Dunedin steampunks feel right at home on restored cable cars in Mornington. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON
Stunning effort. From the start this has been a grand vision which unlike too many of the over-talked under-thought "Vision$$$" was carefully assessed from all angles before being presented to Dunedin people. Without hype, without extravagant promises of profits flowing into every corner of town, Phil Cole told us how he thought it could be done. Step by step, each step providing a usable asset that could stand alone till money was raised for the next step.
From http://www.dunedincablecars.co.nz/history.html :
The initial impetus for the present project came after the launch of Don McAra’s book Hold Very Tight Please! in 2007; Don has been instrumental in the restoration and return of the cars now in Dunedin. A website from 2008 documents progress at that time, and also provides a gallery of Don's paintings:
dunedintrams.co.nz/donsbook.htm.
In 2013, the cause was taken up by Phil Cole, who brought engineering expertise to the table; tragically, he died, at the peak of his career, in 2014.
The reins were then picked up by Neville Jemmett, who has been the driving force behind the building of the Interim Cable Car Building, and the bringing to Dunedin of the cable cars previously stored (and lovingly restored) at Ferrymead.
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From the ODT, full article https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/cable-car-house-opens-mornington
Saturday, 31 August 2019
Cable car house opens in Mornington
Bagpipers set the tone as two restored cable cars - Roslyn number 95 and Mornington trailer 111 - were rolled out of the shed for the crowd to look through.
It also marked the beginning of fundraising for the next stage of the project, expected to cost $6 million to 8 million.
Dunedin
Heritage Light Rail Trust chairman Neville Jemmett (left) and member
Stuart Payne, both of Dunedin, display an artist’s impression of the
proposed cable car house and museum building in Mornington Park. PHOTO:
SHAWN MCAVINUE
