By the early 2000’s, the Department of Conservation (DoC) and Tranz Rail (then operators of the New Zealand Railway Network) had carried out several clean-up operations in the Bealey and Waimakariri River beds, and as a result most of the old locomotive wrecks that had littered this area had been buried.
In the Bealey River, the only engine to escape this fate was WMR No. 9, however clean-up operations continued, and her future was far from certain. In 2002, two railway enthusiasts studing engineering at the University of Canterbury started planning for the recovery of No.9, with the intention of restoring the last known surviving WMR engine as an important part of New Zealand history.
Restoring a steam locomotive salvaged from a river bed is not unprecedented. In 1974 Roger's K Class 2-4-2 No. 88 built in 1877 was recovered from the Oreti River near Invercargill, and was restored to fully working order by 1982. It was followed by sister locomotive No. 92, which was recovered in 1985 and later restored to working order.
It was unclear how much of No.9 had been dumped in the Bealey, however what was visible was in very good condition compared to other recovered engines. Her engine frames were visible, as was what appeared to be a tender truck (bogie). Separated from the engine frames by a large willow tree was a tender without any bogies, which was reportedly from a Baldwin T class – we would later discover otherwise.
An engineering report was produced to satisfy Tranz Rail that the salvage operations would not undermine the Midland Line, and public liability insurance was taken out to cover the salvage operations. DoC and Environment Canterbury granted consent for the salvage to take place provided certain conditions were met, and as a result an agreement to salvage was signed with Tranz Rail. Since the dumping in the 1920’s, the course of the Bealey River had been contained to a channel well to the north of the railway embankment, leaving No.9’s remains dry, but partially buried in river silt. The whole salvage operation had to fit within university student budgets, and the Bealey Valley became a campsite for several weekend and summer holiday expeditions where the engine frames were excavated by hand and tortuously lifted from their resting place using bottle jacks and sleepers in preparation for recovery.
During the last of these expeditions, an excavator was spotted installing power poles on the opposite side of the river. After a cold crossing of the river and a brief chat, it turned out the excavator operator had helped to salvage K 92 back in 1985! The excavator was soon across the Bealey and lifted No. 9’s engine frame from her hole and placed it on flat land ready for removal.
On March 1st 2003, the engine frame was recovered from the Bealey by a hi-ab crane truck, which then transported the locomotive to Steam Scene, McLean's Island in Christchurch.
Further expeditions were carried out over the following two years to comb the dump site for other remains. The nearby tender was identified as the tender dumped with No. 9. It would not be until several years later when this tender was being restored in Paekakariki, that the original Baldwin identification codes were found, that clearly read “10 24 ¼ D10” – this was the tender of the record breaker, WMR No. 10. At some stage in their careers, No. 9 and No. 10 swapped tenders. This was not uncommon practice, often done to get one engine back in to traffic quickly after overhaul.
The tender body was filled with river silt, and this had to be painstakingly emptied by hand – through the main access hatch, and a tear in one side caused by the 1926 dumping. The broken-off hand brake handle was found in the silt, and there was even coal on the footplate. While all this was going on, the local railway ganger – a legendary figure that went by the nickname ‘Rambo’ brought in a bobcat to help unearth the partly visible tender truck.
Once the truck came free of its hole, another suspicious bit of iron was uncovered protruding from the earth. Again the chains were attached and it was pulled free – revealing another truck. This process repeated over the rest of the afternoon, until both tender trucks and both engine trucks sat on the surface. While the wheels were missing, all the brake gear and castings were in place, and all was in remarkably good condition.
Rambo spent the following week turning the dumpsite over – however the only other part discovered was the thoroughly worn out ashpan. The tender and the four trucks were transported to McLean's Island to join the locomotive frame in 2006.
In summary, the parts of No.9 recovered from the Bealey River site were the:
The following other components have been sourced for use in No. 9’s restoration:
In the Bealey River, the only engine to escape this fate was WMR No. 9, however clean-up operations continued, and her future was far from certain. In 2002, two railway enthusiasts studing engineering at the University of Canterbury started planning for the recovery of No.9, with the intention of restoring the last known surviving WMR engine as an important part of New Zealand history.
Restoring a steam locomotive salvaged from a river bed is not unprecedented. In 1974 Roger's K Class 2-4-2 No. 88 built in 1877 was recovered from the Oreti River near Invercargill, and was restored to fully working order by 1982. It was followed by sister locomotive No. 92, which was recovered in 1985 and later restored to working order.
It was unclear how much of No.9 had been dumped in the Bealey, however what was visible was in very good condition compared to other recovered engines. Her engine frames were visible, as was what appeared to be a tender truck (bogie). Separated from the engine frames by a large willow tree was a tender without any bogies, which was reportedly from a Baldwin T class – we would later discover otherwise.
An engineering report was produced to satisfy Tranz Rail that the salvage operations would not undermine the Midland Line, and public liability insurance was taken out to cover the salvage operations. DoC and Environment Canterbury granted consent for the salvage to take place provided certain conditions were met, and as a result an agreement to salvage was signed with Tranz Rail. Since the dumping in the 1920’s, the course of the Bealey River had been contained to a channel well to the north of the railway embankment, leaving No.9’s remains dry, but partially buried in river silt. The whole salvage operation had to fit within university student budgets, and the Bealey Valley became a campsite for several weekend and summer holiday expeditions where the engine frames were excavated by hand and tortuously lifted from their resting place using bottle jacks and sleepers in preparation for recovery.
During the last of these expeditions, an excavator was spotted installing power poles on the opposite side of the river. After a cold crossing of the river and a brief chat, it turned out the excavator operator had helped to salvage K 92 back in 1985! The excavator was soon across the Bealey and lifted No. 9’s engine frame from her hole and placed it on flat land ready for removal.
On March 1st 2003, the engine frame was recovered from the Bealey by a hi-ab crane truck, which then transported the locomotive to Steam Scene, McLean's Island in Christchurch.
Further expeditions were carried out over the following two years to comb the dump site for other remains. The nearby tender was identified as the tender dumped with No. 9. It would not be until several years later when this tender was being restored in Paekakariki, that the original Baldwin identification codes were found, that clearly read “10 24 ¼ D10” – this was the tender of the record breaker, WMR No. 10. At some stage in their careers, No. 9 and No. 10 swapped tenders. This was not uncommon practice, often done to get one engine back in to traffic quickly after overhaul.
The tender body was filled with river silt, and this had to be painstakingly emptied by hand – through the main access hatch, and a tear in one side caused by the 1926 dumping. The broken-off hand brake handle was found in the silt, and there was even coal on the footplate. While all this was going on, the local railway ganger – a legendary figure that went by the nickname ‘Rambo’ brought in a bobcat to help unearth the partly visible tender truck.
Once the truck came free of its hole, another suspicious bit of iron was uncovered protruding from the earth. Again the chains were attached and it was pulled free – revealing another truck. This process repeated over the rest of the afternoon, until both tender trucks and both engine trucks sat on the surface. While the wheels were missing, all the brake gear and castings were in place, and all was in remarkably good condition.
Rambo spent the following week turning the dumpsite over – however the only other part discovered was the thoroughly worn out ashpan. The tender and the four trucks were transported to McLean's Island to join the locomotive frame in 2006.
In summary, the parts of No.9 recovered from the Bealey River site were the:
- Engine frames and cylinders, with most of the compensating gear still attached, along with rocker boxes and brake arms
- Leading and trailing engine trucks, minus wheelsets, springs, keep plates and radius bars
- Tender frame (complete with brake rigging) and tender body
- Leading and trailing tender trucks, minus wheelsets, springs and keep plates.
The following other components have been sourced for use in No. 9’s restoration:
- Four 2’ 6” diameter wheelsets from a pair of Baldwin ‘Aa’ class locomotive tender bogies were purchased from Main Line Steam. These wheelsets are identical to those originally fitted to No. 9.
- A set of driving wheelsets and axle boxes from V class 2-6-2 No. 136. These wheelsets have the same diameter, crank pin position and number of spokes (12) as the N class. They were obtained when it became apparent that a collection of V parts was being cut up for scrap, and may be used in No. 9’s restoration, although this will require some modifications including the replacement of the main driver counter weights.
- Many smaller fittings have been donated by generous donors. These include Westinghouse air brake fittings, boiler fittings, and a pair of original Baldwin traversing jacks, identical to those which No.9 would have carried.