Katiki Station continues to make cautious progress toward completion. The three exterior doors have now been painted: deep green on the exterior and light grey on the interior; in keeping with the chosen colour palette. The locking bolts have been fitted, meaning that the instantly recognisable temporary chipboard door that survived several break-ins and a pounding from the weather over several years has now been decommissioned. The original doorframe has been stripped and required extensive filling to hide nearly a century of abuse. This and the new waiting room door frame have also been topcoated green. The plywood window coverings have been removed and replaced with heavy grade polycarbonate which will hopefully make the vandals efforts less rewarding. The window surrounds have been filled, sanded, sealed and painted.
The remodeled counter has had its visible faces sealed, primed and topcoated. It has been painted in a scheme and style sympathedic with that of the tablet desk that would have originally occupied the room. The electrical cabinet has also received some attention.
Work on repairing locomotive DS 203 is progressing. It has been decided to metalspray and re-machine the portion of the engine block that coincides with the problematic cylinder liner seal. The Dunedin Casino Trust has generously donated $1000 toward the repairs. The components should be refitted in mid January following the Christmas break. The majority of the locomotive's brake survey has been undertaken in anticipation for its return to service. There are just some minor checks to be done once the motor is operational.
Further timber repairs have been undertaken on motor trolley WW 7079. This has allowed the ply and steelwork associated with the front to be installed, along with the flag box. The motor has undergone minor repairs and servicing, including checking the crankshaft bearings and fitting a replacement carburettor as the previous one was extremely worn and gave unpredictable results. The motor and fuel tank have been refitted. The trolley burst into live just seconds after assembly was completed and its performance is exceeding expectations. There is still some finishing work to be undertaken with regard to the electrical system (this trolley came with an alternator and battery to provide a more constant headlight illumination and an electric horn which is louder than the traditional gong) and there is some paintwork to be attended to. However the end is in sight for this project.
Recently, the accumulation of stones was removed from the carriage shed roof. The roof seems to be surviving the onslaught of stones fairly well, although some of the flashings that were pronounced life-expired a decade ago really do need to be replaced. The Badminton Club is also suffering problems from stone-throwers, although in their case it is resulting in quite serious damage to their building cladding.
The finishing touches have been applied to the new Kerr Stuart ash-pan. Ensuring a neat fit and smooth operation was a reasonably tricky task for such a heavy item within the tight confines of the underside of the locomotive. Its successful completion is a credit to everyone involved. The locomotive has had its visual boiler inspection and has been reassembled prior to its steam test... By the time this goes to press, the locomotive should have gained its boiler certificate.
In recent weeks, we have hosted two charters and look forward to hosting a larger one in January as part of a school holiday programme.
The boiler treatment system has been changed to hopefully give more reliable results and be more straightforward. This is a tannin based system.
Recently, Society representatives attended a consultation meeting organised by the Dunedin City Council and one of their consultants. It was a wide-ranging discussion, reviewing matters relating to the Ocean Beach Reserve and the use the current tenants make of it, and their future aspirations for the area. The meeting was an extension of Council’s "Information Gathering" process that we are a party to. The information will be used as part of the basis for the management of the reserve and is being drawn from a wide variety of sources including domain board records, geomorphological consultants and a wide variety of other sources. (Geomorphologists seek to understand why landscapes look the way they do: to understand landform history and dynamics, and predict future changes through a combination of field observation, physical experiment, and numerical modeling. Geomorphology is practiced within geology, geodesy, geography, archaeology, and civil and environmental engineering. Wikipedia). The comment that resolving coastal erosion issues was going to be a lengthy process was reiterated, however a number of issues such as security of tenure and other more immediate issues will be dealt with in the foreseeable future. A number of tenants have expressed concerns over these issues. Our chairman is continuing to actively and enthusiastically pursue options for the development of the railway.
A "Frog" in a set of points was recently found to be cracked. In surprisingly quick time, Shane and his team created a replacement rail, achieving superb accuracy with the rail saw, drill and crow; bending it to exactly the required shape and with the multitude of holes in precisely the right place. This was all done during changeable weather so the end result is a real credit to them.
Work on refurbishing the former Car and Wagon Depot Triple Valve store, and historically a shelter station, has recommenced. Some months ago, the timber framing was repaired. Some of our nocturnal enthusiasts took offence to the replacement cladding so this has had to be reattached. Further cladding repairs are under way. The door has been sanded and repaired in preparation for painting, and the steelwork has been straightened and de-rusted. The door appears to be an old wagon door and the door-track wheels rotate on old brake pins, the NZR obviously were making good use of their reclaimed inventory. This project has been aided significantly by a donation from the Rail Heritage Trust, to whom we are extremely grateful. Also, a significant quantity of timber has been donated by members, to whom thanks is also due.