.... not true).
Jan spent an hour or so helping me get TR 217 and a couple of flat wagons up to Glen Afton. I'm not too sure if it was her overhanging 'b.......ottom' or overhanging GORSE, but she kept getting her 'b.....ottom' "whipped gently" by gorse. Jan was "Sandboy' - very necessary for the slippery track. No two days are ever the same at The Junction. What changes have YOU noticed??
NEW EQUIPMENT:
We have recently purchased a new scrub-cutter for the necessary job of clearing back gorse, blackberry, toi-toi etc that is prone to grow thicker and faster than ever.
***** STOP PRESS: *****
FROM THE COMMITTEE:
TREASURER: Due to unforeseen circumstances, Sean is not available for this position. It is crucial that somebody comes forward to help out. YOU WON'T be 'landed' with everything, but even a hand with some of the tasks would be appreciated!!!! PLEASE - any considerations would support The Committee in this appeal.
VISIT to Driving Creek Railway (Barry Brickells) to go ahead on Sunday 18th June. Suggestion that we could Meet at DCR . Bring a packed lunch and comfortable walking shoes and COATS.
Check this out and suggest time and transport arrangement on notice board at next two Open Days.
REPLY TO OPEN DAY WORK NOTICES: It would be appreciated if EVERY Member working on our Open Days could drop these back to Colin Jenner. (He wouldn't have to gaze to quite the same extent!!!)
N.B.: Surprise, surprise!! Easter Sunday Open Day. Well, our staff spread themselves around the various 'duties' - even had a crew up doing work on the sandfill. The first train timetable of 10-30 was 'abandoned' - NO PASSENGERS!! It had the makings of a 'social day for members' only - then things started to pick up. By 12-30 we had a steady passenger count, and the kitchen hands were kept busy with refreshments. Thank you all who turned up to help, and to Nell for once again being our front-line ticket-seller.