NZR K Class (1877) - Preservation

Preservation

Three of the Rogers K Class have so far been exhumed and entered into Preservation. The first and most notable of these locomotives is K 88 "Washington", which was exhumed from its river grave by the Southland Vintage Car Club in 1974. There were a number of loose plans regarding the locomotive's future but these came to nothing. The locomotive wreck was threatened with being pushed back into the river until the Plains Railway came up with ambitious plans to restore it back to working order. Beginning in 1976, they achieved this goal in 1982 proving that the restoration of exhumed locomotives was possible. However in 1986 the boiler of K 88 (which had been in the river with it) was condemned, and it was not until 2001 that K 88 was once again in working order, this time with an all new Belpaire-style all-welded boiler and wearing a version of the 'kaleidoscope' colours.

The other two locomotives exhumed so far are K 94, exhumed by Plains Railway in 1986 but is currently stored in its recovered state with no active plans for restoration; and K 92, recovered in 1985 for a railway venture on the shores of Te Anau. Restored in Dunedin, the venture fell through before the locomotive had been fully completed, and subsequently the locomotive was put up for sale. Purchased by Colin Smith in 1998, the locomotive's restoration was completed and it is intended to recreate the old "Kingston Flyer" trains of the early 1900s at the Waimea Plains Railway. While waiting for the railway to be completed, K 92 has visited a number of railways in the South Island, with some of the more notable visits being those to the Kingston Flyer, an old haunt for K 92 where it triple headed with the two AB Class locos resident there; and also a visit to Plains Railway, home of K 88 "Washington" where both locos were used together extensively.