Bush Tramway Club Waikato one of my 'happy places!

Mayner · October 10, 2023

Made some time to go on walkabout after dropping daughter at School on Monday had originally planned on a bush walk (walk in the woods) but ended checking out the Bush Tramway Clubs Pukemiro Junction Yard and the top end of the Glen Afton branch, one of my escapes when I am under pressure.

The Club which was founded to preserve and restore New Zealand Bush (Logging) locos and stock in the early 60s took over the top end of New Zealand Railways Glen Afton Branch which served several collieries in the area west of Huntly the largest centre in the Waikato Coalfield. The top end of the Glen Afton closed when the centre section of the branch and Rotowaro township(Lake of glowing embers) was abandoned for the new opencast Rotowaro mine constructed to serve the Glenbrook Steel Mill near Auckland.

The Bush Tramway Club operation is unusual in that Pukemiro Junction the operating base and station is in the middle of the line with loco hauled passenger trains 'topped and tailed" by locos as there are no run round loops at either end of the line.

The railway traditionally operated on the 1st Sunday of the month from March to December when the fire risk was low, but planning to operate monthly in 2024. https://www.bushtramwayclub.com/index.html

Hadn't visited the line in several years, noticable change was a carriage shed to protect the coaches and an AG Price E Class Bush Lokie (a Climax Heisler cross) stuffed and mounted.

Looking up the line towards Glen Afton with classical NZR style water vat the main running line on the right the Branch to Pukemiro Colliery veered off at a triangular junction in the left distance, the colliery had its own Peckett 0-6-0T loco which is currently the sole operating steam loco on the railway.

Looking down the line towards the station and yard, steam loco bunker on the right is from a Heisler geared steam loco under restoration, diesel is a typical AG Price 0-4-0 dating from the 50s-60s. This type of loco are still used to shunt railway works and are often hired out to Industrial sites for yard shunting though no longer in "main line" use'

Rail is the original from NZR days an obsolete profile no longer available.

The station building is a typical NZR wooden station building, in this care the original Rotowaro station building, the building with the lean to canopy is a cafe typical NZ corrugated iron roof and timber weatherboard/framing construction.

Classic NZR portable workshop/store/bunkhouse

Recent re-sleepering and ballasting carried out at the Rotowaro (East) end of the yard, sleeper stack protected from the rail with corrugated iron! The top end of the branch is basically on a continuous 1:50 ish. grade and very twisty.

Interesting bit of trackwork Stub switch/point outside carriage works

Top end of the line at Glen Afton line is on a steep grade and in a cutting, branch was severed by road widening, former station yard and colliery was behind the stand of trees in the distance.

Memorial to 1939 Glen Afton coal mine disaster.

popeye · October 11, 2023

It really is a different world.

jhb171achill · October 11, 2023

Interesting to see the contrast between pictures 3 & 4. In one, a beautifully and meticulously restored station building - but the other showing what's opposite it. Throughout the preservation world, all across Europe and further afield, sidings choked with lines of barry-scrapyard-style junk, which will never see the light of day in preservation! Yes, bodies I've been involved with are just as guilty too............................................!!

Looks like a fascinating little line.

Mayner · October 11, 2023

1 hour ago, jhb171achill said:

Interesting to see the contrast between pictures 3 & 4. In one, a beautifully and meticulously restored station building - but the other showing what's opposite it. Throughout the preservation world, all across Europe and further afield, sidings choked with lines of barry-scrapyard-style junk, which will never see the light of day in preservation! Yes, bodies I've been involved with are just as guilty too............................................!!

Looks like a fascinating little line.

I think you are missing the fundamental purpose of the majority of so called preserved railways, whatever its declared objectives the Bush Tramway Club and a lot of other similar organisations is a place where the member can 'hang out' have a natter, play with trains and restore things rather than any grand educational or historic purpose.

The restored station, locos and passenger stock at the front of house brings in the fare revenue that helps along with donations and membership subscriptions to play trains, restored freight stock is unikely to generate income to pay for the restoration unless you have enough people willing to pay for photo charters to make it worth while.

The biggest challenge facing these organisations is that people that established these groups during the 60s/70s are now quite elderly and there are fewer people coming through in their middle age to take their place.

Interestingly apart from the bogie flat most of the stock in photo three is in reasonable 'in service' condition and would not look out of place on a demonstration freight.

jhb171achill · October 11, 2023

10 hours ago, Mayner said:

I think you are missing the fundamental purpose of the majority of so called preserved railways, whatever its declared objectives the Bush Tramway Club and a lot of other similar organisations is a place where the member can 'hang out' have a natter, play with trains and restore things rather than any grand educational or historic purpose.

The restored station, locos and passenger stock at the front of house brings in the fare revenue that helps along with donations and membership subscriptions to play trains, restored freight stock is unikely to generate income to pay for the restoration unless you have enough people willing to pay for photo charters to make it worth while.

The biggest challenge facing these organisations is that people that established these groups during the 60s/70s are now quite elderly and there are fewer people coming through in their middle age to take their place.

Interestingly apart from the bogie flat most of the stock in photo three is in reasonable 'in service' condition and would not look out of place on a demonstration freight.

Yes, I do get that (though perhaps not all preservationists do), but as far as possible this stuff needs to be hidden.

I remember being somewhat shocked - as were my fellow committee members - when a council-chartered marketing consultant whose remit was to advise DCDR & Down Council on how to develop the railway - pointed at the Sligo railcar, a NCC brown van, a past-its-best G class loco and some other stuff stationed opposite the main platform at Downpatrick.

To us, it was valuable railway heritage. But this man introduced to us the hitherto “foreign” concept that (a) 99% of the public see it as unsightly junk which demeans the place, and (b) places like heritage railways make their living out of such people, and scarcely get a red cent from those who populate keyboards with opinions about “they really should restore No. 1234, it’s a crime to see it rotting away”!

His point took many of us aback - me certainly, as the historical side of railways forms my primary interest and always did.

But he made his point, and to such extent as was practicable we made an effort to tidy the place up and send scrap-like images on wheels to sidings as far out of sight as possible.

Now, of course space often mitigates against anything like this happening - but in retrospect, I (and my fellow DCDR people of the day) realised that this person was right…..

Mayner · October 14, 2023

Back to an October 2020 Bush Tramway Operating Day after the 1st round of Covid restrictions were lifted

General view carriage shed and workshop

The rail truck on the right is a restored "Bush Jigger" converted from a 1940 White truck to transport workers and equipment on a Bush Tramway (forestry railway in the Rotorua area and now used to give "jigger rides" between trains! Jigger Rides using self propelled rail trollies is a popular feature on some New Zealand heritage railways

The Jigger has a built in turntable to avoid running backwards

Sole operating steam loco a Peckett 0-6-0T once owned by the Pukemiro Coal Company which connected with the Main Line at this location

The steam train currently operates between the station and the bottom end of the line, coach was once used on local coal miners trains, one coach is about the limit with this loco because of the grades.

Busy time at Pukemiro Junction with trains connecting. Currently the top end of the line is worked by a 2 coach set topped and tailed by small Drewry diesels basically an 0-4-0 150hp version of the British Drewry 204hp 0-6-0 diesels (04 Class)