TranzMetro DM556 'Cyclops'

Another locomotive, the seventh in the series:


The NZR DM/D electric multiple units were ordered in 1936 and built by English Electric. The first six DM motor cars and D trailers entered service in 1938. Due to traffic growth, three more DM cars and two more D trailers were ordered in 1942 and placed into service in 1946. Forty more DM cars and 71 D trailers were ordered in 1946 and supplied from 1949 onwards for the expansion of the Wellington suburban services (the Wellington - Upper Hutt line).

The DM motor cars have 54 seats and D trailers have 70 seats. The most famous member of the class, DM 556 'Cyclops', is a three-car unit (D-DM-D). Its restoration earned TranzMetro a "Business in Conservation" award from the New Zealand Department of Conservation and the Wellington Conservation Board in 2006.

Here we see a rather dirty 'Cyclops' waiting at Melling in its original 'Midland Red' livery, before refurbishment, and before the high visibility yellow ends were added.

NZR DC4156

The sixth of my locomotives.


The NZR DC class locomotive is the most common class of locomotive currently in operation on the New Zealand rail network. The locomotives started life as members of the withdrawn DA class diesel-electric locomotives that were built by General Motors Canada. Between 1978 and 1983 the locomotives were rebuilt as the DC class, with a new cab and upgraded engines. Each DC locomotive has a General Motors 12-645C or 12-645E V12 diesel engine and four traction motors, with an authorised maximum speed of 100 km/h. The locomotive is 14 metres long and weighs 82 tonnes.

DC4156 hit a landslide in the Manawatu Gorge on 25 September 2010.

NZR Ab608 Passchendaele revisited

ANZAC Day is when New Zealanders (and Australians) remember the men who have fallen serving in all wars. We should not forget them.

It somehow seemed appropriate for me to revisit my drawing of Ab608 Passchendaele. One of my early sales of this print was to Des Jolly who wrote:

I was a young fireman (17) based in Christchurch - I turned up for duties one afternoon and there she was - all painted up with the white handrails, wheels and red siderods. It even had the Passchendaele Plaque attached on the running board each side of her. I was that excited before booking on duty I went and climbed up into the cab for a look, etc. Well, when I finally did book on duty you could not imagine my delight when I found that she was booked out to me and my mate as our loco for our shift that very day.

Des was kind enough to send me some photos and illustrations, including a badge facsimile of the plaque. I have 'corrected' my original drawing to depict Ab608 closer to how she was in reality. My deep thanks to Des for his interest and kindness.

NZR TranzMetro ET3148

Yet another locomotive. I travel on one of these most week days, so it seemed natural to add one to my collection. This is based on a photo taken at Melling, Lower Hutt, 09 September 2010.



The NZR EM/ET class electric multiple units are used on the 1500V DC electrified TranzMetro suburban services in Wellington, NZ. They were built by Ganz-Mavag, Budapest, Hungary (with the electrical components supplied by GEC traction, UK). There are 44 two-car units, each consisting of an EM class motor car and an ET class trailer car. ET3148 is paired with EM1148 and was introduced in August 1982.

NZR Ab608 'Passchendaele'

Another locomotive, the fourth in the series.


Ab608, built by the New Zealand Railways Addington Workshops (maker's no. 163/15), was the first of the class when it went into service in October 1915. The Ab class went on to become the most numerous class of steam locomotive to run in New Zealand, totalling 151 locomotives by the late 1950s. The locomotives were also built by North British Locomotive Company, Glasgow, Scotland, and A & G Price, Thames, NZ.

The Ab was designed by chief draughtsman S H Jenkinson. It was a simple, superheated Pacific (4-6-2) locomotive, and introduced the cylindrical, Vanderbilt tender (adopted because of its light weight and economy of construction) to New Zealand. In their prime the Ab class hauled express trains in both islands, eventually becoming ubiquitous throughout the NZR network.

In 1925 Gordon Coates (the Minister of Railways) agreed to name a steam locomotive 'in memory of those members of the New Zealand Railways who fell in the Great War'. More than 5,000 railwaymen had served overseas between 1914 and 1918 (out of a total workforce of 14,000) and 447 had been killed. After considering the names 'Somme', 'Le Quesnoy' and 'Ypres', 'Passchendaele' was selected.

Ab608 was the locomotive selected to carry the name. 'Passchendaele' was exhibited at the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition in Dunedin in 1925-26, and again at the Centennial of New Zealand Railways in December 1963.

The locomotive was retired in October 1967 when its boiler required heavy repairs. By the time it was withdrawn from service, Ab608 had steamed more than 2.4 million kilometers. It was subsequently given to the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society (http://www.railsoc.org.nz) for preservation, arriving at Ferrymead in 1978. It is currently undergoing restoration by Steam Incorporated (http://www.steaminc.org.nz) at Paekakariki, north of Wellington.

Aston Martin DB5

The first in a possible series of cars - the Aston Martin DB5 as popularised in the 3rd James Bond movie, 'Goldfinger'.


The makers of the movie were actually given the prototype DB5 (Chassis No DP/216/1) to use in the movie. Another 3 DB5s joined the Bond stable for use as road cars or in subsequent movies ('Thunderball', 'Goldeneye', etc). John Stears actually cut the hole in the roof for the ejector seat in the prototype!

For those of you interested in the Bond DB5s I can thoroughly recommend Dave Worrall's 'The Most Famous Car in the World' (ISBN 0-9517509-1-7).

Mainline Steam Trust

I have agreed to the following in regards to my drawings of MSHT's locomotives:

1) for each locomotive drawing that I produce I will donate 4 copies to Mainline Steam so that they can raffle them on their excursions;
2) somewhere on each print will be an acknowledgement that the locomotive belongs to Mainline Steam. This will include their web address www.mainlinesteam.co.nz. Since their logo includes their web address I may opt to use that; and
3) whenever I advertise prints of their locomotives I will include a link to their website .

This is an excellent outcome and I look forward to producing further drawings of MSHT's locomotives.