Locos exposed after 91 years
Exposed to the open air for the first time in nine decades, two V-class locomotives are now one step closer to being removed from the Oreti River, near Lumsden.
The project to retrieve the trains was given a boost on Monday when contractors removed surrounding soil and mud from the area, giving the team a good look around the site.
Lumsden Heritage Trust chairman John Titter said he was able to see the trains from the bank of the river and the work done by contractors had been essential. ‘‘We’ve achieved a lot more than we thought we would.
‘‘I think they’ve got a lot more of an idea of what they’re focused on.’’
While the trust has had the consent to remove the trains for five years, it was now working to secure funding to get to that stage, he said.
The trains in the river were made in England in 1885, called V-class locomotives, and they are the last of their kind intact in the world.
‘‘For their age they’re in not bad condition.
‘‘They’ve been here since 1927, so they look like they’ve been there for that long.’’
If the engines were not dumped, they would have been dismantled for scrap metal in the early 1930s, but the scrap metal price was too low at the time, Titter said.
‘‘It’s interesting because if they hadn’t been dumped here they would have never been seen again.
‘‘The V-class was specifically made for New Zealand’s rail conditions.’’
The dig yesterday gave insight in to the next steps in the process of removing them, he said. Titter now needed to get quotes and finalise the procedure so he could find out how much money would been to be raised to get the trains completely removed and back to Lumsden to be restored.