Photo: Driver Alan Tapp adjusts the train's speed as the first passengers including the original train engineer's wife, Joyce Douglas, leave the station to applause.
Article accompanying the photo:
Kimberley train at home in park
Colleen Sheldon
The Levin Adventure Park has a new attraction and, with its top speed of eight kilometres an hour, it proved a winner with more than 100 kids of all ages on Saturday afternoon. The petrol-run miniature train chugged around a 250-metre course at the front of the park, carrying up to 24 passengers.
Mayor Brendan Duffy was instrumental in relocating the train from Kimberley Hospital to the Adventure Park. "As Collis and Helen Blake built this park I thought it was time to bring the train back"
He said it took six months to convince people it would be an asset to the park.
The train started its life at Lake Horowhenua Domain in 1956, be-fore being moved to Kimberley Hospital.
With the decommissioning of the hospital, Mr Duffy felt the train needed to be relocated and took responsibility for its installation. "I got approval from Kimberley two years ago and persuaded Collis and Helen to put it on the park. A huge number of people in the community made a commitment to en-sure it got into the park."
He thanked trade and commercial people without whose help the project would not have eventuated.
Mr Duffy said the train at the park had the potential to generate revenue. "This is just another brilliant attraction that we believe will raise the profile of an already popular park."
The train was built by engineer Ken Douglas, who donated it to the Lake Domain project nearly 50 years ago. His wife, Joyce Douglas, officially opened the attraction at its latest home and went for her first ride on the train. "From the time the train was built to today, I have never had a ride on it."
She said her husband spent his life doing engineering projects for the community until he died in 1988 at the age of 73.
"He designed and built it and donated it to a lake project in the 1950s when the Lions were developing the lake. Unfortunately the vandals got to work and destroyed the whole thing and the train was transferred to Kimberley."
She said she hoped everyone was as overjoyed as she was to see the train return to Levin. "My husband would have been thrilled to see it come back as well."
A cheque for $5000 was handed to Collis Blake by the Levin Charitable Trust for the Adventure Park Charitable Trust to contribute towards the train's renovation costs.
The train, called 'Douglas', would run on weekends, public holidays, and school holidays, operated by the Adventure Park trust. Rides would cost a $1 a passenger with a maximum of $4 a family.