The major focus over the last couple of months has been on accelerating the restoration of the former Katiki Station. The winter has been ideal for this as it avoids the problem of construction activities conflicting with the passenger trains. The second window sill has been manufactured and installed. The window frames that were cut down from large old sash windows, have undergone extensive refurbishment, prior to being reassembled and glazed. They have now been painted and fitted to the building, with new surrounds inside and out now having been installed. The floor has been sanded, filled and polyurethaned. The old paint on the second-hand flooring was reasonably troublesome to remove, so a special thanks is due to Glen for his skill and determination in resurfacing the old timber. Some interesting historical details have been revealed under the grime on the original portion of flooring. There was an oily patch where the Tablet machines were located. The egress for the cabling is also evident, as is the line of tacks that held the floor covering at the doorway and numerous other scars where other heavy or hot objects have been dropped over the years. Even the original hammer marks are now visible. The four thick coats of polyurethane will hopefully preserve these remnants as well as providing an attractive finish. Construction of the new doors is under way, with the new Tablet Office door nearly ready for hanging. This is to the original dimensions but strengthened slightly to make it more intruder-resistant than it's predecessor which was rehabilitated some time ago and now serves as an interior door. The final portion of the interior has been topcoated.

Momentum has picked up on the DS203 engine repairs, with the defective components being removed and undergoing refurbishment at the service centre. It is being done as a spare time job to keep costs down. Fortunately, the extra parts that we require are still readily available and at quite a reasonable price.

Both platform seats have departed our site for refurbishment at Paul Bedwell's house. They had been looking a bit disreputable for a while, so their restoration is greatly appreciated.

Motor Trolley WW 7079 has been primed and recently received its first coat of red. It looks far better than it did when it first arrived at the railway and will continue to look better as it is reassembled. Carriage A210 has also received further attention with more filling and painting being carried out , as well as having the contents of the interior re-organised and irrelevant items removed.

The Carvan has received quite a bit of attention recently, with a scruffy flashing being replaced and some timber repairs being undertaken. The gas plant has received new hoses and other maintenance as age was catching up with the old hoses.

The compound gates have been resurrected to try and combat some undesirable behaviour in this area. The door off the former shelter station was torn off its track by vandals. While the timing was inconvenient, it had been proposed to bring the door to the workshop for repair anyhow. The paint has removed with a heat-gun, fittings removed and loose timber resecured. It will be extensively filled and sanded once the ban on copious dust is removed (imposed on this part of the workshop due to the DS motor being in pieces).

Murray continues to make good headway in removing the accumulated grime on the frame of locomotive F111 and planning refurbishment work on a number of components. The preliminary outline drawing for a replacement boiler has been received and we are hopeful of receiving plans that are sufficiently detailed to gather prices in the foreseeable future.

The Kerr Stuart ash pan made further headway with the steel plate being cut and formed recently. Hopefully assembly will be under way very soon, meaning that the current monstrosity can finally be retired for good, it as been reincarnated a few times over the years when the intended replacement hasn't materialised.

The old Price TR cab that lay behind our carriage shed for many years has arrived in Reefton. It will be refurbished and used to repair their locomotive as it was damaged in transit some time ago.