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Goldfields Railway DSG 3059

This is the first in a series of 7 items based on the rolling stock at my local heritage railway.

The Goldfields Railway is a heritage line in New Zealand. It runs for a distance of 6 kilometres from Waihi to Waikino, with Waihi being the headquarters of the line. The Waihi to Waikino line is a surviving portion of the old East Coast Main Trunk alignment. The ECMT is the railway line that runs to Tauranga, and - prior to 1978 - it ran on a very indirect route via Te Aroha, Paeroa, the Karangahake Gorge and Waihi. In 1978, this old route was closed and replaced by the Kaimai Tunnel deviation.

After the closure, it wasn't long before the Goldfields Railway started running tourist trains over the section of track they had saved (operations started in around 1981). Today they are still a popular tourist railway, and run semi-regular services on the line each weekend. Goldfields is unique in that it's the only heritage railway in New Zealand that has a bridge crossing a State Highway. In this case - SH 2.

A recent development at Waihi station has been the addition of a miniature railway, which runs in a small loop beside the engine shed. Waihi station is unique in that it's the only complete railway station precinct in New Zealand that still retains its original NZR-era buildings.

As for Waikino, well the station building there actually came from Paeroa. As well as a working ticket office, the station also houses a cafe. Because it seems very few historic station buildings in New Zealand are immune from being converted into a cafe (take Helensville, Swanson and National Park for example).

Some of the engines based in Waihi are as follows:

Baguley-Drewry 0-4-0 diesel shunters Nos. 3650 and 3652
DSA 551
Peckett 0-4-2T No. 1957
(A.&.G.) Price 0-4-0 diesel No. 151

Baguley-Drewry No. 3650 is the main motive power on the line, and she is painted dark green to match the coaches. The other BD shunter - 3652 - is painted dark blue and was used as the maintenance engine. When I last went to the railway - in November 2019 - 3652 was stuck in the shed after having some sort of mechanical fault. The livery of this DSG re-skin is based on 3650. I may do another one in the future that's based on the dark blue 3652.

Sadly the little Peckett tank engine - the only steamer at the Goldfields - has been out of service for at least 14 years, as the railway lacks the funds for a new boiler.

Sometimes DSA 551 is used as the passenger engine instead, especially since this engine has recently had an overhaul. The Hunslet DSA is currently the only ex-New Zealand Railways locomotive based on the railway, as all the other engines were built for industrial work.

Price shunter No. 151 is a very tiny engine, and I can confirm that statement having seen the engine for myself. She is used to shunt wagons and coaches around in the yard at Waihi. 151 is far too small to take the main passenger trains, especially since she can legally only take one coach at a time.

As someone who has been to the Goldfields Railway many times over his 19 years on this planet, I can safely say that it's a beautiful line. It takes around 30 minutes to cover the 6 kilometres of track, but that's plenty of time to have a look at the scenery. Curiously they have big teddy bears in the coaches, and - when I was at the railway last November - I was holding up the largest teddy and waving its arms at the motorists on State Highway 2. Remember, the railway crosses a bridge over SH 2 just over 2/3 of the way to Waikino.

Here is a link to a Flickr album, which showcases the pictures from November 28th, 2019. This was the day when I got a behind-the-scenes tour of the Goldfields Railway.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cnj2000/albums/72157712789391272

(And now for information behind the engine who's number is on this re-skin - DSG 3059)

DSG 3059 was built by Toshiba of Japan in 1981, entering service in March of that year. She was the sixth member of a 24-strong class to be built, and the DSG's were designed for heavy shunting. Sometimes they could also make short trip-workings out on the mainline; an example of which is the Napier to Hastings shunt. The DSG class were the 2nd diesel class to enter service in New Zealand following the introduction of the TMS numbering system in 1978/1979. As such, they never carried pre-TMS numbers (e.g. - DC 1554 / DC 4035).

The entire DSG class was originally painted in the now-classic International Orange livery, and 3059 was no exception. 3059 received her first re-paint in 1993, being re-painted in New Zealand Rail blue. Barely any photographs survive of DSG's in this livery, and I only managed to find one of 3059. Around five years later - starting in 1998 - the entire DSG class was fitted with shunter's refuges. These are short frame extensions with big steps on each side, and they allow the driver to stand outside the cab and still drive the engine by means of remote control.

Around the same time as the installation of shunter's refuges, DSG 3059 was repainted in Tranz Rail blue. She stayed in this livery right through until 2010. This was when the engine was repainted in the KiwiRail livery.

Today all 24 DSG's are in KR colours, and the entire class is still proving to be very reliable shunters. As for 3059, she has been based in Wellington - the capital city of New Zealand - for almost her entire life. The one time I saw 3059 in person, she was shunting log wagons just outside Wellington station.