Newspaper Article 1994 – Smiles make it all worthwhile

Smiles make it all worthwhile

Smiles on children’s faces is the reward which motivates a retired Waipawa engineer who has spent 1500 hours building a 2.5-metre model German locomotive.

Gordon Brogden is a member of Havelock North Live Steamers club, a club for model train enthusiasts.

The streamlined model Henschel BBC, which was started on January 13 last year, has been launched at the Keirunga railway where the club operates from.

The locomotive can pull three carriages, with up to 16 passengers.

The engine is electric, powered by four motors, and can run for 1 ½ -hours on one battery charge. Optional power can be supplied by a supplementary petrol engine which drives a generator that charges the batteries.

The model travels at 13km/h and takes nine minutes to complete the Keirunga track.

The model, built from a photo in a railway book, is the only one in the world. The original engine was trialled by the Germans and then stored in a Hanover museum.

In the next three months the model will be taken to Rotorua and Palmerston North.

Mr Brogden has built a DH model diesel locomotive and his next project is a traction engine which will operate in Waipawa and around Central Hawke’s Bay.

“The kids just love having rides on the trains,” he said. “The smiles make it all worthwhile.”

Photo caption – Mr Brogden in the model Henschel BBC he built.