Ocean Beach Railway

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The Ocean Beach Railway (OBR) is a heritage railway that operates in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located near where the Ocean Beach Branch once ran. The OBR can claim two notable distinctions. The first is that it was the first operating heritage railway in New Zealand, with the first train running in 1963.^[1] The second is that it possesses A 67, a member of the 0-4-0 A class of 1873 built by Dübs & Co., and it is currently the oldest operational locomotive in New Zealand.^[2]

1 Locomotives
2 Operation
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Locomotives

The Ocean Beach Railway possesses both steam and diesel locomotives (in brackets is the year the engine was built):

A 67 (1873)
D 6 (1880)
DS 203 (1954)
DSA 252 (1954)
F 111 (1879)
TR 81 (1939)

A 67 participated in the Dunedin Railway Station's centennial celebrations^[3] and led a cavalcade of locomotives. F 111 is currently inoperable as its boiler has been condemned and scrapped, and a replacement has not yet been found or made.^[4] D 6 is currently unrestored and in storage.^[5] DSA 252 is on loan from private use at a freezing works; it had previously been used for shunting purposes at the freezing works but had fallen into disuse and was loaned to the OBR with an agreement allowing the engine to be transferred back to the freezing works should it be required again.^[6]

The OBR also possesses passenger carriages, an assortment of freight wagons, and a hand crane. The restoration work on the crane earnt the OBR a Rolling Stock Award from the National Federation of Rail Societies.^[7]

[edit] Operation

The Ocean Beach Railway has traditionally operated a summer schedule with services every weekend. In 2006, the OBR commenced operating a reduced winter schedule, featuring services on the last Sunday of every month.^[8]