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.

Mainline Steam Copyright

On Friday, 29 October 2010 I contacted the Mainline Steam Heritage Trust (MSHT), owners of J1211 'Gloria', informing them that I had commenced a series of drawings of NZR locomotives and was wondering if they were interested in copies of J1211 'Gloria'. I received a reply from their Marketing & Operations Manager informing me that I did not have their permission to sell my prints of their locomotives on a commercial basis as they hold the rights to the locomotives. Apparently the MSHT actively pursue people who use images of their locomotives commercially. However, he did add that if I would like to use the images and sell them they would be happy to work out a commercial arrangement with me.

I had no idea I was infringing copyright and, of course, I have no desire to do so. Or get off-side with Mainline Steam as I get much pleasure from the efforts the members of the Trust undertake in keeping New Zealand's steam heritage available for all to enjoy. After all, they spend a fortune maintaining and running them.

I have opted to draw the locomotives because NZ steam holds an interest for me and, I think, a large number of New Zealanders, as well as overseas visitors. My art work is not in the realms of David Shepherd or Terrence Cuneo but I do think I offer a slightly more personalised view of the locomotives depicted than a photograph does. I feel a painting/drawing to be more evocative than a photograph (although I have spent decades photographing NZ locomotives).

My drawings do not command much in the way of money & the sales volumes are very small so I'm not making a huge fortune. I would like to come to some arrangement with Mainline Steam (or any other owners for that matter) to acknowledge their ownership. I would be more than happy to include a royalty payment per print. As I've said, this is a low volume, low cost exercise but if my sales can contribute to MSHT in any way then I would be more than happy to be involved at that level.

To date I have had no response from Mainline Steam. Hopefully we can reach an agreement as I would like to continue drawing NZ Steam locomotives. Watch this space.

NZR J1211

My third locomotive.


I have discovered, yet again, that highly polished glossy black metal isn't black - it's an impossibly complex mix of reflective colours. For this drawing, I'd managed to find some Derwent pencils that are varying shades of grey-blue.

The 40 NZR J class steam locomotives were all built by North British Locomotive Works, Scotland. The locomotive was notable in that it had a boiler that was partly streamlined.
J1211 was purchased by a syndicate from NZR in 1971 and moved to Steam Incorporated's site at Paekakariki. In 1978, Ian Welch purchased it outright and moved it to Glenbrook Vintage Railway for restoration. J1211 is named 'Gloria' and has been fitted with original style streamlining. It was converted to oil firing in 1996.

The centenary of the North Island Main Trunk line was celebrated over the Labour Weekend, 2008 at Fielding. Steam locomotives in attendance were F163, Ab663, Wab794, J1211, Ja1271, Ja1275 and Ka942. Here we see J1211 simmering in the afternoon sun.