JOHN BISSET/Stuff
Preparing for the first ever night train rides at the Model Engineers are Trevor Kissell, left, and Brian Rhodes.
A long-running group is preparing to go down a different track as it opens its gates to the public at night for the first time.
The South Canterbury Model Engineers Society was established in 1934, and is the second-oldest club in the country.
The club opens to the public regularly, and is sometimes used for birthday parties and school programmes.
However, locomotive foreman and safety officer Trevor Kissell believed the organisation’s night-time train rides on August 12 would be the first time the group had opened to the public after dark.
“We are doing a health and safety audit on that day and a guy is coming down from Christchurch, so we thought ‘why not do something different?’’’ he said.
He said there would be three trains operating, and it was hoped more would be coming down from Christchurch and Blenheim for the weekend.
This would not be an easy task as the trains were heavy, he said.
Kissell was unsure how long the group had been based on the corner of Timaru’s Rose and Catherine streets, but understood it began in the upstairs rooms of a former service station on Evans St where Couplands now stands.
JOHN BISSET/Stuff
Brian Rhodes, left, and Trevor Kissell try the train out at night.
“That’s just from what we’ve been told,’’ he said.
The site was home to train tracks, a lake and other facilities, close to Anzac Sq.
Kissell said the group had only a handful of members, and it was keen to expand, get more volunteers and open to the public more.
“The number of people with trains is getting lower.
“We’re trying to re-establish and are keen to get more members.’’
He described model engineering as a rewarding hobby, with the club’s members getting a “real kick’’ out of seeing happy children enjoying the open days they hold.
The group held maintenance days on Wednesday mornings, with a lot of clean-up required at the rooms which were also home to several trees, including walnut trees.
Members also held yacht racing at the facility on a Friday afternoon.
“It’s a rewarding hobby,’’ Kissell said.
He said the August 12 night train would run from 6pm to 8pm, and was $2 a ride.
