from the Rimutaka Incline trail

A photo taken in the 1880s of a Single Fairlie locomotive hauling a mixed train up to Summit on the Wellington side of what is now the Rimutaka Incline walkway. (It is probably used by more cyclists than walkers nowadays.)  The third rail was only on the Wairarapa side as the gradient on the Wellington side is only about 2.5%. This is a location known as Ladle Bend.  As mentioned in a previous post, there is now only one preserved single Fairlie locomotive left in the world, which sits in a park in Reefton.