Paekakariki has a long association with railways. The Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company built the first engine shed on our site in 1886 to serve the need to change locomotives, larger locomotives being required for the Paekakariki Hill and grades south into Wellington.
After electrification came to the Wellington region in 1940, the changeover from steam to electric traction took place at Paekakariki, continuing the need for a locomotive depot. For many years it was the northern limit of Wellington suburban services and is still a stabling point for suburban electric units.
The main engine shed was demolished after the depot closed in the late 1960s, but some other buildings and facilities remained. Steam Incorporated first took over the site in 1972, leasing it from the then N.Z. Government Railways. Today it is far more than just a shed! Situated between the North Island Main Trunk railway line to the west, and State Highway 1 to the east it comprises a number of sidings, a turntable, a large freight shed used by US Marines during WW2, our amenities block, and the main workshop where we carry out most of our locomotive restoration and maintenance. In all there is over a kilometre of track within the site.
Future plans for The Engine Shed include a footbridge from Paekakariki railway station,
a display shed where our vintage carriages and other items of rolling stock can be kept
under cover, and extensions to the trackwork.
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Last updated 25 October 2007 - STEAM Incorporated