Pleasant Point Railway & Historical Society

Welcome aboard 


A small army of volunteers keep this award-winning charitable group - and all of its equipment - running. They are all working to preserve New Zealand's railway history and the history of the South Canterbury area.

If you're not from the area and don't know where to find us you can pinpoint us here. And if your visit doesn't co-incide with a running day you can arrange a special visit, or simply drop by most Saturdays or Wednesdays, when the team are on site.

Credit: Jeff Tollan

Model T Ford railcar - important notice

Unfortunately, RM4 is out of service for the foreseeable future after a car drove into it at a controlled railway crossing. 

The Model T has suffered damage to its chassis and motor and this means the daily running - which was meant to continue to February 23 - has been cancelled.

Thank you to the volunteers and businesses who are helping us get the T back on the rails again. Your effort is invaluable.

This is the first level crossing crash we have had in our more than 40 years operating and we hope it's our last. 

Please always take care at railway crossings.

Ab 699's 10-year survey

Every year our steam engines undergo a safety audit, but every 10 years it all gets a little more complicated and the locomotives are stripped, with every nook and cranny inspected.

Ab 699 is going through that mammoth process at the moment.

While the engine is being inspected new cladding has been ordered and the 86-ton locomotive's boiler will get a fresh coat of paint before it re-enters service.

In the meantime, 126-year-old D 16 is hauling the trains over the holiday period. 

The society hopes to get the Ab back on the rails by July.

150 years of rail in New Zealand

Pleasant Point joined the celebrations of 150 years of rail in New Zealand, with a special event on July 20 and 21. 

Two steam engines pulled trains throughout the weekend. Joining it, the Model T Ford railcar, RM4 gave rides on the Saturday, with a motorised track jigger and trolley giving rides on the Sunday.

It turned out to be a bigger event than we ever could have envisaged. Thank you to everyone who came to visit - that's more than 1100 of you (almost the entire population of the township!).