It’s a long way to Paekakariki

A South African logistics company realised a New Zealand man’s dream when after fifteen years they finally brought his beloved train home. Debra Bruttomesso, managing director of Saxport International Logistics, said the project that took about four months to complete saw them moving a steam train built in the 1800s from Kimberley to Paekakariki in New Zealand earlier this year. “Our client, Russel Gibbard of Steam Inc, bought the train fifteen years ago from Zimbabwe and had it moved to Kimberley where it was kept in storage.” Having only paid US$40 000 for the engine it took them years to save enough money for the voyage home. “It was a unique project in that this was not cargo being moved for a company that could be replaced if something went wrong. This was someone’s prized possession and no money in the world would have been able to replace it, so we were under a lot of pressure to succeed.” According to Bruttomesso, old railway tracks had to be purchased from Transnet and then customwelded for the steam train to be transported. “We broke it into three parts and welded these onto the rails and transported them to Durban via truck. In accordance with New Zealand health regulations, the entire cargo had to be steam cleaned and fumigated in Durban prior to being shipped to Auckland. This process took about 24 days.” After a sea voyage of some 18 days the train finally arrived in Auckland and was then trucked to Paekakariki where it is now being restored to its former glory – a process that is expected to take more than five years. “Weighing in at 136 tonnes it was not just the abnormal size that we had to take into account, but the client’s personal involvement every step of the way. He had waited so long for this train that he did not want a single thing to go wrong – and we had to accommodate that at all times. This was not an ordinary project cargo – this was special, someone’s dream.”