- Steam Incorporated
Steam Incorporated, often abbreviated to Steam Inc., is a
railway heritage and preservation society based inPaekakariki at the southern end of theKapiti Coast , approximately 50 minutes north ofWellington on the west coast ofNew Zealand 'sNorth Island . Unlike some societies who operate on preserved sections of closedbranch lines (e.g. theKingston Flyer on the Kingston Branch or thePleasant Point Museum and Railway on theFairlie Branch ), Steam Incorporated own a depot ("The Engine Shed") beside one of the country's most important railway lines, theNorth Island Main Trunk Railway , and restore heritagelocomotive s androlling stock for use on excursions on the regular national rail network. Steam Incorporated is also a major sponsor of thePaekakariki Station Precinct Trust , and beyond Paekakariki, it has offered assistance toSteamRail Wanganui .History of the depot
Paekakariki's close association with the railway began in 1886 when the
Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company 's line from Wellington toLongburn opened. A sizeable station was established in Paekakariki despite the settlement's small size, as it was ideally located as a locomotive changeover point - powerful engines were required to tackle the difficult grades between Wellington and Paekakariki, while lighter and more nimble ones were better suited to the gentle grades and straight track through the Kapiti Coast andHorowhenua toManawatu . TheNew Zealand Railways Department (NZR) took over the Wellington and Manawatu Railway in December 1908, but Paekakariki's status as an important depot remained unchanged. In 1940, the line from Wellington to Paekakariki was electrified and Paekakariki's depot was altered: it became the changeover point from electric to steam motive power, or electric to diesel from the 1950s onwards.In the late 1960s, the locomotive depot in Paekakariki was closed and the main engine shed demolished as services were restructured and rationalised. However, some facilities were left, and in 1972, Steam Incorporated was formed and took over the old depot site between the North Island Main Trunk to the west and State Highway 1 to the east. Since this time, the depot's facilities and trackage have been upgraded and expanded to handle a growing amount of equipment and it contains over one kilometre of track, including a turntable.
Locomotives
Steam Incorporated's name reveals its focus on the preservation of
steam locomotive s, but it also possessesdiesel locomotive s. Its fleet includes:* AB 608 (currently undergoing overhaul)
* DA 1410 (operational, leased toRailway Enthusiasts Society )
* DA 1431 (operational, leased to Railway Enthusiasts Society)
* DS 202 (operational)
* ORB No.2 (operational, similar to the NZR DSB class)
* J 1234 (out of use, leased to Railway Enthusiasts Society)
* JA 1271 (operational)
* K 917 (unrestored, in storage)
* KA 945 (currently undergoing overhaul)Rolling stock
Steam Incorporated owns one of New Zealand's largest fleets of heritage passenger carriages certified for mainline operation on the regular national network. Originally painted in a unique chocolate brown livery with yellow lining to differentiate them from carriages in service on regular trains, the paint was found to fade and look shabby, and when
Tranz Rail , NZR's successor, repainted their carriages in a blue livery in the early 1990s, Steam Incorporated reverted to the "Midland Red" paint scheme that had been used for most passenger carriages in New Zealand since the 1920s. Along with those wagons certified for mainline operation, the society also possesses some under restoration and others currently unrestored.A selection of non-passenger heritage rolling stock is also based at the Paekakariki depot. This includes guard's vans, luggage wagons, and freight wagons, some of which are used on excursions to carry extra fuel and water for the locomotive.
Excursions
Steam Incorporated has operated or participated in excursions to almost all parts of the national railway network that has been open since the mid-1980s. During the early years of the society's existence, NZR would not permit heritage operators to use the national network, thus limiting the society's activities to the area of The Engine Shed, but since 1985, this policy has been abandoned. Popular excursions have been through the central North Island, annual "Art Deco" expresses to Napier, and to the centennial celebrations at
Dunedin Railway Station in 2006. Some excursions are operated solely by Steam Incorporated crews with the society's own equipment, while others have been in conjunction with other New Zealand preservation societies and their locomotives, such as the "double drivers" excursions featuring two KA class locomotives.External links
* [http://www.steaminc.org.nz/ Official website of Steam Incorporated]
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