Wellington Heritage Multiple Unit Preservation Trust
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The Wellington Heritage Multiple Unit Preservation Trust (WHMUPT) was formed to preserved D 2130, DM 556 and D 2411 or otherwise known as the "Cyclops" EMU set. The trust is based at Maymorn near the Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust (RIRHT). The set was purchased in January 2013[1] and arrived at their base on 21 April the same year.[2][3] One trailer from this unit has been used as a passenger carriage by the RIRHT for their operational running days, and is stored undercover. Minimal conservation work has been done to the rest of the set which is stored outside.
In June 2018, the group purchased a Ganz-Mavag EMU from Greater Wellington Regional Council for the symbolic price of $1.[4][5] The unit had been sold to an overseas buyer previously, but the deal had fallen through and was in the process of being disposed of by burial when the deal was reached to preserve the unit.[6] The unit has been stored in Wellington Railway yard awaiting a move to Maymorn to join Cyclops, with some graffiti removal work undertaken on the unit.
In February 2022, the Ganz Mavag unit was moved from Wellington yard where it was stored to Hutt Workshops for further storage. The Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand (RHT) described the unit as having been abandoned by the WHMUPT, and that they were assuming the role of finding it a home.[7] The RHT said the unit would be moving to Maymorn still, but its new caretakers would be the Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust (RIRHT) instead and that the move to Hutt Workshops was for a limited time while RHT funded the move to Maymorn. The RHT indicated that the WHMUPT was essentially defunct. It is not known at present whether the RIRHT are also to become the new owners of the Cyclops unit as well.
References[edit]
- ^ "Electric Locomotives Register". New Zealand Rolling Stock Register. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
- ^ McLENNAN, ROSEMARY (30 January 2013). "Bright future ahead for historic train". Upper Hutt Leader Fairfax NZ. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
Bright future ahead for historic train
- ^ McLENNAN, ROSEMARY (24 April 2013). "Giant Moves to Last Home". Fairfax NZ. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
Giant Moves to Last Home
- ^ Riley, Rob (July 2018). "Wellington Heritage Multiple Unit Trust" (PDF). FRONZ Journal. Federation of Rail Organisations NZ Inc. p. 6. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- ^ Long, Jessica (8 June 2018). "Scrapped Wellington commuter train ripped apart at landfill". Fairfax NZ. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
Upper Hutt's Maymorn Railway Society snapped up a bargain – buying one of the scrapped commuter trains for just $1.
- ^ Stewart, Matt (29 May 2018). "Wellington's asbestos-laden trains being scrapped and buried at dump". Fairfax NZ. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- ^ "Post by Dr Murray King, Chairman of the RHT on photo of EM3505". Retrieved 18 February 2022.
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