The Restoration of  WA 165

Gisborne April 1986, Wa 165 was moved from Young Nicks Playground (it had been on static display) to M.E. Jukes & Son yard where the dismantling and cleaning began.

In October 1988 all the parts where moved to a permanent home, the old N.Z.R. Workshop, Customhouse Street.

All parts that were removed were cleaned after being soaked in drums of kerosene, repaired, labelled and stored for re-assembling. The frame was sent to a local firm to be sandblasted and primer painted.

Wheels sent to A & G Price, Thames to have the journals reground and the leading axle coupling rod pins replaced.  The tyres were turned by N.Z.R. Auckland, but to our horror they arrived back different sizes, so they went to N.Z.R. Hutt Workshops to have new tyres pressed on and the new profiles turned. Once the wheels arrived back, new brass sideliners where cast for the axle boxes and machined these up to size.

The springs also went to N.Z.R. Auckland, disaster again with the wheels finally being sent to Christchurch for a complete overhaul.  New pins and hangers were made in house.

The slide bars were just off condemning size and as Wa 165 has only one slide bar each side new one were made by an Engineering firm in Rotorua.

The boiler had to be replaced, the biggest challenge Wa 165’s Project Engineer had.  Although the old boiler could have been repaired according to the N.Z.R. Boiler Inspector, with new regulations and the Inspections to be handled by Marine Department the Committee decided to have a new boiler designed and built.  A new all welded steel boiler was designed under the BS2790, part 1, 1969 code by the Project Engineer.  A Civil Engineer checked the drawings before the drawings were sent to the Marine & Inspection Services for approval.

When the drawings were finally approved, the tender was put out and was won by Dispatch Engineering of Greymouth. After numerous trips to Greymouth the boiler was completed in June 1993. With the new boiler in our workshops we made a new ash pan, smokebox and grate, finally fitting the whole unit to the frame.

New side tanks, coalbunker and cab were made using the old badly eaten away ones as patterns. 

With only a few of the original boiler fittings left on the old boiler, new fittings had to be either manufactured or cast.  These fittings were finally machined on site when we were able to buy an old lathe. Before this 90% of the machining had been done by the Project Engineer in his home workshop.

Babcock’s in Auckland made new encentric rods and connecting rods.  New brasses for the coupling rods were made by A & G Price, Thames.  A new blast pipe was cast and new air tanks made in Palmerston North. 

The compressor was pulled down and the main shaft renewed. New sleeve and shuttle rings for the top head where fitted.

The generator was also dismantled, a new shaft made and new field coils wound.

The chimney was passed its used by date, fortunately one was seen in the grass at Silverstream Railway Wellington, by a member , a very lucky find.

After setting all valves and many hours consulting old NZR Plans, Wa 165 was able to be fired up under its own steam end of 1997.

Many hours of paper work, testing by the Trans Rail Engineers, and readjusting and Wa 165 was finally given approval to run at the end of 1999.

With more paper work required and getting carriages ready it was not until Labour Weekend 2000 that Wa 165 was able to leave the Gisborne Railway Station with fare paying passengers.