Photo: Ab 745 on a work train at Marton 11 December 1954. Photo: John Creber.
The Trust has signed an agreement with The Taranaki Flyer Society for RIRHT to take over steam locomotive Ab 745, currently located at Stratford. The Taranaki Flyer Society is closing up and have offered the locomotive to us "free to a good home".
The opportunity to secure an ex-NZR steam locomotive of this size is rare and the locomotive will be a significant addition to our railway. Many of its former classmates worked the former route to Kaitoke and Summit. Ab 745 also has the potential to haul heavier trains on the railway, and to operate on the National Network should this be part of our future operations.
Ab 745 came to grief at Hawera on 16 July 1956, after heavy rain weakened an embankment just north of the station. 745 was buried where it lay, the railway line reinstated on top. The engine portion was salvaged in 2001, leaving behind the tender, which was in poor condition and more difficult to recover. The Taranaki Flyer Society set about the long task of restoring the loco, based in the old goods shed in the Stratford railway yards.
A lot of work has already been put into the loco, which has included lifting the boiler from the frames, sand blasting and initial assessment. The frames and wheels have been cleaned down and parts carefully stripped and stored.
The locomotive will be a long term restoration project however many parts have been sourced to replace parts that are missing or damaged beyond repair.
The Trust transported the locomotive from Stratford to Maymorn in October 2013.
FRONZ 2018 conference delegates made a visit to our railway for a train ride, workshop tour and lunch on Monday 4 June 2018, during their tour of heritage railway attractions in the Hutt Valley. Most heritage and tourist railways are FRONZ members, sending representatives to an annual conference to catch up on the latest advice and share their knowledge and experience.
A fairly extensive shunt of the shed was done on Saturday 14 May 2016, in preparation for storing another 56-foot carriage inside. Sleeping car Aa1060 and Gumdigger A255 were moved onto the inspection pit area of road 1, clear of steam locomotive Ab745.
We took the opportunity to pose Ab745 and Tr189 outside the shed for a photo, part way through the shunt.
After five long days of effort by Trust volunteers, steam locomotive Ab745 arrived at Maymorn on Wednesday 30 October.
The locomotive frame, boiler and many stored parts were prepared for transport over Labour Weekend. The frame and boiler were brought out of the Stratford goods shed ready for lifting onto trucks. On Tuesday 29th the frame was loaded onto a long trailer, the boiler onto a 8m truck trailer and various parts stowed on and around the main components.
The weather was a key factor in the move, much better than what had been forecast earlier in the week.
Photo: what could be: sister Ab locomotive on a passenger train at Kaitoke in 1953. Photo: Nelson Stockbridge.
The Trust has signed an agreement with The Taranaki Flyer Society for RIRHT to take over steam locomotive Ab 745, currently located at Stratford. The Taranaki Flyer Society is closing up and have offered the locomotive to us "free to a good home".