L 508 in steam at Shantytown ~ 30/10/2024 (HD)

For the last video in my South Island series, we stay on the West Coast for a visit to Shantytown. This is a tourist attraction featuring a recreated 19th century gold-rush town, an old sawmill, gold panning demonstrations and - of course - the 3ft 6inch gauge 'Infants Creek Tramway'. This line runs for 1.5 kilometres through the bush and up gradients as steep as 1 in 26; at the end of the line, the train even stops on a 1 in 35 grade. On the day I visited, steam locomotive L 508 was in operation. She used to run at the Tauranga Historic Village, and I had been meaning to see her for absolutely ages. Besides the main fleet of L 508, 4270 'Kaitangata' and TR 107, there are three more steam locomotives at Shantytown (Climax 'Class B' No. 1203, the 'Mills A' and Heisler 1494), but they are just on display in the engine shed.