ON March 25, Glenbrook Vintage Railway’s Ww 4-6-4T No. 644 (NZ Railways Hillside Works 179/1915) hauled its first excursion on the New Zealand main line network since 1970.
Back then, the loco was used to haul the Railway Enthusiasts’ Society 1970 Railfans Tour from Greymouth to Christchurch on the South Island. This was part of its delivery trip from Greymouth to Auckland in March/April 1970 on the way to preservation at the Glenbrook Vintage Railway.
Four Ww class locomotives have been preserved, all in the North Island with two of them at Glenbrook, although No. 644 was stored for decades before overhaul work began. This was completed in 2022 and has been undertaken to the standard required for main line operation on the KiwiRail network. At the same time, the bogie water wagon used with the loco was given a major overhaul to accompany No. 644. The pump on the water wagon can be started remotely to pump water to the side tanks as required, avoiding the need to stop and start the pump.
The train on March 25 ran from Glenbrook to Hamilton mainly as a thank-you to the Glenbrook Vintage Railway volunteers for their efforts in running and maintaining the railway, although a limited number of seats were available to the public.