Canterbury Railway Society Inc

News

AB Boiler Leaves Ferrymead

13/3/2002

The AB boiler owned by the New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society, which arrived at Ferrymead in 1979 for the restoration of AB 608, left the site on 13th March for Feilding.

The NZRLS owns locomotive AB 608 which was moved to Ferrymead in 1978. At the time it was known that the locomotive had serious boiler problems. In 1979, local enthusiast Neill Cooper raised sufficient funds to purchase ex NZR AB boiler No.989 from the Darfield Brickworks. It was subsequently transported to Ferrymead where it has been stored since.

In the mid 1990s, Steam Incorporated of Paekakariki signed a lease agreement with NZRLS to restore AB 608 and it was towed to their site where it is presently under restoration. Although considerable work is required on the boiler of AB 608, Steam Incorporated has not required the spare boiler.

In 1997, another NZRLS locomotive at Ferrymead, WAB 794, was towed to Feilding after the Feilding and Districts Steam Rail Society signed a restoration agreement with the NZRLS. The locomotive is currently nearing completion at the Society's Feilding site.

Arrangements were recently made with the Feilding society for X 442 to be transported from Ferrymead to Feilding, which is now expected to take place in April 2002. Part of the agreement is that the Feilding society will store the spare AB boiler, which will also fit a WAB locomotive, at their site for the NZRLS. Both the locomotive and the boiler are being transported north by road/sea.

Photo Gallery

	DESCRIPTION	LAST UPDATED
	Spare AB Boiler	17 March 2002