It is technically feasible to restore the Flyer to operation, what actually happens from here will naturally depend on available finances. However, at present, rail heritage in Southland is divided between a number of small groups spread over a wide area and it is difficult to get enough on the ground support and finance to operate something on the scale of the Flyer as a heritage railway, let alone a commercial outfit. The previous collapse of the Fiordland Vintage Machinery Museum's railway section, which formerly owned K 92, and the Ohai Railway Board Heritage Trust, are examples of this. K 92 has been sitting at Mandeville outside where a heritage railway is being established at a very slow pace, an indication of the challenges facing rail preservationists in the area, although the locomotive has recently been relocated to Invercargill and is now being restored to running order. At Lumsden a local trust is setting up its own displays at the old railway station.
Southern Steam in Invercargill is doing the work on K 92, they have the most credibility in what is a lightly populated region with very few people outside Invercargill/Gore. If they are not involved in this new development then the resources are now split between two different groups. In recent years the Flyer has been a financial basket case as a seasonal commercial tourist operation, epitomised by the carriages' deteriorating woodwork being covered over with steel sheet panelling, and one of the AB steam locomotives being out of service requiring a significant overhaul. The track is said to be in poor condition using very old rails and sleepers.
This is why most successful steam train operations are in major centres. The Kingston rail line is very long by heritage standards which makes it a hard ask as well. I think given its failure to fly in more recent times it is going to be interesting to see what will happen at Kingston.
Southern Steam in Invercargill is doing the work on K 92, they have the most credibility in what is a lightly populated region with very few people outside Invercargill/Gore. If they are not involved in this new development then the resources are now split between two different groups. In recent years the Flyer has been a financial basket case as a seasonal commercial tourist operation, epitomised by the carriages' deteriorating woodwork being covered over with steel sheet panelling, and one of the AB steam locomotives being out of service requiring a significant overhaul. The track is said to be in poor condition using very old rails and sleepers.
This is why most successful steam train operations are in major centres. The Kingston rail line is very long by heritage standards which makes it a hard ask as well. I think given its failure to fly in more recent times it is going to be interesting to see what will happen at Kingston.
