NZR AB Class - Preservation

Preservation

Seven AB class locomotives have been preserved:

• AB 608 Passchendaele was donated by NZR to the NZR&LS in 1967 as the class leader of the AB class. It was towed to Ferrymead in 1972, and remained there until 1993, when Steam Incorporated of Paekakariki indicated an interest in leasing and restoring 608. It was towed to Wellington as part of a Steam Inc excursion in 1993, and work began to restore the locomotive in 1995 with the stripping of the engine unit for restoration. The locomotive has since received a new tender body, and been fitted with stronger 'Janney yoke' drawgear to facilitate towing of the locomotive by mainline freight train if necessary. As of 2012, work is currently focused on the engine unit, with the current push being to re-wheel the frames. The boiler has also been retubed and will be fitted once all of the work on the frame has been completed.

• AB 663 Sharon Lee was used as the spare parts source for the Kingston Flyer until purchased by Ian Welch of the Mainline Steam Trust. It was returned to service in 1998 with the tender from AB 812 which had been scrapped. It has been named Sharon Lee after one of Welch's daughters, and is notable in having its headlight mounted on the front of the smokebox (not the top as was correct) and having been converted to burn oil instead of coal.

• AB 699 is owned by the Pleasant Point Railway & Historical Society, and runs regularly on their line between Pleasant Point and Keanes Crossing, a distance of 2km. It was restored to operating condition in the late 1970s despite pressure from NZR to fill the boiler with concrete as the locomotive was originally placed at Pleasant Point station as a static display.

• AB 745 was derailed by embankment subsidence at Hawera in 1956. Rather than recover the locomotive, NZR salvaged all parts from the right-hand (fireman's) side of the locomotive, and buried it along with several V series insulated meat vans. The engine unit of 745 was dug out of the embankment in 2001. As of September 2012, AB 745 is owned by The Taranaki Flyer Society Inc., and they are restoring the locomotive in the former railway goods shed in Stratford, Taranaki, New Zealand. www.thetaranakiflyersocietyinc.weebly.com

• AB 778 is owned by the Kingston Flyer, and is maintained in operational condition.

• AB 795, converted from a WAB class 4-6-4T tank locomotive in the period 1947-57, is owned by the Kingston Flyer. It is maintained in operational condition.

• AB 832, the last steam locomotive to work in the North Island when steam ended there in 1967, was donated by NZR to the Museum of Transport and Technology. It is on long-term loan to the Glenbrook Vintage Railway, and is stored at the GVR's Pukeowhare workshops pending overhaul.