Returning Ja 1260 to Steam!
Ja1260 is the largest steam engine preserved on a heritage railway in the South Island & the time has come to return the monster to service!
Canterbury
The Plains Railway's Ja 1260 is the largest engine preserved by a Heritage Railway for its own use in the whole of the South Island.
In early 2013 leaking boiler tubes (which help heat the water in the boiler) were identified and the locomotive withdrawn from service, pending a decision on its future. In the last few weeks The Plains Railway has elected to return the Ja to service, with the goal of running if for the societies 45th Anniversary at Labour Weekend, 2016.
Alongside replacing the leaking tubes, the decision has been made to replace all tubes not replaced during overhaul in 2008, which has increased the costs involved considerably. We also intend to reinstate a brick arch (used for better heat distribution), alongside a raft of other maintenance issues that have been identified.
All going to plan, we hope to return the 109 ton behemoth to service for our 45th Anniversary at Labour Weekend 2016.
Costing Breakdown (All costs are estimates)
* Boiler Tubes: $3400
* Repair and Maintenance: $1000
* Boiler Inspection: $1000
About us
Providing a look back through the ages for young and old and showing people how things used to be done by running our railway and putting our vintage machinery collection to use
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Latest update
Steam Dome Top Removed 23 June 2016
In order to keep things moving, the steam dome top has been removed to allow for investigation into the regulator, this is known to have a slight leak which will need to be rectified before the boiler can be hydraulically tested.
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