Relax and unwind this weekend, while you cruise through Taranaki on a steam train.
Organiser, Peter Hancock of Hawe Orlando, is pleased to offer Taranaki residents the opportunity to ride on a steam train.
The steam train, an AB663, will make four journeys from Stratford to New Plymouth this weekend. The train
will depart from the old Stratford Railway Station at 9am and 1.30pm both days (March 24 and 25).
The journey will take approximately three hours there and back.
The steam engine used to work on the main trunk line, based in Taumarunui, and was the first AB to reach Auckland, replacing the A Class Pacific on express train duties.
The train was retired in 1969, stored and stripped of parts, before being sold to Ian Welch of Wellington. Over many years, the train was slowly restored.
In the 1990s it was relocated to the Silverstream Railway Museum and converted from coal to oil-firing. In 1997 the train was finished and renamed 'Sharon Lee' after Ian's youngest daughter.
The steam engine once pulled the Royal Train for the Prince of Wales 87 years ago.
Tickets are available from Peter Hancock, phone 06 755 1255 or the Stratford Information Centre, Para Rubber New Plymouth, Stratford District Council and the Hawera Information Centre. Peter promises this journey to be a taste of things to come.
Last Friday, Peter led a team in relocating the Taranaki Flyer AB745 from Waitara to its new home at Hawe Orlando, Stratford.
The Taranaki Flyer looks similar to the AB663.
The AB745 fell off the railway lines in Hawera in 1956, near Naumai Park and was buried under the new railway lines due to a severe rainstorm.
In 2001, it was salvaged and stored on Hooterville Trust property in Waitara by Keith Hancock. Keith paid $28,000 for the salvage costs, which were shared by Tony Batchelor of Palmerston North. In 2006, Keith became the sole owner of the train.
At this stage, Peter Hancock approached Keith to restore the train once again. Peter and his team want to train young engineers to restore the locomotive and run excursion trips around the North Island. The train was relocated to Stratford in two parts - the 24.5 tonne chassis and the 14.5 tonne boiler. Peter's team are currently working on a feasibility study to see if the restoration is worthwhile.
