Palmerston North Electric Power Station Inc.

Visit by Wade Farm Tours party from UK and USA:

25 March 2001

Below are some scenes from the visit of 39 members of a touring party of British and American vintage machinery enthusiasts, who were staying overnight in Palmerston North. Although we have held barbecues in the station's large engine room over the years, this was the first time we had gone all out to cater a 'sit-down' dinner. We had also received a visit from the Wellington Vintage Car Club in the morning, so a great deal of work had been planned to occur over the preceding fortnight - and then thieves stole the copper piping from our main engine two weeks before the big day! This threw previous plans out of sync, as attention suddenly had to be transferred to repair-work on a large scale, that should not have been required.

The engine was finally restarted with its new piping at about 5:00 pm on Saturday 24th. Unfortunately there was no handy bottle of champagne to break over it when it was finally running again - but the sentiment was certainly there. By the time the Wade Farm Tour party arrived, it had received about four test runs, during which the teething problems (minor things) were ironed out. Paddy, the former station superintendent who trained our guys on how to operate the engine, came to do the honours with starting Engine 216 for this occasion, and that always makes for a special start in its own right.

Despite the problems of the previous fortnight, the informal dinner went extremely well, with one British visitor likening it to a 'harvest dinner' where everything is relaxed, home-cooked and casual. The menu consisted of roast beef and assorted vegetables, followed by apricot pie and ice cream. We hear, even from a British commercial potato grower who was present, that our NZ 'new potatoes' taste very nice. Speaking as a participant who had never eaten a meal cooked this way before, everything else tasted pretty fantastic too. And then of course came the cleaning up afterwards.... (and some left till the next day).

The three cookers that were used from the former 'Army mobile kitchen' unit, that were set up in a suitable corner of the power station, in the late afternoon before the group's visit.

The party arrived by bus at about 7:00 pm

Normally the engine room of the power station does not look quite like this!!!

Paddy, the former station superintendent, prepares to start Engine 216. A small trace of the damage caused by the recent copper thefts (because the part was not longer required to operate the engine), is visible in the top left portion of this photo, where a tap on a line appears to end a little too abruptly.

Silent though this photo appears, the noise of Engine 216 tends to dominate the surrounding area somewhat.

Some photos of the dinner will eventually appear when the 35mm film concerned is developed.

The 'domestic staff' relaxing in the engine room after partially cleaning up to reflect on the achievements of the day - or perhaps that should be, the fortnight!

Jennifer (the cook - the one with the culinary skills the rest of us lack!!) watches Paul (our president and the owner of the 'Army kitchen') beginning the cooker-cleaning process. One of Paul's other skills - as an engineer, which is his main occupation - was the key factor in getting Engine 216 finished in time for the visit.

Meanwhile, the rest of us continue to relax in the engine room...

Last updated: 27/3/2001