Art Deco Weekend: Rides full steam ahead

"Steam ... it is addictive," Art Deco Trust events manager Peter Mooney said as he ticked off another of the 2579 seats available for the big weekend's steam train outings.

Of the six scheduled journeys between Friday and Sunday, three have sold out and the others are filling fast.

"This is the ninth year the steam trains will have run during the big weekend - they have become a strong part of it all because they really touch people," Mr Mooney said.

One woman who approached him last year described it perfectly. "She said the engine was a living, breathing thing and, when everyone got off at Holt's Bush, there was nothing anywhere to say it was not a scene from the 1930s."

Mr Mooney and the trust's general manager, Sally Jackson, hoped the train trips would continue.

"There is a question mark over the Napier to Gisborne line and that is a concern," Mrs Jackson said.

"It needs more freight to run on it," Mr Mooney said. "We can't do that but we can put a lot of people on it. While it is open, we will use it."

KiwiRail had not yet made a decision on the line, but had said it faced being mothballed if freight use did not rise. Only one freight train a week has been running.

The steaming star of this weekend is the Paekakariki-based Steam Incorporated's Ja1271 locomotive.

Built in the 1940s, it served most of its working time in the South Island, until finally being retired in 1970. Steam enthusiasts took possession of the 110-tonne loco in 1978 when it was in a "sorry state". It finally returned to the tracks, under its own steam, in 1997.

"It has become an annual favourite here," Mr Mooney said. The train is set to arrive in Napier, at the old station off Munroe St, at about 6.10pm on Friday.

Available Excursions

Afternoon Huff'N'Puff: Saturday: 12.20pm departure from Napier to Hastings and back (about three-quarters filled as of yesterday afternoon).

Steam Train to Otane: Saturday: Napier departure at 3.45pm, Hastings at 4.40pm, for return excursion to Otane (about 20 seats left).

Steam Train Sunday Sojourn: Sunday: Napier departure for trip to Waikoau and back at 8.45am (about a dozen seats left)