October 1, 2025 • 7 mins
Tom give some fantastic statistics around keeping the Kingston Flyer up and running!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:13):
This is the muster on Hakanui.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Thomas O'Brien is based up in Garston and Northern Northern
Southland joins us once again. The song to really be
Thomas the tank engine, busy getting the kings and flyer
up and running for the new season. Tom good afternoon.
Last time we spoke to you, you were busy replacing sleepers.
Give us some sleeper stats.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Oh, well we've got well fairly good afternoon, Andy. Good
to hear from you, but yeah, we've we had three
hundred and twenty five sleepers that we had to replace
and renew and redrill and bolt up. So we put
those on and then we just have to test the
three foot six gauge which is the distance between the
(00:53):
two rails, and then we just have to adjust that.
We use kind of like a strainer, a bit like
a big big wire strainer, but it's used to either
pully gauge in or push it out. So we've been
busy doing that. With the high rail. We jump in
the old truck and put the steel wheels from the
(01:15):
truck hydraulically onto the rail and then we tootle line
up the track and away we go.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
So how long has it taken you all up for
these sleepers.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
You gave us some figures last time and it sounded
like an arduous process.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
So yeah, we've been taken away for about six weeks
I suppose doing this job. But you know, I think
I might have said to you last time that the
total number of sleepers in the track I believe is
about twenty two thousand. So so yeah, seez it's an
ongoing process. You know, annually we do track maintenance annually
(01:50):
and yeah, so we've just been trying to get that
all done before our first charter trip tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
So how often do you go and do our am
on the track during the season as such? Or is
this the whole point of doing what you're doing? Now
everything's pretty much up to speed as such, I suppose.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Well, I mean there's certain requirements that we've got to
adhere to from an audit perspective and health and safety
and just general as you say, R and M running
maintenance and all the rest of it. So all of
that makes sense to do it in the winter and
the off season. Yeah, we've got a small crew here.
We're not like a sort of a puffing billy in
(02:28):
Melbourne where they have, you know, sort of one hundred
and fifty people and you know, they've got a huge
amount of resource availative and we've got a skeleton crew
that works through the winter and we've just got to
get these jobs done pre season. Once the season takes off,
it's very difficult to sort of get back out on
the track and carry on with that maintenance. So, you know,
(02:50):
plus the fact that we've stripped the boiler down and
we had a blow and superheated tube that had to
be replaced, you know, one of the side and it
had to be replaced. Yeah, we've had we we did
a steam dome pressure for the safety valve. We did
a test on that the other day and then locked
that off at one hundred and seventy psi for our
(03:13):
main operating pressure. So so there's a little bit of
jargon train there for your handy, But yeah, the point
is that the more that we can get done in
the off season, the smoother the actual running season is.
So yeah, we're on tracks to speak and everything.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
You bring up Puffing Billy of course just out of
Melbourne and Australia. Is that like the sister or the
brother of the Kingstom Fly.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
I wouldn't, I wouldn't go that far. I'd say K
ninety two locomotive and Mandibal. It's probably more closer related
than the Puffing Billy's, although a completely separate engine. That
K ninety two was the original Kingston Fly. So yeah,
I mean, I'm ashamed to say I haven't been to Melbourne,
let alone to Puffing Billy. But those guys have come
(03:59):
here on a regular basis and they have a real
love fear with with the Kingston Flight. It's much, you know,
much larger locomotive than the ones that they've got, but
they've got several of them and they are a major
commercial operation there with multiple lines and multiple engines. And yeah,
(04:20):
it's it's a big, big operation. But I'll have to
check it out one day.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
You love Melbourne, you need to go to Chapel Street
in per Run. All the movers and shakers are their time.
You'd fit right in.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Oh you I reckon, I don't know. I think I'd
be more of a wallflower and a place like that
mate church mouse in the corner wondering what the where
the hell I am. Yeah, so, although yeah, yeah, it'd
be great to go. I've heard good things about Melbourne.
So yeah, one day mate.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
So everything though, it's everything's just up and running for
the season. You're pretty confident.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Yeah, No, we're very confident. We're very confident, and yeah
we are looking forward to a good season. So yeah,
the train's going to do well this year.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
So yeah, I really looking how much coal does it
take to get it going? Well?
Speaker 3 (05:05):
At the moment, we're just loading it up with wood,
just you know, to get it going for a start,
and then once we once we get up to about
thirty forty pounds of pressure, we start putting a bit
of coal on. But yeah, I mean to actually get
it up to steam pressure from coal, which is what
we're doing this morning, it takes I don't know, probably
(05:27):
four or five hours, maybe five or six hours, depending
on the outside temperature. Yeah, but once we get running
it doesn't take as long. So yeah, but we'll go
through about a ton and a half of coal in
a day. I suppose.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
There you go, here's your theme, Thomas the tankins and
you can't beat it.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
I mean, who ever.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Thought change it would be so riveting? But it's certainly
something part of the southern landscape.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Are we aways up there? How's it been Oh you.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Know, typical spring, windy, blustery, rainy, sunny, four seasons in
one day, all that sort of carry on. But we're
looking forward to a settled week. The forecast is looking
good for this coming weekend, for tomorrow's trip and for
Sunday's trip as well. So yeah, no, we're pumped, right,
we're building up a head esteem where pumped. We're ready
to go, all cylinders going, But just.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
A tourist season in general, it's due to kick off properly, absolutely, yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
So I mean generally speaking, it's not until Labor weekend
that we really see a shift in the numbers of
people coming through. But yeah, we've got these charter trips,
but pretty much after Labor weekend that's when we get
our sort of regular locals coming through. Otago South enders
in particular see some familiar faces and you know, repeat
(06:46):
offenders coming through, repeat train offenders coming through have just
got an absolute love affair of the nostalgia of the train.
So it's great, that's good.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Hey, good on your tom Will you carry on doing
what you'd doing.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
But all the best for the weekend, dare, It's going
to be a great occasion up there at Kingston.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Absolutely mate. Cheers Andyte.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Thomas, O'Brien Thomas a tank engine from now on and reckon.
This is the muster before we wrap up Resident Sporting
Gury Nathan Burdon, South and Steads Go one more time
in twenty twenty five
This is the muster on Hakanui.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Thomas O'Brien is based up in Garston and Northern Northern
Southland joins us once again. The song to really be
Thomas the tank engine, busy getting the kings and flyer
up and running for the new season. Tom good afternoon.
Last time we spoke to you, you were busy replacing sleepers.
Give us some sleeper stats.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Oh, well we've got well fairly good afternoon, Andy. Good
to hear from you, but yeah, we've we had three
hundred and twenty five sleepers that we had to replace
and renew and redrill and bolt up. So we put
those on and then we just have to test the
three foot six gauge which is the distance between the
(00:53):
two rails, and then we just have to adjust that.
We use kind of like a strainer, a bit like
a big big wire strainer, but it's used to either
pully gauge in or push it out. So we've been
busy doing that. With the high rail. We jump in
the old truck and put the steel wheels from the
(01:15):
truck hydraulically onto the rail and then we tootle line
up the track and away we go.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
So how long has it taken you all up for
these sleepers.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
You gave us some figures last time and it sounded
like an arduous process.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
So yeah, we've been taken away for about six weeks
I suppose doing this job. But you know, I think
I might have said to you last time that the
total number of sleepers in the track I believe is
about twenty two thousand. So so yeah, seez it's an
ongoing process. You know, annually we do track maintenance annually
(01:50):
and yeah, so we've just been trying to get that
all done before our first charter trip tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
So how often do you go and do our am
on the track during the season as such? Or is
this the whole point of doing what you're doing? Now
everything's pretty much up to speed as such, I suppose.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Well, I mean there's certain requirements that we've got to
adhere to from an audit perspective and health and safety
and just general as you say, R and M running
maintenance and all the rest of it. So all of
that makes sense to do it in the winter and
the off season. Yeah, we've got a small crew here.
We're not like a sort of a puffing billy in
(02:28):
Melbourne where they have, you know, sort of one hundred
and fifty people and you know, they've got a huge
amount of resource availative and we've got a skeleton crew
that works through the winter and we've just got to
get these jobs done pre season. Once the season takes off,
it's very difficult to sort of get back out on
the track and carry on with that maintenance. So, you know,
(02:50):
plus the fact that we've stripped the boiler down and
we had a blow and superheated tube that had to
be replaced, you know, one of the side and it
had to be replaced. Yeah, we've had we we did
a steam dome pressure for the safety valve. We did
a test on that the other day and then locked
that off at one hundred and seventy psi for our
(03:13):
main operating pressure. So so there's a little bit of
jargon train there for your handy, But yeah, the point
is that the more that we can get done in
the off season, the smoother the actual running season is.
So yeah, we're on tracks to speak and everything.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
You bring up Puffing Billy of course just out of
Melbourne and Australia. Is that like the sister or the
brother of the Kingstom Fly.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
I wouldn't, I wouldn't go that far. I'd say K
ninety two locomotive and Mandibal. It's probably more closer related
than the Puffing Billy's, although a completely separate engine. That
K ninety two was the original Kingston Fly. So yeah,
I mean, I'm ashamed to say I haven't been to Melbourne,
let alone to Puffing Billy. But those guys have come
(03:59):
here on a regular basis and they have a real
love fear with with the Kingston Flight. It's much, you know,
much larger locomotive than the ones that they've got, but
they've got several of them and they are a major
commercial operation there with multiple lines and multiple engines. And yeah,
(04:20):
it's it's a big, big operation. But I'll have to
check it out one day.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
You love Melbourne, you need to go to Chapel Street
in per Run. All the movers and shakers are their time.
You'd fit right in.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Oh you I reckon, I don't know. I think I'd
be more of a wallflower and a place like that
mate church mouse in the corner wondering what the where
the hell I am. Yeah, so, although yeah, yeah, it'd
be great to go. I've heard good things about Melbourne.
So yeah, one day mate.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
So everything though, it's everything's just up and running for
the season. You're pretty confident.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Yeah, No, we're very confident. We're very confident, and yeah
we are looking forward to a good season. So yeah,
the train's going to do well this year.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
So yeah, I really looking how much coal does it
take to get it going? Well?
Speaker 3 (05:05):
At the moment, we're just loading it up with wood,
just you know, to get it going for a start,
and then once we once we get up to about
thirty forty pounds of pressure, we start putting a bit
of coal on. But yeah, I mean to actually get
it up to steam pressure from coal, which is what
we're doing this morning, it takes I don't know, probably
(05:27):
four or five hours, maybe five or six hours, depending
on the outside temperature. Yeah, but once we get running
it doesn't take as long. So yeah, but we'll go
through about a ton and a half of coal in
a day. I suppose.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
There you go, here's your theme, Thomas the tankins and
you can't beat it.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
I mean, who ever.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Thought change it would be so riveting? But it's certainly
something part of the southern landscape.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Are we aways up there? How's it been Oh you.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Know, typical spring, windy, blustery, rainy, sunny, four seasons in
one day, all that sort of carry on. But we're
looking forward to a settled week. The forecast is looking
good for this coming weekend, for tomorrow's trip and for
Sunday's trip as well. So yeah, no, we're pumped, right,
we're building up a head esteem where pumped. We're ready
to go, all cylinders going, But just.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
A tourist season in general, it's due to kick off properly, absolutely, yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
So I mean generally speaking, it's not until Labor weekend
that we really see a shift in the numbers of
people coming through. But yeah, we've got these charter trips,
but pretty much after Labor weekend that's when we get
our sort of regular locals coming through. Otago South enders
in particular see some familiar faces and you know, repeat
(06:46):
offenders coming through, repeat train offenders coming through have just
got an absolute love affair of the nostalgia of the train.
So it's great, that's good.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Hey, good on your tom Will you carry on doing
what you'd doing.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
But all the best for the weekend, dare, It's going
to be a great occasion up there at Kingston.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Absolutely mate. Cheers Andyte.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Thomas, O'Brien Thomas a tank engine from now on and reckon.
This is the muster before we wrap up Resident Sporting
Gury Nathan Burdon, South and Steads Go one more time
in twenty twenty five
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