Cambridge Model Engineering Society - Fundraising for a Brand New Club Locomotive

The Cambridge Model Engineering Society is a Miniature Train Club located at the Leamington Domain in Cambridge, New Zealand. We run every Sunday 10am - 3pm providing rides people of all ages, for only $2, with under 5 year olds for free!

Our club first started in Rotorua of New Zealand. It was a magnificent track winding through a lot of bush life and over streams. Unfortunately, due to a lease agreement that failed to be renewed, the club was forced to close. Two former members of the Rotorua Club later approached the Waipa District Council to ask for the lease of land at the Leamington Domain for a Miniature railway on the agreement that we gave back to the community in some way. Construction began in 2011/2012, and we opened on December 1st 2012. Now leading to the present day, we have a 200-300 metre long track, looping around the Leamington Domain in Cambridge, which features our recently completed 'Lions Den Tunnel'.

Volunteer members of our club run our miniature railway. This is fun for all members, especially those who maybe don't have time or the interest in the actual modelling side of the hobby. There is also an extensive amount of behind-the-scenes maintenance that occurs, from rail to tunnel to steaming bay upgrades. Much of the profit earned from Running Days goes back into maintaining and upgrading the railway and our facilities. Absolutely no members are paid, all are volunteers at our track, who do it for fun.

The Cambridge Model Engineering Society is looking to raise funds for a Brand New Club Locomotive, to help increase our running capacity and haul more passengers around our track.

Currently, our club has 2-4 locomotives available to haul passengers around the track. 3 of these are privately owned, meaning they aren't always available to run at our track every Sunday. Our current club Petrol-Electric Locomotive has served us well, but it has become increasingly more un-reliable, meaning we cannot rely on it to always be ready for a busy running day.

But here is our solution. Our club has decided to purchase a brand new Petrol-Electric club locomotive from Ikon Engineering in Auckland. Ikon Engineering has vast experience in building Miniature Locomotives, having done the same for the Manukau Live Steamers in Auckland and the Hamilton Model Engineers in Hamilton. For those interested, it will be modeled after a Kiwirail DXR locomotive, in the Kiwirail color scheme. This locomotive will be much more safe, powerful and reliable, meaning we will always have a minimum of 2 locomotives available for the club to use.

Make sure to head over to our Facebook Page to see updates on the progress of our new club loco!