History
Paekakariki has a long association with railways. The Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company built the first steam engine shed on our site in 1886 to serve the need to change locomotives required for the Paekakariki Hill and grades south into Wellington.
After electrification came to the Wellington region in 1940, the changeover from steam to electric traction took place at Paekakariki, continuing the need for a locomotive depot. Even after diesels took over from steam, loco changes from Diesel to electric still took place until the tunnels south of Paekakariki had been lowered to allow the larger "Da" class diesel electric locos to fit through. While the loco changes took place the passengers were able to visit the busy refreshment rooms in the station building. For many years, it was the northern limit of Wellington suburban services and is still a stabling point and crew base for suburban electric units.
The New Zealand rail system is narrow gauge having a track gauge of 3'6" (1067mm).
The main engine shed was demolished after the loco depot closed in the late 1960s, but some other buildings and facilities remained. Steam Incorporated first took over the site in 1972, leasing it from the then New Zealand Government Railways.
Today it is owned by the society and is far more than just a shed! Situated between the North Island Main Trunk railway line to the west, and State Highway 59 (previously SH1) to the east it comprises a number of sidings, a turntable, a large freight shed used by US Marines during WW2, our amenities block, the main workshop and running shed where we carry out most of our locomotive restoration and maintenance, and a recently constructed large four track 100 metre long carriage storage shed. In all there is over a kilometre of track within the site.
The large freight shed was originally built for the US Marines. in 1942 as a supply depot. At that time it was called the Commissary. It is a Caegory II heritage Building (registration No 4961). The building was hurriedly put together by the Public Works Department in 1942 as the Rail Depot for the three large Marine camps in the area. In the fifties it became the Rail Air freight depot for Paraparaumu Airport. Rail Air was a busy freight service operated by NZR & SAFE Air using Bristol Freighter aircraft between Woodborne and Paraparaumu. This was prior to the rail ferries being introduced.
Today much of this building is used to store carriage spare parts and seats and a carpenters workshop supporting our restoration activities. There is also an area to store on board supplies for our heritage train trips.
Originally the Supply Depot for nearby US Marines bases.
We are lucky to have always had a good siding connection from our depot to the adjacent main railway line. Future plans include a specialist carriage workshop to aid the restoration of our vintage carriage collection. Current major restoration projects include the second restoration of steam locomotive Ka945 and EMD diesel electric loco Da1471. Sister engine Da1410 has recently re-entered main line opeation after a major restoration project. Dc4375 is another recent addition to the locomotive fleet and is in the early stages of a comprehensive restoration project.
In 2022 Steam Incorporated celebrated our fiftieth anniversary.
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