Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Thames (NZ): Train books with references to Thames

 Introduction

Past blog posts have covered various aspects of transportation and specifically trains at, and manufactured at the Thames. See Links at end of post.

Railway Books

Yes, there are hundreds of books on trains in New Zealand. Thames Coromandel District Libraries has a variety to select from, plus can interloan titles from libraries around New Zealand. The core ones that provide an overview of locomotive manufacture at Thames are:

  • Conservation Plan for A and G Price E Type Locomotive No 110, by Rotorua Ngongotaha Rail Trust 2007.
  • Men of Metal, The Story of A & G Price Ltd 1868-1968, by C W Vennell. Wilson & Horton Ltd 1968.
  • Prices of Thames, Locomotive and General Engineers, Thames, N.Z. by Bob Stott. Southern Press Ltd 1983.
  • Steam At The Rainbow's End by K I Bullock. The Railway Enthusiasts Society (Inc) 1964.
  • The Thames Branch, End of an Era, by Dave Nelson. 2014.
  • The Thames Line 1898 - 1990, by R Brett Green & Trevor J Lees. Railway Enthusiasts' Society (Inc) 1990.

A selection of books at Thames Library

Its a rainy Thames day - so a great chance to browse a few of the railway books at the library! Did they have any Thames references?

  • New Zealand Railway Memorabilia 150 Years, by Geoffrey B Churchman. Transpressnz.com 2015. A delightful full colour booklet that has photos, postcards, cards and general memorabilia featured. Reliving the glory days of the railway in New Zealand. The engines shown, need their identification numbers checked to verify which ones were made in Thames. Our Tararu to Grahamstown steam train is pictured, showing the commemorative stamp that was issued March 6 1985. (page 9)

          The book also has pages on the Silver Star. Who remembers the carriages parked at Thames?
 
The 'old' Silver Star carriages that had rested in A & G Price's northern storage yard, 
found new homes at the end of 2016.
  • 150 Years of Rail in New Zealand, by Matt Turner. Penquin Books. Nelson in 1862 had a horse-powered tram service. Then along came Grahamstown, Thames in 1871 "To pioneer the use of steam-powered trams on a coastal line to its deepwater port at Tararu Point." (Page 38) The book is full of photographs, including A & G Price 16-wheeler geared locomotive designed for bush tramways. (page 23) Locomotives constructed and refurbished at Thames are scattered through the book, along with the iconic photo of when Prices released No 100 in 1923. Maybe you have a relative in this photo? (see below)

The Thames Star 20 November 1923, ran a full page article on A & G Price's achievements.

  • Rails Across New Zealand, A History of Rail Travel by Matthew Wright. Whitcoulls 2003.The principal mention for Thames is on page 106, the A & G Price workshop is discussed, accompanied by an A-class locomotive under construction.
  • Going By Train. The Complete New Zealand Railways Story by Graham Hutchins. Exisle Publishing Pty Ltd 2019. The development of the provincial rail network is covered, along with the Thames Line. The end of the book has a full list of the classes of Locomotives built in New Zealand, and identifies which models were built at A & G Price Thames.
First Hand account - the Grahamstown to Tararu Tram:
There are delightful reports on riding the tram to Tararu in the Thames Guardian and Mining Record. One of these was published 7 December 1871. The writer 'Town Crier' at first appeared critical, and was sure an accident would happen. To their surprise, the trip despite the continual jerking motion, was safely completed and "certainly a great novelty."

CHALLENGE:
Keep an eye out for books and references on Thames railway history, often overlooked in favour of Gold, Gold and more GOLD History.

1970s Thames Railway Station, Shortland end of town.
Photo by Les Downey courtesy of Motat.
Other Blog Posts related to Trains:

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