Locomotive cradle comes home

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 10, Issue 467, 21 December 1992, Page 6

Locomotive cradle comes home

After about 22 years away, Ohakune's locomotive turntable cradle came home last week - to the Ohakune Junction Railway Station. Main Trunk Rail Ohakune (MTRO) now faces the huge task of reinstalling the 23-metre-long, 22 tonne piece of steel in the turntable pit, at the east end of the rail yards. The aim of the project is to not only restore a piece of the town's history, but also to provide a practical aid to tourism for the town. With steam train excUrsions gaining in popularity, a turntable at Ohakune will make the town an attractive destination for trips from towns in either direction on the Main Trunk Line. Trains would be able to be run from Auckland or Wellington, stopping at Ohakune where the steam locomotive would be turned around for the return journey. Without the turntable, excursions would have to continue to either Taumarunui or Marton. MTRO representative Bob Norling said the extra distance added up to $5000 to the cost of running the excursions, as well as making setting a viable timetable difficult. The turntable is the one orginally built for Ohakune in Britain and

shipped out in 1924. At the end of the steam era, the turntable was no longer necessary so the cradle was shipped to New Plymouth, about 1969, and put into storage where it has sat until today. The pit has been dug out and made ready for installing the cradle. New Zealand Railways are to help out with a 65-tonne diesel crane, turning over

and lowering the cradle into the pit. Mr Norling said there a lot of work to be done on installing the cradle in time for the first excursion in February. He said without the help of experts such as engineer Max Martin, MTRO would not be able to take on such a project. He said it will be a demanding job to fit the cradle so that it is properly balanced to do the iob.

The turntable was so finely balanced that one man could turn a 145 tonne locomotive on the 22 tonne cradle. Another piece of history is part of the return of the cradle. Railways returned the cradle using a 20-year-old DD car transporter, which is longer than the 22 metre (75') cradle. The flat-top wagons are not normally used any more.