The two halves of the Drewry Twinset railcar.
Pics: BTG290321RAIL1 Caption: Don Selby, president of Pahiatua Railcar Society, next to RM31, called Tokomaru.
Pics: BTG290321RAIL2 Caption: The Wairarapa Class railcar RM5 is named after a Maori canoe, Mahuhu.
Pics: BTG290321RAIL3 Caption: Priceless: the last three wheelsets in the world for the Drewry Twinset Class railcar.
Pics: BTG290321RAIL4 Caption: The two halves of the Drewry Twinset railcar.
Pics: BTG290321RAIL5 Caption: RM34 is called Tainui.
By Steve Carle
With a collection of eight railcars, three locomotives and 14 wagons, Pahiatua Railcar Society has plenty of work ahead of it.
It needs a larger workshop and rebuilding the shed closest to the road, to enable the Silver Fern railcars to be serviced, is one option that may be in the pipeline. The shed would need to be lengthened and the entry height raised at one end. A four- or six-post hydraulic lift may be installed.
"Funding for the Silver Ferns will need to be increased and this will be ongoing," said society president Don Selby.
"Safety of the greatly increased traffic using the railway crossing has been improved with new lights, bells and systems being installed by KiwiRail. "We've always got work on with ongoing railcar servicing and restoration and there is trade work we do ourselves. We need to rebuild part of the yard track to facilitate bringing the Silver Fern in for service more easily.
■ Two Halves
"The two halves of the Drewry Twinset railcar are at an advanced stage of a complete body rebuild, which we've done ourselves. We've got the guys that can do it within our membership. The two bodies are mounted on carrier wheels, which enables them to be worked on underneath.
"Between six and eight members are working as a team on the Drewry Twinset railcar - either tradesmen or capable individuals, self-taught. One is an experienced panelbeater from Wellington - here nearly every Sunday. There is a retired structural engineer from Hawke's Bay who has done planning for the sheds for us and takes a leading role in the Drewry Twinset rebuild.
"These two bodies are the last ones left of the 35 Drewry Twinset Class [Fiat] railcars. They had running rights right throughout New Zealand. When they were pulled out of service, buses were in the ascendant. Railways management and the Government wouldn't spend any more money on them - they decided to scrap them all. As it transpired, two escaped that.
"We thought they had all been scrapped until we found one at Auckland Airport. Underneath it was the last remaining wheelset in the world. We are in the early stages of overhauling this. The body on this was too far gone, it had been out in the salt-laden air.
"One other body had survived. Half had been in use as a Girl Guides Centre and later a Video Shack.
"We found this in a quarry at Kerikeri, near Russell. Two contractors had bought it, cutting it in half to transport it. That's where our structural engineer came in. He drew up a welding plan, certified welders were brought in, we got it certified by an inspector and it's now stronger than it was before.
"We found the other half at a Waitomo motel, sitting on a hilltop. The owner eventually donated it to Pahiatua Railcar Society after 10 years had passed. The two body units are now in one of our workshops.
"Panel work, windows, interior and fittings have been fully overhauled, with our boys having built a cow-catcher from scratch. These railcars have three wheelsets. The ones from Auckland Airport are in good order, they can be rebuilt. We will let out a contract for this to refurbish them to certifiable standard. We have a complete set of seats in storage for this railcar, all refurbished by our own people.
■ Named After Māori Canoes
"RM31 and RM34 on site were two of six of their class to be built in 1938-39. They were all named after Māori Canoes. RM31 is called Tokomaru and RM34 is called Tainui. There are now only four left, we have two of them. The Wairarapa Class railcar RM5 is named after another Māori canoe, Mahuhu.
"The shed which stores RM34 and RM121 - the Drewry Twinset - was the old Pahiatua County Council 16-bay truck shed. We built concrete foundations (designed by our structural engineer) and had it moved on site over our existing siding track. Later it cost $80,000 to clad.
"We started to concrete the floor. So much has happened in a short space of time. We now have so much gear, the guys haven't got time to finish this work off. Its one of the projects we need to get on with and we need it be soon.
"We've got too many projects going on - we've probably been too successful in our acquisitions. Out of our eight railcars (one derelict) we hope to have two or three of them running as a priority. There is only one running at the moment with one nearly so. We are now focusing on a third - one of the Silver Ferns , which arrived in December," said Don.
'The last two days have been pretty emotional. I’m just crushed by the whole experience.'