Project Steam is a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

preservation society based in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It is dedicated to the restoration of

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s formerly operated by the

New Zealand Railways Department The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR (New Zealand Government Railways) and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway ...

, with its goal to restore at least one locomotive to main line operating conditions in order to operate excursions from Dunedin Railway Station. The society is currently the only one of its kind in Dunedin; the

Ocean Beach Railway The Ocean Beach Railway (OBR) is a heritage railway that operates in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located between John Wilson Drive in the suburb of Saint Kilda and sports grounds near Forbury Park Raceway, and runs parallel with the city's main b ...

operates small

tank locomotive A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locom ...

s but on private trackage, and the popular Taieri Gorge Limited is run solely by

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...

s. The restoration of P 107, also using some parts from the remains of P 25, is currently the focus of Project Steam's efforts. The two locomotives were built in 1885 by

Nasmyth, Wilson and Company Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company, originally called The Bridgewater Foundry, specialised in the production of Machine tool, heavy machine tools and locomotives. It was located in Patricroft, in Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford England, close to ...

, entered service in 1887, were withdrawn in 1928, and on 8 August 1932 were dumped in the

Clutha River The Clutha River (, officially gazetted as Clutha River / ) is the second longest river in New Zealand and the longest in the South Island. It flows south-southeast through Central and South Otago from Lake Wānaka in the Southern Alps to the P ...

near

Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex **Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * Be ...

to protect the

Roxburgh Branch The Roxburgh Branch was a branch line railway built in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island that formed part of the country's national rail network. Originally known as the Lawrence Branch, it was one of the longest construction pr ...

from erosion. Their remains were recovered in May 1992, and as the frame of P 107 was in a better condition, it was chosen for restoration, with extra parts sourced from P 25, most notably its wheels, which were in better condition to P 107's. During the celebration of the Dunedin Railway Station's centennial in October 2006, P 107 was displayed in partially rebuilt condition at the station. Funds are currently being raised for the next and most costly stage of the restoration, the reconstruction of P 107's boiler. The restoration is historically significant as the locomotive is one of, if not the earliest known surviving example of a British-built . Once fully restored, there are proposals to establish a regular service run by P 107 as a tourist attraction, such as a service modelled on the

Kingston Flyer The Kingston Flyer is a vintage steam train in the South Island of New Zealand at the southern end of Lake Wakatipu. It used 14 kilometres of preserved track that once formed a part of the Kingston Branch. Originally, Kingston Flyer was a passen ...

. It would run over the preserved track of the

Otago Central Railway The Otago Central Railway (OCR) or in later years Otago Central Branch Railway, now often referred to as the Taieri Gorge Railway, was a secondary railway line in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. Construction Construction of ...

between Pukerangi and

Middlemarch ''Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life'' is a novel by the English author Mary Anne Evans, who wrote as George Eliot. It first appeared in eight installments (volumes) in 1871 and 1872. Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midland town, ...

, connecting with the Taieri Gorge Railway's daily diesel-hauled services between Dunedin and Pukerangi. Project Steam's first home was a location by the Water of Leith in central Dunedin. Later the group moved most of the restorable items to the Dunedin Gas Works, where the frame and wheels of P 107 were continued to be worked on while P 25's frame (cut into sections) could be found stored onsite. All other components such as spare wheels, old tender bodies and the boilers were moved to a field next to the

Taieri Gorge Railway Dunedin Railways (formerly the Taieri Gorge Railway) is the trading name of Dunedin Railways Limited, an operator of a railway line and tourist trains based at Dunedin Railway Station in the South Island of New Zealand. The company is a council- ...

at Sutton. In 2008, with redevelopment occurring at the Gas Works necessitating the group's removal from the Gas Works, P 107 was shifted to Springfield and is now located at the

Midland Rail Heritage Trust The Midland Rail Heritage Trust was founded on 28 April 2004 by a group of railway enthusiasts to preserve and promote the Midland Railway line and the steam locomotives that worked it. It is based at the Old Railway Yards, Pococks Road, Springf ...

. It is understood that the group will continue to restore P 107 to operational order at Springfield.

References

* Tom McKinlay, "Hopes Raised for Steam Engine", ''Otago Daily Times'', October 2006.
Official page of Project Steam
{{NZR Heritage Rail transport preservation in New Zealand Organisations based in Dunedin Transport in Dunedin