Rare locomotive to return to the public

Restored Climax 1317 awaiting a new home. Photo / Supplied

It has been almost 18 years since the beloved Memorial Park train was removed for restoration – and this week it comes a step closer to being back in the public.

In 2003, council agreed the locomotive should be restored and supported the Te Awamutu Lions Club to form the Climax 1317 Trust. In 2004 it was transported from the park to a council facility where work was undertaken.

But, while council agreed this week it would work with the Climate 1317 Trust to identify a new Te Awamutu location so the restored steam engine can serve as a visitor attraction, that could still be some time off.

Climax 1317 Trust chairman Russell Easton with the locomotive prior to the start of restoration in August, 2005. Photo / Dean Taylor

Climax 1317 Trust chairman Russell Easton has been heading the project since day one, and says while having a Memorandum of Understanding with council in regards to the future siting of the locomotive was a step forward, the process hasn't always been plain sailing.

Russell was particularly aggrieved that in the staff report to this week's council meeting an option for possible consideration was the sale of Climax 1317.

"While the locomotive does belong to council, we undertook the restoration on the understanding it would stay in Te Awamutu," says Russell.

"There is over 12,000 hours of work, nearly $300,000 of grant money and donations and countless discounts from local businesses, free use of plant and equipment and donations of goods and services invested in the finished restoration.

"To suggest that could leave Te Awamutu is unthinkable."

Te Awamutu's Climax 1317 steam locomotive pictured at work at Te Rena in 1933.

The Climax B steam locomotive was built in Pennsylvania in 1915 and was one of only six of its type to be imported into New Zealand.

It spent the last 14 years of its life hauling logs in the Arohena and Ngāroma districts and was owned by the late Jonas Smyth, a former Te Awamutu mayor, who donated the locomotive to the community in the late 1950s.

Te Awamutu Jaycees picked up the project and trucked the donated locomotive to Te Awamutu and onto the concrete pad in the War Memorial Park where, for 48, years it was a much-loved play item for children, and well photographed with family groups through to wedding parties.

Twenty years ago Chantelle Wostmann from Australia visited Te Awamutu War Memorial Park's train with her mother Cheree and grandmother Marilyn Hubbard (nee Hewitson). Photo / Te Awamutu Courier

The painstaking restoration was completed in 2019 – now it needs a new home.

Council has already allocated $100,000 to help shift the engine to its new home but more fundraising for a purpose-built storage and display building will be required.

Council chief executive Garry Dyet said an exact resting place for the restored steam engine had not yet been determined, but it should be somewhere high-profile and easily accessible.

"The engine would not go back into a playground," he said.

"A lot of folk in Te Awamutu will have very fond memories of the steam engine; lots of people will recall clambering all over it when they were kids. But it has historical value and will be of much wider interest.

"We need to honour the original gift plus the hours and hours of restoration work undertaken by volunteers.

"The general area around the Te Ara Wai precinct site - the old Bunnings building - is an option that's been broadly agreed upon.

"We haven't pinpointed exactly where because we would want to ensure the location of the steam engine doesn't detract from Te Ara Wai, and vice versa."

Russell says the Te Ara Wai precinct would hold extra historic significance, as before it became Bunnings it was home to Smyth Bros and Boryer, the timber yard and retail outlet associated with the donor's family.

The late Joe Tollich (right) watches as Climax 1317 is lifted from it's platform in the Memorial Park in 2004. He was the only surviving Jaycee involved with the project. Photo / Te Awamutu Courier

Garry acknowledged that "fundraising challenges" would likely mean that putting the locomotive back on public display might be some years away.

"It's really been a labour of love for those involved and now it's a case of working with all parties, including mana whenua and the wider community, to get the best possible outcome. For some people, there will be a sense of the steam engine coming home, so let's make sure we get it right."

In the meantime, council would continue to securely store the locomotive and the Climax 1317 Trust would continue to maintain it.

Undercarriage of Climax 1317 being lifted onto the truck when the locomotive was removed from the War Memorial Park in December, 2004.Photo / Te Awamutu Courier

Climax 1317 is one of only two remaining Climax locomotives in New Zealand and one of only a handful in the world.

When the restoration was completed, then parks and reserves manager Max Ward said the Climax had been restored to a condition that was a real credit to Russell and the other volunteers.

"The Climax 1317 is an amazing asset which is quite rare and has been lovingly restored to a fabulous condition.

"It is up to us now to find it a home that will do it justice."

Te Awamutu Lions volunteers cleaning Climax 1317. Photo / Supplied

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding will see Climax 1317 formally handed back to council from the Trust.

This will take place at the Daphne St depot at 2pm on Sunday, September 18, followed by afternoon tea. The public is welcome to attend, and especially anyone who has been associated with the project.