Garden Whistle Mar 2012 - Sandman.org.nz
Garden Whistle Mar 2012 - Sandman.org.nz Garden Whistle Mar 2012 - Sandman.org.nz
The Garden Whistle - March 2012A Visit Down SouthText & photos by Glen Anthony (Christchurch)The new Dunedin Model Railway club decidedto hold a model train show back in January(the weekend before the Garden Railway convention).It was their first show, and it was onlya small hall so they could only fit a few visitinglayouts. But Karl Arnesen and I were luckyenough to be invited to bring layouts.Brenda and I decided to go down early and gofor a holiday in the “Catlins” area (the SouthEast coast line between Dunedin and Invercargill).Here are some railway related news bitsfrom the trip.The Saddle Hill Railway at Wal’s Funland, MosgielWe arrived in Dunedin a week before theshow. On the Sunday we went out to Mosgiel to“Wal’s Funland” where the 7¼” track from thelate John Rappard’s Signal Hill Railway hasbeen re-laid to form the “Saddle Hill Railway”.The railway is owned by the Funland complexbut a new group “Otago Model Railway andRoad Society” runs trains for the public on givendates. We found Christchurch Garden RailwaySociety member John Bethune clearing thetrack ready for the 11am start time. There werealready a good number of families playing onthe mini golf course that the railway circumnavigates.Brenda and I took a ride at first opportunityand found that we were the lucky first passengersfor a new club loco and ended up on theclubs Facebook page.Then we followed John Bethune the short distanceback to his house to view progress on hisgarden railway. The bridge he was building lasttime we visited had been completed and installed.Its thick steel and never likely to rust outin John’s life time! A water feature obtainedfrom the North Island had also been installedand looks great as the track goes under it in atunnel. John has put most of the track down butit needs some electrical connections to be madebefore John’s track powered trains can run.The next day while on the road from Balcluthato Owaka we found the “Tunnel Hill” walk. It’sa short walk to the most southern railway tunnelin NZ (although the railway doesn’t go throughanymore). The 250m long disused tunnel waspart of the Catlins Branch line to Tahakopawhich was pulled up in 1971. The tunnel portalsare made from brick (rather than concrete) andwere made on site. The tunnel is lined withstone on the bottom half and bricks over thearch.After arriving at Owaka we visited the museum(not much else to do at Owaka), and foundseveral railway exhibits which had come fromthe station including an unusual sign “TrainWater feature and bridge, John Bethune’s garden railwayJohn Bethune’s garden railwayPage 16
The Garden Whistle - March 2012stops here 20 minutes for lunch”. There was alsoa nice model of a “Trails” rail bush tractor ina glass case. We found the actual tractor on displayat a DoC site a short distance from the roadmuch further down the road at Tautuku.Causeway, a decision some are now regretting.At Opukehe on the South coast (where it wasblowing a gale) the water vat still stands and thestation platform was still there. When wereached Tuatapere I was surprised to find thefull railway facilities still there. The stationbuilding had a fresh coat of paint, and the goodsshed and water vat were there too. Even someold railway wagons had been moved in recently.Trails tractor model in a glass case at the Owaka MuseumRiverton Railway Station freshly painted like newThat was the end of our holiday and then wewent back to Dunedin to pick up the layout andtake it to the show. There were 10 layouts ondisplay at the train show. They had a steamtruck and miniature traction engine giving ridesoutside. And while the venue may have beensmall, the result wasn’t; $10,000 was raised forthe Dunedin Oncology Day Unit and the Hospital.A fantastic result.The real thing under a shelter at TautukuA chance stop at a Curios Shop at Papatowai(a blink and you miss it town) turned out to bethe best discovery of the trip. The old house buswas crammed full with gadgets toys and animationsmade out of just about anything. Handlesto be turned and buttons to be pushed everywhere.Yes one of them did start an HO scaletrain which ran around the walls of the bus. NaturallyI was right in my element and they mademy creations look very basic. We even paid the$5 to go through the R13 garden which hadeven bigger and better creations. (It’s R13 becausehe is tired of kids just breaking things, -so now he doesn’t let them in!).A few days later we had completed our stayand journey through the Catlins and arrived inInvercargill. For an afternoon trip we went on toRiverton & Tuatapere. A railway branch lineused to run here and the track formation is clearlyvisible from the road in many places. The localsat Riverton have removed the old RivertonLester Hopkins 1:32 tram and cable car layoutSteam truck outside the model train showPage 17
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The <strong>Garden</strong> <strong>Whistle</strong> - <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2012</strong>stops here 20 minutes for lunch”. There was alsoa nice model of a “Trails” rail bush tractor ina glass case. We found the actual tractor on displayat a DoC site a short distance from the roadmuch further down the road at Tautuku.Causeway, a decision some are now regretting.At Opukehe on the South coast (where it wasblowing a gale) the water vat still stands and thestation platform was still there. When wereached Tuatapere I was surprised to find thefull railway facilities still there. The stationbuilding had a fresh coat of paint, and the goodsshed and water vat were there too. Even someold railway wagons had been moved in recently.Trails tractor model in a glass case at the Owaka MuseumRiverton Railway Station freshly painted like newThat was the end of our holiday and then wewent back to Dunedin to pick up the layout andtake it to the show. There were 10 layouts ondisplay at the train show. They had a steamtruck and miniature traction engine giving ridesoutside. And while the venue may have beensmall, the result wasn’t; $10,000 was raised forthe Dunedin Oncology Day Unit and the Hospital.A fantastic result.The real thing under a shelter at TautukuA chance stop at a Curios Shop at Papatowai(a blink and you miss it town) turned out to bethe best discovery of the trip. The old house buswas crammed full with gadgets toys and animationsmade out of just about anything. Handlesto be turned and buttons to be pushed everywhere.Yes one of them did start an HO scaletrain which ran around the walls of the bus. NaturallyI was right in my element and they mademy creations look very basic. We even paid the$5 to go through the R13 garden which hadeven bigger and better creations. (It’s R13 becausehe is tired of kids just breaking things, -so now he doesn’t let them in!).A few days later we had completed our stayand journey through the Catlins and arrived inInvercargill. For an afternoon trip we went on toRiverton & Tuatapere. A railway branch lineused to run here and the track formation is clearlyvisible from the road in many places. The localsat Riverton have removed the old RivertonLester Hopkins 1:32 tram and cable car layoutSteam truck outside the model train showPage 17
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