The Pahiatua Railcar Society (PRS) is a society located in Pahiatua, New Zealand, dedicated to the restoration of railcars and other locomotives and rolling stock formerly operated by the New Zealand Railways Department. It is notable for possessing the sole remaining examples of the RM class 88 seater and Wairarapa railcars.
Having restored Standard class railcar Rm 31 to mainline standard for use on the national railway network, the Society ran its first revenue services on the Wairarapa Line at an open day on 12 February 2012.
Infrastructure
The PRS is based at Pahiatua's railway station on the Wairarapa Line and has preserved the station building, goods shed, and surrounds. The railway station is a wooden structure that dates from 1971 and was built to replace a former building from 1897 that had been demolished. It is one of the last wooden stations built by the New Zealand Railways Department and one of the few remaining examples of its type. The goods shed dates from 1897 and is one of the larger rural goods sheds to survive in New Zealand. The PRS has added its own structures to the station precinct: a railcar shed for storage and restoration work, and another shed to provide shelter for the society's rolling stock.
Rolling stock NZR Railcars Key:In service, Mainline CertifiedIn serviceUnder overhaul/restorationStoredStatic displayScrapped Original class and number TMS number Name Builder Year built Arrived NotesRm 1 RM 18Nissho Iwai 1972 2020 Rm 2 RM 24Nissho Iwai 1972 2020 Rm 3 RM 30Nissho Iwai 1972 2020Rm 5MahuhuNZR Hutt Workshops 1936 1992 Leased from Silver Stream Railway Rm 31TokomaruNZR Hutt Workshops 1938 2001 Rm 34TainuiNZR Hutt Workshops 1938 2019 Rm 121 Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company on behalf of Drewry Car Company 1956 2003Owned by the RM 133 Railcar Trust BoardRm 133Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company on behalf of Drewry Car Company 1956 2002Owned by the RM 133 Railcar Trust Board
Diesel locomotives Key:In service, Mainline CertifiedIn serviceUnder overhaul/restorationStoredStatic displayScrapped Original class and number Builder Year built Arrived NotesTR 36Drewry Car Company 1939 TR 160A & G Price 1959 2004 PWD D 597 1937
Wagons Key:In service, Mainline CertifiedIn serviceUnder overhaul/restorationStoredStatic displayScrapped Original class and numberType Year built NotesBc 704 wheel cement wagon 1963Jc 48574 wheel sheep wagon 1967Kp 27144 wheel steel box wagon196?La 150974 wheel highsided wagon1920Lb 32174 wheel highsided wagon1976Lb 28544 wheel highsided wagon197?Mc 23834 wheel lowside wagon1967Mcc 20234 wheel motorcar wagon1941Rb 558Bogie highside wagon1952T 218Bogie cattle wagon1965Ub 1208Bogie flat wagon1950Supporting No. 1 end of RM121Ur 1953Bogie flat wagon1964Supporting No. 2 end of RM121Uc 824Bogie tank wagon1928Vr 20Bogie insulated wagon196?W 12354 wheel insulated box wagon1960Yb 5814 wheel ballast wagon1942Za 1327Bogie steel box wagon1976
Rm 31 is the society's only operating railcar and is one of four preserved railcars of the Standard class. The PRS is actively restoring Rm 5, which has had to be largely rebuilt due to its rotten wooden frame, and Rm 121. Parts of Rm 119 and Rm 133 are being used on Rm 121. It used to be believed that no 88 seater railcar would survive for preservation, but the PRS and the Rm 133 Railcar Trust Board recovered Rm 133 from its resting place at Auckland International Airport where it had been used by the rescue services for training. As both ends were affected by a fire, it has subsequently been decided to dedicate all efforts to the restoration of Rm 121. Both ends of Rm 121 have now been recovered and other parts have been sourced from the remnants of Rm 133 and Rm 119. The society aims to fully rebuild an operational 88 seater.
The two TR locomotives are small shunting locomotives, and the PWD D class is another shunting locomotive that was solely operated by the PWD on its construction projects and never owned by the Railways Department. The Society also possesses three jiggers (surfacemen's trolleys), two motorised and one hand-powered, and the turntable from Thames. The society's collection of rolling stock includes both four-wheel and bogie wagons of an array of types, from a guard's van to cement and sheep wagons.
In September 2020, the Society announced it had bought the three recently-retired Silver Fern Railcars off of KiwiRail.
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