After months of work Tr 189 moved under its own power on Saturday 2 March at Maymorn. Recent work has included fitting a refurbished starter motor, electrical circuits and appliances, a reconditioned air compressor and associated belts and plumbing, new exhaust couplings, refitting side rods, refitting cab controls and other gear, The commissioning involved an exhaustive list of checks and tests, culminating in a first move under its own power out of our rail vehicle shed at Maymorn. Three moves were made through the yard to check that all was well, just a few minor faults noted to iron out over the next few weeks. A credit to all involved, thanks to Trust members who have put long hours into the restoration work and funded the initial purchase, transport and more recently, materials and components - and thanks to the Rotary Club of Upper Hutt for supporting the purchase of the locomotive from KiwiRail.
Tr 189 was built at New Zealand Railway's Hillside Workshops, Dunedin, one of a batch of nine 20-tonne shunting locomotives produced in the 1970s. The loco will initially be used at the Maymorn site for track work and shunting rail vehicles. The commissioning work has been brought forward to provide an operating locomotive to bring the well-known 'Cyclops' English Electric unit into the site, currently planned to occur in April.