Waitara Railway Preservation Society Inc.
On 25 May 1999 this Society was established with the primary aim to save the 126 year old branchline from Lepperton Junction down to the township of Waitara. This branchline was the first railway system in Taranaki and linked New Plymouth with the port of Waitara. Two and a half years later what was an idea, became possible with the assistance of two grants from the Taranaki Electricity Trust and the TSB Community Trust, with a further amount raised by society members to make up the grand total of $360.000. The objective of this society is to operate a heritage tourist railway on the 7.2km branchline from Lepperton to Waitara. This hour long trip will be an asset to Taranaki, but also of interest to the many national & international tourists who pass through this region.
The Waitara to Lepperton branchline is 7.2km in length and has seven level crossings along the way. The track consists of 70, 85 & 90lb rails, with a main and a loop at the Waitara terminus. Departing from the town there is a 1:40 gradiant climb towards Lepperton where the branch joins the New Plymouth to Marton line.
Their first passenger carrying service was Saturday, 23 October, Labour Weekend 2003. They ran the whole weekend and gave over 1300 people the pleasure of travelling on their line, by either jigger or train. The first time a passenger service had gone up the line since the 1970s.
They run trains on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month during the summer months (from the start of daylight savings until the end of May) for the public to ride. The winter months are used for maintenance but groups can do booking for days other than their running days.
I have been a member of this group now for about 6 years. I first visited this group with a members bus trip with SteamRail Wanganui in 2009. Since then I have been heading up to Waitara on the odd Saturday when I am free to help with their working bees. I have now passed their Jigger's drivers ticket and I'm working on getting my loco drivers ticket when time permits.
Photos of some of the rail items belonging to the club
21st May 2011
After several months I finally got back up to the Waitara group to help out with one of their working bees. Three members of SteamRail Wanganui also came along to give a hand. My job for the day was to drive the Dsc loco and pull tree stumps out for the members firewood heap. Since I don't get up to this group as often as I do the other groups I belong to, its always amazing to see the changes that have been done since my last visit. The Dsc is now getting painted in the group's new colours. This makes the loco stand out especially on all the road crossings the line has. Work has started on the Dsa loco with the cab getting a water blasting while we were there. Other members were working on one of the guards vans putting new seats in for the passengers on the groups running days. Every time I get up to this group there always seems to be a lot of work to be done. Photos were taken by Mark Seconi, Colin Hughes and myself.