Late paperwork derails twilight run plans
Kāpiti’s Miniature Railway club has been stopped in its tracks by a bureaucratic train wreck.
Its beloved annual twilight run, which sees tiny trains and locomotives chug around 850 metres of track in Raumati’s Marine Gardens, north of Wellington, is under a steam cloud after somebody forgot to do the paperwork.
Under law, the club should have a permit from government agency WorkSafe to run the railway. But its permit expired two days ago and the Kāpiti Coast District Council says it cannot run on council land without it. Now, the railway’s retired workforce is pleading for an extension and says the service is safe.
Club member Lawrie Duffield – long-time amateur thespian and rail enthusiast – was devastated at the thought the Easter twilight run could be cancelled.
‘‘We have hundreds of people line up to ride our trains and I don’t want to disappoint them. We’ll have to issue an apology and all fall on our swords.’’
While the railway runs every sunny Sunday, the twice-a-year night runs see the miniature trains, scale models of their real life counterparts, taking young and old around the park, described by Duffield as ‘‘the Kāpiti Riviera’’.
‘‘It costs $1.50 for a 12-minute ride. That’s got to be the best deal on the Kāpiti Coast.’’
Kāpiti Miniature Railway president Cliff Mundell said it was ‘‘bureaucratic box ticking’’ and the club had an independent safety audit to back it up.
‘‘Besides that, I’ve already had the posters printed.’’
The club members accepted they had neglected the paperwork but – with it expected to take 20 days for their certificate to be granted – hoped for an extension to allow their event go ahead. Established in 1976, the railway line had an ‘‘official’’ voluntary workforce of about 40 people – with an average age of 70 years – but Mundell said there were a dozen that regularly worked on it.
‘‘The rest are very good at turning up for social events, not that you can blame them.’’
The railway service was a win-win situation for everyone concerned, the retired carpenter said.
‘‘It’s bringing joy to people’s lives and getting us out from under our wives’ feet.
‘‘It’s a hobby. I suppose we’re all just big kids at heart.’’
Council spokeswoman Natasha Tod said: ‘‘We know that the miniature railway is a much loved part of our community and as soon as they get their certificate from WorkSafe we’ll issue a local permit.’’