Withdrawal
The majority of the class was withdrawn from NZR services during the 1960s, as diesel traction replaced steam, with the last concentrations of the AB class being located on the West Coast and in Southland. Many of those withdrawn were South Island locomotives which had reached the end of their economic lives between 1963 and 1967 (when the DJ class diesels arrived) and were replaced by ex-North Island locomotives. By 1971, several still remained on the books at the close of steam operations on the NZR.
Three remained on NZR books in 1972 - AB's 778 and 795 remained at Lyttelton to heat the carriages for the 'Boat Train', formerly known in an informal manner as the 'Jackaroo', while AB 663 remained either at Greymouth's Elmer Lane locomotive depot or at Dunedin. With interest for a nostalgic steam-operated train growing, both 778 and 795 were restored that same year for the famous Kingston Flyer, possibly New Zealand's most famous heritage railway. AB 663 was used initially at Dunedin for spare parts to keep 778 and 795, now named David McKellar and Greenvale respectively.
The Kingston Flyer continues to run today with both AB's 778 and 795 as its principle motive power. Five other locomotives have been preserved by various other groups.
Read more about this topic: NZR AB Class
Famous quotes containing the word withdrawal:
“A bizarre sensation pervades a relationship of pretense. No truth seems true. A simple morning’s greeting and response appear loaded with innuendo and fraught with implications.... Each nicety becomes more sterile and each withdrawal more permanent.”
—Maya Angelou (b. 1928)
“A separation situation is different for adults than it is for children. When we were very young children, a physical separation was interpreted as a violation of our inalienable rights....As we grew older, the withdrawal of love, whether that meant being misunderstood, mislabeled or slighted, became the separation situation we responded to.”
—Roger Gould (20th century)