New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society (17)

Trams Still Around New Zealand

ISBN: 9780995138520

Publisher: New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society

Trams Still Around New Zealand is true to its title, detailing the existence of 99 trams; 85 New Zealand trams and 14 trams from Australia now resident here. Be...


Trams Still Around New Zealand is true to its title, detailing the existence of 99 trams; 85 New Zealand trams and 14 trams from Australia now resident here. Between the covers the reader will discover that the tramcar in New Zealand is far from a street vehicle of the past. Already the tram has returned to the streets of Auckland and Christchurch. Coverage is given to each of the trams now running within the boundaries of transport museums in New Zealand, those that are in storage but not yet running, with coverage also of trams still used as baches around New Zealand. Each tram portrayed has its history outlined with generous photographic coverage of each tram in original condition, as stored, and finally as restored (if that has occurred). Also featured are the Wellington and Dunedin cable-cars. Wrapping up this most interesting book is a broad coverage of the various tramway societies and groups.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 160


Dimensions: 210 x 280 mm


Publication Date: 20-10-2021


$49.00
My Life As A Locomotive Engineer

ISBN: 9780995138544

Author: Kevin Tasker    Publisher: New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society

From his earliest childhood memories, author Kevin Tasker always wanted to be an “enginedriver”. Starting the job at Napier loco depot in 1960, a period of ...


From his earliest childhood memories, author Kevin Tasker always wanted to be an “enginedriver”. Starting the job at Napier loco depot in 1960, a period of time when he was fortunate to have worked many steam operations between Gisborne and Woodville before the final fires were extinguished in June 1967. Following successive examinations, moving through though “C” and “B” rosters, Kevin finally moved to the top roster in 1986, running hot-shot freights and passenger jobs in the Bay on diesel-electric locomotives. While the diesel railway was the backbone of his employment, he opted to certify as a fireman and driver for steam excursions, with many of those operations recalled in detail. Of course, the operational railway included interesting moments and those retold include breakdowns, restructuring, single-man operation, fighting to stay awake, speed, track incidents, closure of the old depot, decline of the Gisborne line, and heading for retirement. Having retired, Kevin was asked to return for steam specials, but eventually ended up back working part-time, training-up and operating the latest DL class diesel electric locomotives. His 55-year career spans an interesting period of railway operation that makes a fascinating read.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 112


Dimensions: 210 x 280 mm


Publication Date: 25-11-2022


$49.00
New Zealand Railways At Night

ISBN: 9780995138551

Author: Bill Prebble    Publisher: New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society

New Zealand Railways At Night seeks to redress a void in our written history, covering the night railway as experienced in the period from the mid-1920s through...


New Zealand Railways At Night seeks to redress a void in our written history, covering the night railway as experienced in the period from the mid-1920s through to 1982 when the Government railway was corporatised, a period when many New Zealanders’ chose the railway as their principal form of transport. This was a time when most of the night travel was endured sitting upright on firm non-reclinable seats. Refreshment room stops caused a minor disruption in the darkened carriage as some travellers unable to sleep sought comfort in food, or simply stretched their legs on the platform, while others more fortunate slumbered on… It is occasions like that which images in the book evoke memories of. Converse to the night railway view by the travelling public, featured also is the night railway endured by the railway shift worker, exposing a life at work after dark. Images “in the dark” create a sense of mystique, as it is sometimes not just what is highlighted in the images, but equally what lurks in the darkened background. Considered by many as an “art book”, with 239 photographs, the majority presented full-size, this book is a visual treat.


Bind: hardback


Pages: 256


Dimensions: 285 x 215 mm


Publication Date: 13-05-2024


$75.00
DUE > 13th May 2024
Alpine Thunder : When the KB Class Rules the Midland Line

ISBN: 9780995138506

Author: Jonathan Shingleton    Publisher: New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society

Finally, the complete story of NZR’s most powerful conventional steam locomotive class has been documented. Author Jonathan Shingleton details the operational...


Finally, the complete story of NZR’s most powerful conventional steam locomotive class has been documented. Author Jonathan Shingleton details the operational constrictions of the Midland line, history leading up to the development of the KB class, including proposals to transfer X class to the South Island and add boosters. Learn how Midland Line east-bound loads were governed by EO haulage capacity through the Otira tunnel, the manufacture and bedding in of the KBs, their daily operation, the booster operation and maintenance, trialling of KB operations out of Dunedin, a proposal to transfer all KBs to the North Island, and their eventual displacement onto the Main South Line. Detail of the KB operations are neatly interspersed with crew accounts of operating the KB class; the firemen, drivers and fitters. Complementing the text is a lavish selection of black and white and colour images from the era.


Bind: hardback


Pages: 272


Dimensions: 210 x 295 mm


Publication Date: 21-06-2021


$69.00
A West Coast Engineman

ISBN: 9780908573905

Author: Ian Tibbles    Publisher: New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society

Signing on at Greymouth's Elmer Lane depot in 1962, a young Ian Tibbles very quickly learnt the mysteries of "the dark shed". Graduating from labourer to cleane...


Signing on at Greymouth's Elmer Lane depot in 1962, a young Ian Tibbles very quickly learnt the mysteries of "the dark shed". Graduating from labourer to cleaner and then fireman, his apprenticeship takes us on a journey about the West Coast in the 1960's, the golden age of steam. Starting on the wharf and local shunts on Wf's Ian moved onto the main lines, then populated with A, Ab, B, J, We and Ww class engines. Sharing his firing experiences, Ian recounts throughout the chapters what it was like "getting down the road" on the various lines and classes of engine. The vagaries of narrow grate engines through to the "modern" J class are all discussed. managing transfer to various depots on the Coast, Ian recounts his time on all the West Coast lines. The Grey Valley, Blackball branch, Ross line, relieving Reefton, the Tawhai saddle, Reefton to Westport, the Westport to Mokihinui coal railway, Conns Creek branch, Rewanui incline and of course blasting up to Otira on the J class, are all vividly recounted. Complementing the text is a lavish selection of black and white and colour images from the era. Without doubt, this is a book for lovers of NZR steam in the 60s. 163 b&w photos + 99 colour photos


Bind: hardback


Pages: 251


Publication Date: 10-04-2015


Tags: History   New Zealand   Transport
$65.00
NZR's Rebuilt G Class

ISBN: 9780995138568

Author: Jonathan Shingleton    Publisher: New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society

From author Jonathan Shingleton, who brought us Alpine Thunder, the renowned book on the KB class, Jonathan brings us a well-researched and interesting account ...


From author Jonathan Shingleton, who brought us Alpine Thunder, the renowned book on the KB class, Jonathan brings us a well-researched and interesting account of NZR’s rebuilt three-cylinder G class. In attempt to make something useful of the ill-fated Garratts, NZR used the chassis of the three Garratt articulated locomotives to build six conventional G class locomotives. In theory, these should have been very handy motive power for the South Island, but the engineering constrictions imposed by the loading gauge on the new design plus the inherent weaknesses transferred from the Garratt engine units to the rebuilt engines, all conspired to make them problematic and unreliable. Jonathan delves into the detail of how NZR attempted to correct the issues and improve the design, plus how the crews worked these unique three-cylinder engines. This is a fascinating read.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 142


Dimensions: 210 x 296 mm


Publication Date: 20-06-2023


$53.00
Retro Reds To The Rescue

ISBN: 9780995138513

Author: Tony Hurst    Publisher: New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society

Currently, Wellington suburban train services are operated by Matangi electric multiple-units, all virtually visibly identical. But as recently as 2011 there wa...


Currently, Wellington suburban train services are operated by Matangi electric multiple-units, all virtually visibly identical. But as recently as 2011 there was a wide variety of electric units in use, as well as one set of locomotive-hauled carriages, providing a much more colourful and varied operating fleet, including colour schemes of an earlier era. This was not by deliberate planning: it was rather that a lack of timely decisions on new stock had led to hurried re-introduction of previously withdrawn multiple-units and locomotives. This book tells the story of this era, with an emphasis on the variety of equipment and liveries that could be seen up until 2012. The story is lavishly illustrated with photographs illustrating the visual diversity within this period.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 64


Dimensions: 210 x 145 mm


Publication Date: 21-09-2020


Tags: New Zealand   Transport
$30.00
Riding With Ces Gledhill 1925 to 1952

ISBN: 9780908573936

Author: Ces Gledhill    Publisher: New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society

Ces Gledhill hired on with New Zealand Railways in 1925. Forever the rolling stone in search of better money, overtime and promotion, Ces transferred around New...


Ces Gledhill hired on with New Zealand Railways in 1925. Forever the rolling stone in search of better money, overtime and promotion, Ces transferred around New Zealand seeking out opportunities within the railway service. Starting as a cleaner, he worked his way up through the ranks of fireman and eventually first-class enginedriver. Working through the Depression years and the boom of war-time rail traffic, Ces recounts with interest his time living at the various towns and cities, working on both isolated sections, branch lines and main trunk trains. Told with passion are many of his footplate escapades. After a wartime absence, he returned from railway military service in the Middle-east, he settled down on the West Coast of the South Island, both operating and keeping operational, run-down locomotives on the post-war railway. This work is well illustrated with images of the period, many taken by the author.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 115


Dimensions: 210 x 296 mm


Publication Date: 16-08-2019


Tags: Biography   Transport   New Zealand
$44.00
Steam Trails : Life Viewed From the Guard's Van

ISBN: 9780995138537

Author: Norman Junge    Publisher: New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society

Here’s a fresh account of life on New Zealand Railways. Most crew stories have been written from the front of the train, but the guard at the back of the trai...


Here’s a fresh account of life on New Zealand Railways. Most crew stories have been written from the front of the train, but the guard at the back of the train had a completely different view of the world and the things that occurred on the railway. Norman Junge was a guard on the Midland Line from 1947 to 1957, a period of busy train running and frequent challenges in “getting trains through”. Join Norman for an exceptionally interesting adventure covering mixed trains, work trains, picnic trains, shunting challenges, lost drawgear, fires, washouts, runaways, derailments, and of course interfaces with fellow railwaymen. This is a fascinating and easy read with much new information to interest the reader. Many of the accounts are illustrated with photographs taken by the author while on the job and supplemented by others.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 128


Dimensions: 210 x 280 mm


Publication Date: 21-03-2022


$47.00
Addington Railway Workshops: Working with Wood

ISBN: 9780908573868

Author: Keith G. Brown    Publisher: New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society

Keith G. Brown documents Addington Workshops rich history from formation to closure and details his own experiences working as a tradesman carpenter at Addingt...


Keith G. Brown documents Addington Workshops rich history from formation to closure and details his own experiences working as a tradesman carpenter at Addington from 1949 to 1987. The first book to document Addington's leading role in the manufacture and repair of rolling stock for New Zealand Railways, this is a fascinating look behind the fence of this once-famous facility. Lavishly illustrated with colour and black and white photographs, the workshop buildings, manufacture and repair of locomotives, carriages and wagons are all extensively covered.


Pages: 112


Tags: New Zealand   History   Transport
$49.00
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