The train crew with members of the local Arbeitsdienst? This 5 km branch from the main Wairarapa Line was put in place at the same time as the main line, but didn't survive long into the post-WW2 era, being closed in late 1953.
The loco is an L class tank, as rebuilt by NZR. The 10-member class was built in England (by Avonside, Bristol) as 2-4-0T, but was another English design that was less than satisfactory, particularly because of a small coal bunker and poor adhesion. In 1893-94, three of the L class 2-4-0T locomotives were rebuilt at the Newmarket workshops, with a larger boiler and enlarged cylinders, to a 4-4-0 side tank arrangement. This new design was classified La but again the limited coal bunker became a liability. The answer was to provide a larger coal bunker and a trailing pony truck giving them a 4-4-2T wheel arrangement.
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