The remarkable story of K88

Press, 20 November 1982, Page 15

The remarkable story of K88

By

ROY SINCLAIR

One of the world's most remarkable locomotive restoration projects, the rebuilding of KBB, has recently been completed at the Plains Railway Museum near Ashburton. To mark the achievement. a special recommissioning ceremony will be performed at the museum on Saturday, November 27 by the Railways Corporations general manager, Mr T. M. Hayward, and to make the occasion even more memorable, the museum’s other two locomotives, A 64 and Ja 1260, will also? be in steam.

KBB. known as “Washington,” was the first of eight K class locomotives to be built by the Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works in the United States for the New Zealand Railways in 1877-78. KBB worked in the South Island until 1926 and was then unceremoniously dumped into a river with a number of other old locomotives to protect a railway embankment. There it stayed for almost half a certtury until it was dug out and restored to full working order.

KBB, along with a sister. KB7 - “Lincoln” - arrived at Lyttelton on February 6, 1878, aboard the sailing barque, Auguste Friedrich. The two locomotives then had to be assembled in Christchurch. “Lincoln” was ready for service first and went on her first run on March 15 when she went down to Ashburton with one new Pullman car to bring Sir George Grey to Christchurch. A few days later “Washington” was in service. The arrival of American locomotives in a new British colony did not go unnoticed. Questions were asked in Parliament, and the “Lyttelton Times” criticised the locomotives by claiming that the Americans used plenty of paint and, brass to disguise inferior workmanship. In spite of any anti-Ameri-can feelings towards them, the Rogers K class were splendid locomotives. They had generous proportions of shiny brass work, polished walnut cabs, and Russianblue boiler claddings. The 2-4-2 wheel arrangement was novel and allowed for a deep firebox to give better steaming. The Ks found favour

with their enginemen and it has even been said that some drivers were known to stop after a shower of rain to polish the brasswork. The man responsible for introducing the American locomotives to the New Zealand Railways was the young locomotive superintendent, Allison Smith. Although he was still in his early thirties, Smith had already had considerable railway experience in England as well as in New Zealand; and because offamily associations, he had also had an opportunity to see American practice. He firmly believed that Ameri-

can designs were more suitable for New Zealand conditions than their English-built counterparts. The two Rogers locomotives were widely used, around Canterbury. Then, in September; 1878, the Great Southern Railway to Dunedin was-completed. On Friday, September 6, KBB left Christchurch for Dunedin at the head of the colony’s first express train. It was a long 230 mile journey that was frequently interrupted by banquets and speeches. In January of the following year, the railway was completed between Dunedin and

Invercargill. By then all eight Ks were in service and hauling most of the express trains between Christchurch and Invercargill. Towards the end of the century, the loads on the southern line were becoming too great for the Rogers engines and they were replaced by larger Baldwin locomotives which were also made in the United States. The Ks were transferred to secondary lines where loads were lighter, and KBB became the original locomotive for the famous Kingston Flyer which ran across the Waimea Plains between Gore and the Lake Wakatipu steamer terminal at Kingston. The Kingston Flyer service was. introduced in 1902 to open up the tourist, potential of the Queenstown area after the gold rushes. The train ran until 1937, but the Rogers locomotives reached the,end of the line a decade earlier. In 1926, KBB, along with 12 other old engines, was dumped into the Oreti Estuary near Invercargill to protect the railway embankment. There she stayed beneath the mud for almost 50 years. When the Railways introduced their Kingston Flyer tourist train in 1971, someone recalled the existence of the original Flyer locomotive. Various organisations, including the Southland Vintage Car Club and a local Lions group, became interested in the bld engine and eventually, after being spurred on by a certain amount of pub-talk, it was decided that KBB would come out of the river. The operation was performed during the week-end in January, 1974, when the river was at its lowest. Invercargill City - Council engineers helping with the salvage were able to hold the flow of water through a nearby waterworks throughout the excavation. With the help of two bulldozers, the locomotive was hauled upright in its 3m hole on the first day and next day the historic KBB was lifted on to

the bank. It was an absolute wreck. A number of ideas were considered for restoring the locomotive as a static display. One idea was to install the front part of the engine in a rebuilt engine shed as an attraction at one of the stations served by the Kingston Flyer tourist train. In the meantime the wreck stayed on the river bank until the council threatened to push it back into the hole if no decision was made. It was at this time that Bob Anderson, a quietly spoken Ashburton man who was secretary of the Ashburton Railway and Preservation Society, took an interest in the old locomotive. He had grown up in Southland and had spent many hours watching trains in the Invercargill district. When he saw the wrecked. engine he claimed that he could rebuild it and run it on the Plains Railway at Tinwald. KBB was transported to the Plains Railway and the laborious task of washing the mud out of the engine began. It was cold work that went on into the winter months. The wreck had then to be completely dismantled. , This was a very difficult task and Bob Anderson set a target of removing one and a half bolts each night. Before it was finished he went into hospital with a serious illness. While he was there his main worry was that he might not be able to get his engine going. Fortunately he made a good recovery and returned home to continue work on the locomotive. Recalling this trying period, he says he did not know if he loved the engine or hated it, but sometimes after he had slammed the engine shed door late-at night, he would unlock it, turn on the light to have another look at his engine before going home. Once KBB was dismantled, the first task was to sort out which parts could be repaired and which would have to be replaced. Many, parts were missing and had to be made from scratch. If the restored “Washing-

ton" was to be a full-working steam locomotive, the boiler would have to pass an official test required by the Marine Department. So the condition of the boiler would determine whether the restoration could go ahead; Fortunately ultra-sonic testing confirmed that the boiler was sound although during the rebuilding all the tubes were replaced. The firebox was also in reasonable condition and required only minor patching and some repairs to the plates. Much of the running gear including the crossheads, valve mechanism, and the driving wheels were original Rogers parts and these were used on the restored engine, but new pistons, piston rods, and coupling rods were made. It is likely that the original rods were removed before the engine was towed to the Oreti Estuary and

discarded separately. For a restoration of this magnitude the workshop facilities at the Plains Railway were very primitive and consisted of little more than a large shed under the trees. Indeed, much of the work was done outside. When some of the specialised machining work had to be done, the parts were sent either to the N.Z.R. Hillside Workshops in Dunedin, or to an engineering works in Ashburton. Another specialised task, the rebuilding of a new wooden cab, was done by a local cabinetmaker. In May, 1979, the rebuilt boiler was tested under steam and then in October it was mounted on the main frame. KBB was moved into the engine shed for the remainder of the reassembly. Bob Anderson was fortunate in having an enthusiastic team behind him and

although he did much of the work alone there were always dedicated helpers available, especially when some of the major tasks had to be done. He was also fortunate in having a patient wife who was only a little exasperated when one day she looked at her blackened hands after, cleaning the floors; Bob had been using the vacuum cleaner on his engine again! On a wet day in November, 1981, KBB was steamed for the first time in preparation for its boiler test and a television crew was there to film the occasion. It was not Bob Anderson’s intention to drive the engine because there were no piston rings and he was yet to ; do the piston rod and valve rod packings. The tender was incomplete and unable to carry a water supply. During the excitement of the day

Bob said that he could give it a go (he was no doubt encouraged by the presence of the television cameras) and with much escaping steam, KBB made a number of runs up and down the station yard. Over the next few months, work on the locomotive continued in Bob Anderson’s spare time and in May, 1982, KBB was steamed for her first run along the full length of the Plains,Railway. It was a momentous occasion and “Washington” carried a number of passengers. Those who were unable to fit into the spacious eab (fortunately built to American proportions) were content to sit on the sides of the tender. Needless to say there were volunteers ready to-feed wood into the firebox. The Plains Railway, which was once part of the Mt Somers branch, is about

2.5 km long and the leisurely return trip, with plenty of stop?, took almost two hours. During this time Bob Anderson and other members of the Plains Railway were able to learn some of the finer points of running the locomotive. KBB has since been in steam on at least three other occasions to prepare for the recommissioning week-end when she will be in great demand for rides. The long saga of KBB’s restoration is almost over, and as a working museum piece it is quite possible that she has no peer. “Washington” can now look forward to a wellearned retirement, occasionally steaming along the rails of the Plains Railway, appropriately close to the main line where KBB once thundered past at the head of New Zealand’s first express train.