TRAVEL
sometimes a little later if the work is local. The executive committee of the society meet typically on Thursday nights, at least once a month. Decisions are made at these meetings regarding the operations, projects, marketing and financing of the society’s current and future undertakings. Any member can make suggestions to the committee, and as we are a small society, anybody’s idea can go a long way. Our treasurer and secretary have quite an important, often forgotten, job, as do all the committee members and department heads who leave with a list of jobs to do before the next meeting. Friday is another typically quiet day, though volunteers often show their faces on site before the evening rolls around. It’s not uncommon for charters to be booked for Friday nights, particularly in spring and early summer. Some of our volunteers, particularly the younger crew and ‘out of towners’, choose to stay at the railway for the weekend to volunteer, socialise and watch the trains roll by at night. There’s always plenty of beds in the bunk car—the accommodation carriage—which, in parody of ’smoking’ and ’nonsmoking’ composite carriages, is partitioned off into ‘farting’ and ‘non-farting’ compartments. Saturday is the main workday of the week at the Waipara depot. The day will often begin with a shunt, again with the trusty DE,
to get all the vehicles that need work done in the appropriate positions. Tasks could vary from Westinghouse brake overhauls, to installing heaters in our carriages, to repainting wagons or locomotives. By early afternoon, the Diesel Traction Group (DTG) volunteers may have crawled out of bed and shown their faces to tend to some jobs on their DE loco — it’s always great to work alongside this talented crew. Another shunt towards the end of the day may see the steam engine pulled outside for coaling, or rolling stock being moved around for further work or inspections. And finally, on selected Sundays we operate our public trains. If steam hauled, the driver, fireman and loco trainee will emerge from the bunk car or arrive by road at around 6:30am and light the fire before enjoying breakfast. By 9am, the rest of the crew will trickle in, a track inspection will be completed, and the fire may be lit at Glenmark Station.
Around 10:30am, the locomotive will couple to the train and a terminal air brake test and train examination will be completed. By 11:15am, the train will be sitting on the platform ready for departure. The engine and train crew will come together for lunch at Waikari station at around 12:30pm, before the train departs back for Glenmark. A second-round trip kicks off at 2pm, returning to Glenmark at 3:45. By 5pm, the engine crew will be heading home, satisfied but exhausted, but always with a white smile contrasting against a filthy face.
MORE INFO: Contact Matthew Morison Marketing Manager Weka Pass Railway 027 884 1424 matthewamorison@gmail.com www.wekapassrailway.co.nz 0800 WEKA PASS (0800 935 272) Operated by Trained Volunteers and Licensed by Waka Kotahi
issue 33 • summer 2021-22
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