Silver Fern Railcars project is on track
Society finally takes delivery of mothballed trains from Christchurch
All three iconic Silver Fern railcars finally arrived at their new home in Pahiatua on Friday, December 18, at the Pahiatua Railcar Society’s yards west of the town. They had been mothballed in Christchurch.
The Silver Fern ran between Auckland and Wellington from December 14, 1972, and offered airline-style service on board. Drinks, snacks and the morning paper were supplied to passengers. Later in their service, airline-style meals were heated on board.
It was announced that the three Silver Fern railcars had been purchased at the beginning of September by the Pahiatua Railcar Society and would be arriving “in the next few weeks”.
It has taken about three and a half months for them to finally arrive on December 18.
First, they were moved from Christchurch to Picton, waiting for space on the Aratere – the only ship which has railway tracks fitted in New Zealand.
Only one railcar could be sent at a time as there is only one set of tie-downs for them as they are quite large at 47.5 metres overall and weigh in at 107 tonnes.
Second, the Aratere had a week off for maintenance which caused a backlog of railway wagons.
Third, a fitter had to accompany them and there was limited availability.
Fourth, during November there was quite a lot of bad weather which caused big swells in Cook Strait and the marine authorities would not allow them to be loaded in these conditions because such a heavy unit breaking loose could easily result in the loss of a ship.
In the last few weeks all three railcars were grouped together in Wellington.
They were hauled by a locomotive up to Pahiatua on the Wairarapa line, a trip over four hours.
“Pahiatua Railcar Society had to make extensive preparations for their arrival,” said society president Don Selby.
“This involved considerable work with heavy equipment on drainage improvements along with bulk earthworks, a lot metalling and additional supplies of used rail, sleepers and track fittings sourced and fitting by voluntary labour.
“The result is a sizeable
Tararua District now has the nucleus of a major new tourism asset which is going to take a bit of time and quite a lot of money to get ready for service. Don Selby
increase with a new three-track yard of considerable length and a major new internal fence around a compound in which to store the cars.
“At the same time a large quantity of spare parts acquired in the deal, involving major costs. Around 1000 hours of very hard voluntary labour has been carried out so far.
“Next, all three railcars require quite a bit of work to get them up to operational standards — they have to be fully certified by inspecting engineers and rigorous safety standards maintained,” said Don Selby.
“Tararua District now has the nucleus of a major new tourism asset which is going to take a bit of time and quite a lot of money to get ready for service.”
When they are progressively ready, there are many ways they can be utilised to ensure there goals are met.
The society has built up a well equipped base in quite a strategic location and has years’ of experience running trips throughout the North Island.
“It has a great volunteer team comprising experienced fitters and restorers, along with other operational staff and an efficient marketing division, tied together by an efficient management and administration group.
“Less well-known is that they also have a group of five experienced railcar drivers, all of whom are fulltime locomotive engineers (drivers) with Kiwirail, as members.
“What they mostly need is a lot of backing and commitment from the local district in the immediate future,” he said.