Letter to the Editor

摘要

During our long shutdown due to the Corona virus I've enjoyed reading lots of back issues of the Observer which are all great reading. I note the following comments; Train 185 was a mixed from Christchurch to Springfield that departed Christchurch at 16.20 hours. I have fired and driven this train many times. The locomotive is still steaming as the drifter valves are still closed. Once Lincoln Road was cleared the steam would be shut off and the train would coast into Addington Station, or keep steaming on if no stop was necessary, which was very rare. The G class locomotive must have been very recently overhauled or just converted as no steam leaks are showing around the cylinder area; this was normal with these locomotives. I suspect this locomotive had just entered service after being converted from the original Garratt locomotives as no power reverse is fitted -this was added later.