Trucking towards museum status
A major gib-stopping operation has the South Canterbury Traction Engine and Transport Museum a step closer to being classified as a museum and its official opening.
Museum president Gordon Handy said public facilities at the Washdyke site had to be upgraded with fire gib added to two walls in a 1080-square-metre truck shed to meet compliance standards, with the group now awaiting consent sign-off from the Timaru District Council.
‘‘We have upgraded the fire walls on one shed, and we have upgraded public facilities,’’ Handy said.
‘‘It [the consent] will be going through shortly, and we will be opening on November 13 subject to Covid.’’
The project to bring the complex on Brosnan Rd at Seadown up to museum standards has cost $800,000 which included the building of a 1400sqm shed housing more than 40 trucks added to the its collection in August at a cost of $600,000.
‘‘We have got more trucks now, so they will be moving to the new [1400sqm] shed and the older shed will be converted into a tractor and agricultural machinery shed,’’ Handy said.
‘‘We added rails, converted one toilet into a disabled accessible toilet, we added handrails, we added fire gib to two boundary walls on the old shed on top of the existing fire gibs to bring it up to standard.
‘‘We have 90-odd members in our club volunteering. Thompson Construction and Engineering have been really helpful. They filed our code of compliance and did all the paper work.’’
Handy said the funds for the entire project came from a variety of sources such as the members of the club, a grant from the council, two rallies and selling pea straw.