A relic of New Zealand’s rail past has emerged from the mud 93 years after being dumped in a Southland River. The Lumsden Heritage Trust has been campaigning to retrieve the two 1885 V class steam locomotives from the Oreti River for about half a decade. They’re thought to be one of the last of their kind in the world. But retrieving them was no easy task as our reporter Tess Brunton found out.
A crowd gathered today as the recovered locomotive was placed in front of the Lumsden Railway Precinct – a tribute to a bygone era.
The Lumsden Heritage Trust has been campaigning to retrieve the two 1885 V class steam locomotives from the Oreti River for about half a decade.
Retrieving the machines – thought to be one of the last of their kind in the world – was no easy task.
It was full steam ahead on Wednesday morning, with water pumps on and a crane poised above the first locomotive, which first hit New Zealand tracks back in 1885.
Recovery teams tried hoisting it, but the locomotive was too heavy to lift.
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