The Pleasant Point Museum and Railway is a heritage railway located in the small country town of Pleasant Point in southern Canterbury, New Zealand, inland from Timaru. Its main terminal is located at Pleasant Point station, which was an important stop on the Fairlie Branch. For just over a year from 24 December 1875, Pleasant Point was actually the terminus of the line as construction further inland proceeded, and upon completion of the line, it functioned as a typical country station until closure of the Fairlie Branch came on 2 March 1968. After the line closed, a historical society was formed with the aim of preserving Pleasant Point station, as the original building from 1875 still stood, with the addition of a 1930s booking office. The society ultimately managed to preserve the station, yard, and roughly 2.5 km of track. Pleasant Point is a small country town in southern Canterbury, New Zealand, some 19km inland from Timaru. ... The New Zealand region of Canterbury mostly comprises the Canterbury Plains. ... Timaru is a major port city in south Canterbury, New Zealand, located 160 kilometres south of Christchurch and about 200 kilometres north of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. ... December 24 is the 358th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (359th in leap years). ... 1875 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

Motive Power at the Pleasant Point Railway includes:

• Ab 699 tender steam locomotive from 1922
• D 16 tank locomotive from 1878
• TR 18 diesel shunter from 1936
• the world's only Model T Ford railcar, which dates from 1925

The unique nature of the Model T Ford railcar has enhanced the popularity of the Railway and it runs multiple trips on operating days. Trains run during the summer and at other holiday periods. Rolling stock includes New Zealand's only "half birdcage" passenger carriage, which dates from 1895. Preserved No. ... A British tender locomotive Steam locomotives often haul a tender, which is a special railroad car designed to hold the locomotives fuel (wood or coal) and water. ... A locomotive (from lat. ... A tank locomotive (occasionally tank engine) is a steam locomotive that carries its own fuel and water with it, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. ... A switcher (the general United States usage; common British terminology is shunter, while the Pennsylvania Railroad used shifter) is a small railroad locomotive intended not for moving trains any great distance but rather for assembling a train ready for a road locomotive to take over, disassembling a train that has... The Model T Ford railcar was a type of railcar that operated on New Zealands national rail network. ... Rolling Stock. ...

The Museum includes historic railway memorabilia and vintage computers, and the society also operates an Old Time Movie Theatre.

See also

• Short history of NZ rail preservation

Early preservation efforts in New Zealand were restricted to static public display of locomotives, probably the first a Double Fairlie E class in Dunedin in the 1920s. ...

External links

• Official site of the Pleasant Point Museum and Railway
• Article about the development of the Railway

References

• Churchman, Geoffrey B., and Hurst, Tony; The Railways Of New Zealand: A Journey Through History, HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand), 1991 reprint
• Leitch, David, and Scott, Brian; Exploring New Zealand's Ghost Railways, Grantham House, 1998 revised edition