The Plains Vintage Railway & Historical Museum (original) (raw)

Work on tearing up the line started at the Mt Somers end, and made its way down the remaining track towards Tinwald not long before 1970. With the closing of the Mt Somers/Springburn branch in 1968 a small group of local enthusiasts who belonged to the local model engineers decided to try and save a small portion of the branch line with the intention to run a steam train on it for the locals and visitors. A public meeting was held and the “Ashburton Railway & Preservation Society Incorporated” was officially formed on the 4th June 1971, with the goal to preserve and operate a vintage train as well as to display some of the local agricultural history of Mid Canterbury. After negotiations with New Zealand Railways, a 50 chain portion was purchased, and later a further portion of the line, bringing the total distance to a mile from Tinwald, to Frasers Road, about 2.5km. The section from the South Island Main Trunk to the Plains Railway’s section, including the mainline turnout, was retained by the Railways Department, later Tranz Rail and now Kiwi Rail.