Topic: Toot n Whistle
Topic type:
Introduction
J.R. Smale begins operating the "Toot and Whistle Railway" in Kuirau Park, officially opened by Mayor Mr Linton on Labour Day, 22 October 1960 in Daily Post 12.10.1960
Mr Smale built the engine from scale drawings of the locomotive made in England by H. Greenly, most of the parts were hand manufactured. Daily Post, 6 December 1975.
"For the past few years John Smale has been involved with the Bush Railway and Old Sawmill Trust who have been working on plans to build a 2.5km bush railway in Mamaku and a 1920s historic experience at a cost of 1.5 million... It will be a way for people to go back into the past, to learn more about it and just enjoy time away from the hustle and bustle of modern life.... The railway would feature a working steam train that people could ride through the bush, a saw mill used for demonstrations, an old cookhouse where people can eat food popular in the early 1900s, a petting zoo and a camping ground". "At 86 years old, Mr Smale said he would not be building the train or laying the tracks himself as he did with Toot-n-Whistle, but hopes to play a key role in the project"
Rotorua Daily Post, 26 March 2014, p5.
From Don Stafford File : Commerce
