Glenbrook Vintage Railway

https://www.gvr.org.nz

Our history - Though the Glenbrook Vintage Railway (GVR) was founded in 1970, our story starts in 1914 with the construction of the Waiuku Branch Railway.

The Glenbrook Vintage Railway Charitable is a Trust Board which was established by members of the Railway Enthusiasts Society, (many of whom were working for New Zealand Railways at the time), to preserve, rebuild, and operate the old Waiuku Branch Railway line between Glenbrook and Waiuku. Over the years, this bunch of passionate volunteers fundraised to acquire locomotives and carriages from around the country, as well as cutting back the gorse that had overgrown the railway line, using machetes. The fully working railway, that is the Glenbrook Vintage Railway you see today, is a testament to the vision, dedication, and hard work of these founding members. The mission of the Glenbrook Vintage Railway is not only to maintain and operate our heritage trains over our historic railway line and beyond, but to keep alive and share the skills, stories, and history of the railways that built New Zealand.

Our railway - The Glenbrook Vintage Railway runs over 7.5km between Glenbrook (our connection with the national rail network) and Victoria Ave (Waiuku). The total trackage including sidings, crossing loops, and yards is 10.2km. Intermediate stations include Pukeoware (our main workshop and storage facility) and Fernleigh. There is also a platform at Morley Road and the turntable at Glenbrook is capable of turning a JA class locomotive. The station at Glenbrook is signalled by lower-quadrant semaphore signals, controlled from the restored Auckland ‘B’ signal box at the end of the Glenbrook Platform. Water towers for steam locomotives are provided at Glenbrook, Waitangi Stream, and Pukeoware. At Pukeoware there is a mechanical workshop, an amenities building, a carriage and wagon workshop, and three carriage storage sheds.

Our fleet- The Vintage Railway Fleet includes 87 rail vehicles, with 22 externally owned vehicles. This fleet includes seven steam locomotives, eight diesel locomotives and 32 carriages. Currently, two steam locomotives are in operation, with four diesel locomotives and 17 carriages. Our oldest vehicle is a six-wheel hand crane from 1878, with our newest vehicle a guard’s van from 1981. One of our diesel locomotives and seven of our carriages are currently certified to operate on the New Zealand national rail network with our own onboard crew.

Special events - If you are looking for something a little special to do, you can take a trip aboard our steam train through the beautiful countryside; treat yourself to a First Class Experience featuring High Tea on the train; and from November 2023, you can take the family on a train adventure from Papakura through the countryside to Glenbrook behind Steam Engine Ww 644 - (and see the progress being made on the Papakura to Pukekohe railway electrification). For more information you can visit our website.

Activities on offer:

- Vintage train journeys
- Early NZ railroad history
- Rest and relaxation