Hawke’s Bay rail enthusiast, 4, has train dream come true

Trainspotter Ollie Catley is living his dream, sitting in the driver's seat of a stationary KiwiRail train.

He might be only 4, but if you ask Ollie Catley what he wants to do when he gets older, he will say “Be a train driver!”

This week KiwiRail made time in its busy schedule and invited Ollie to its Napier depot so he could see a real train up close and get to sit in the driver’s seat.

What more could a train-loving, trainspotting 4-year-old desire?

Over a year ago Ollie’s parents bought him a second-hand toy train set and it set his fascination for trains in motion.

A ride on the model ride-on trains at Keirunga Gardens in Havelock North strengthened this, and then the excitement of seeing a real train was the icing on the cake.

To avoid time being wasted aimlessly waiting for trains, Ollie’s mum, Anna, decided to take him to the Napier KiwiRail depot with a picture he’d drawn and a letter, asking if they could have a copy of the train schedule, so they would know the best times to go trainspotting.

After receiving the schedule, they realised a train departed 15-30 minutes after kindy pick-up.

So, most days after kindy, Ollie goes trainspotting.

With his mum parking nearby with a good view, Ollie and his twin sisters sit and finish their lunch while waiting for the train to depart.

They then follow it across town for about 15 minutes before going home — for Ollie to build more train tracks.

“The timing of the train departure couldn’t be more perfect for us,” Anna said.

Ollie Catley and his mum, Anna, at KiwiRail's Napier depot.

“It’s such a great, quiet, wind-down activity after kindy, the children are all happily buckled in, they’re not making a mess at home and we can do it rain, hail or shine.”

Ollie’s enthusiasm for trains is so great that it’s infectious, so it’s safe to say his twin sisters and mum share in the excitement when they see the signals flashing, barrier arms going down and trains moving along the tracks.

KiwiRail also sent Ollie a parcel of train paraphernalia consisting of paper trains to make, colouring-in pictures, posters, a hat and a wee model train USB drive, which he thinks is just a toy.

Scarlett Dellow, community engagement adviser for KiwiRail, teed up the special visit to the depot with the operations manager in Napier, Jennie Humm, so Ollie could get up close to a KiwiRail train.

Since his visit, Ollie hasn’t stopped grinning and happily tells anyone who will listen about his train adventure.

Ollie also wanted to say thank you to all the train drivers who took the time to wave to him.

At KiwiRail's Napier depot, trainspotter Ollie Catley got to meet operations manager Jennie Humm, yard team leader Dave Jobbins, and locomotive team leader Rick Lister.

“Good on KiwiRail for setting a great example of positive community engagement,” Anna said.

“We are so grateful to Scarlett, Jennie, Rick and the KiwiRail team for going above and beyond for our wee train fanatic Ollie.”

So, what does Ollie do when he’s not trainspotting?

He recites the safety messages from the posters sent to him and makes train safety videos.

Perhaps there’s a future career in videography if the train driving doesn’t work out.

In the meantime, Ollie and his family are off to Wellington riding the steam train this weekend that is doing special scenic round trips for the school holiday.