Vintage railway club is bridging the gap

The Bay of Islands Vintage Railway's project aimed at one day running steam trains all the way from Kawakawa to Opua is  close to reaching Taumarere station.
After months of delays and frustration, the restored Bridges 5, 6, 7 and 8 were finally signed off by safety officials on September 19. The 35m Bridge 5 proved especially troublesome.
Now trains are running as far as the State Highway 11 road crossing at Taumarere every day of the school holidays, making a 12km return trip.
Spokesman Frank Leadley says it is a "huge step forward" and "a major milestone" for the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway Trust.
The next step is to upgrade the station area at Taumarere, which is only 300m further down the track,  more than a third of the way to the rail terminus at Opua.
Eight Community Max Scheme workers, hired through Work and Income, started on Monday. Half will restore a carriage, the rest will build a "loop" at Taumarere station so the engine can be decoupled and brought to the front of the train for the return trip.
Currently the engine has to push the carriages backwards on the return trip to Kawakawa.
Bob Glen, the trust's assistant general manager, says  the plan is to make Taumarere a "really nice destination". The station building, restored by students from Springbank School, has already been shifted to make way for the loop. Bay of Islands Rotary has donated money for a landscaped barbecue area.
The idea is that people will be able to take a train to Taumarere, have a picnic and catch a  train back, making a trip of two to three hours.
Mr Glen hopes the Taumarere station revamp will be ready in about three weeks' time. The next project will be restoring a 35-span, 280m bridge across the Kawakawa River, just beyond Taumarere.
Trains are running every day of the school holidays at 11am, noon, 1pm and 2pm. The steam locomotive Gabriel runs Friday to Monday, with the diesel engine on Tuesday to Thursday. The return trip from Kawakawa to the road crossing at Taumarere takes  about 40 minutes and costs $10 for adults, $5 children, and free for under 5.
The trust needs volunteers to do everything from answering the phone to gardening and staffing a shop on board.