Buller coal train 1940.

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DescriptionNeville Lewers Collection NPM 325323PhotographerNeville LewersDate of Photo1940Map^[1]ContributorMaye Dunn

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Location (city or town)Buller

Category Information

Category TagRailwaysCoal Mining

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Date Created16th July 2019CommentsDen O'Brien: Between Greymouth and Reefton??

Barry Uddstrom: Looks like its between Granity and Birchfield

Rob Stoddart: Its around kerrs crossing,birchfield area lookin back at rockies at stockton area.

Alexander Gray: About 1k south of kerrs railcrossing and standing on the entrance to what was hands/bades farm.

Gavin Radis: Carole Stephens

Joy White: Hand's corner looking towards Granity I would think.

Paddy Robinson: Neat photo.

Richard Byrne: Fair down straight

Ian Schroder: Birchfield straight.

Paul Agnes Smith: No air on that lot. coil springs..

Anne Palmer: Reminded me we used to see heaps of coal trains heading to lyttleton.

Phil Olson: Yep between granity and birchfield.

Val Shaw: Agree Birchfield area.

Margaret Stewart: Just past Kerrs Crossing looking back to Birchfield. Wonder if my dad was the engine driver.

Terry Corkran: What a beautiful photo, more coal I say.

John Anderson: South of Kerrs Crossing (some young ones refer to it as Hands Crossing )almost opposite Prices farm on the straight leading into Birchfield ....to the North you can just get a glimpse of the Sugarloaf at Granity .

Fiona Smith: Somewhere between granity and ngakawau and heading towards ngakawau.

John Anderson: Fiona Smith ..."That would be taking coals to Newcastle " those wagons are full of coal and heading to the Westport Railhead or the Wharf .

Wendy Thomas: Fiona Smith our Uncles, the Murphy brothers from Westport drive them and the railcars Westport to Greymouth and back.

Maurie Goddard: I agree with John Anderson Hands crossing Heading into Birchfield.

Margaret Harris: When you expand the photo I get a Google map of exactly where the photo was taken...or I assume it is anyway.

Dan Berown: Between birchfeild and waimangaroa near the old flax mill ???? Loading up maybe ????

Lawrence Boul: I think this is approaching Seargent's Hill heading towards Westport.

Linzi Woods: Look at that poor little steam engine pulling all that coal. They would have 2 big Diesels on it these days :)

Peter Kerr: The locomotive is a Wb built by Baldwins of Philadelphia in 1889. Two were immediately sent to Westport, numbers eventually built up to six. Four were reboilelered in the 1920's, these lasted into the 1950's. This loco has lost its big circular Baldwin makers plate in the centre of the smokebox but some still had them at the end. The most interesting thing about the Wb's is they never left Westport until the link to the South Island system was made in 1942 so they did not visit a major workshop for a rebuild until then. Boilers that were beyond Westport were put on a collier for Wellington, repaired and returned. Similarly for driving wheels that needed reprofiling or new tyres. Everything else was done with the rather limited facilities of the Westport workshop to the great credit on the staff.

Peter Kerr: Goods train load Seddonville to Waimangaroa was 580 ton, this looks like a full load. At Waimangaroa it would have been built up to 700 ton for the climb to Sergeants Hill and run down to Westport. Four trains would have nearly filled one of the later Union Co. Colliers. Not too bad for a small 40 ton non-superheated loco with no train brakes.

John Anderson: Peter Kerr W.O.W. 700ton load & no train brakes ....so after 80 odd years I now know when they were shunting they threw the Pistons into reverse to slow down ...and here was me thinking they were just "loco Cowboys " burning off a bit of steam .HaHaHa

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Buller coal train 1940.

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