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Saturday 11am - 4pm Sunday 11am - 4pm

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Ocean Beach Railway

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Ocean Beach Railway

The Ocean Beach Railway is New Zealand's first Heritage Railway.

31/03/2026

April Fools!

As some people may know, we are the custodians of New Zealand's last steam locomotive - Ja 1274. One question has been on the minds of many for a long time - does she still run? Well, the other week, we put that to the test. With a bit of patience from a garden hose, and a couple of petrol-soaked rags, the pressure gauge slowly crept up to life! The safety valves woke up at about 230psi, and the sights and sounds in the enclosure were incredible. With this excellent development, we are looking at removing 1274 from the glass case and having her run excursion trains on the mainline before the end of this year. Stay tuned!

04/03/2026

Here’s another update from the team at the OBR, with a reminder that we still run every Sunday from 11am-4pm, weather permitting!

Over the past week, wagon Ea 3559 (Ex carriage A1002) was removed from the Ben’s Meadow siding and brought to the carriage shed yard, to have the old double slip lifted off. This will be dismantled for parts for our other double slip. Once the rotten timber decking is removed from the underframe, it will also have a new role to play in another one of our projects.

For the past few months, we have also been trial running passenger rides on our motor trolleys! These have already proven a major success, so you can expect to see them in use on busy days and as required.

Lastly, December last year saw the arrival of a new locomotive - the (privately owned) remains of Andrew Barclay 1402, a West Coast bush engine that is now safe and under a cover in our compound, for until work is to begin on its eventual restoration.

21/12/2025

Great job Dunedin! Together we raised 440 cans and plenty of other food items totalling well over 500+. A big thanks to everyone who came and donated to help fill our food banks this Christmas - we well and truly demolished last year’s record. A big thanks to Ritchies for supplying the bus for Santa’s visit, too. Merry Christmas!

20/12/2025

We are all go for tomorrow! Bring your cans, your gold coins, and your families! Running from 11am-4pm regardless of weather, at John Wilson Drive (next to the dinosaur park). Lets smash last year’s collection of cans, so we can help our families in need this Christmas. Tomorrow is also the first public appearance of a project many years in the making, and the team are proud to show it off.

11/12/2025

It’s that time of year again! On Sunday 21st December, we will be again running our Christmas Can Appeal! With a donation of canned food or a gold coin per person, you can ride the train for free, all day! Santa will be making a guest appearance, along with his railway sleigh! Last year we raised 348 tins of food - can you help us beat 400? All donations go to Presbyterian Support Otago to help our families in need. We will be running 11am-4pm, rain or shine, on John Wilson Drive (next to the Dinosaur Park).

07/12/2025

We are running a raffle! To help raise funds for the replacement roof, we have a raffle with some amazing prizes up for grabs, with prizes from Dunedin Railways, Nellie’s Mosgiel, FreshChoice Roslyn, and Fros-Tee’s mini golf. Tickets are $2 each and are limited, so get in quick! Send us a message or visit us on a running day to get yours.

Prize List:

1st Prize - Dunedin Railways Seasider Family Pass + Ocean Beach Railway Family Season Pass

2nd Prize - $100 Gift Voucher for Nellie’s Restaurant + Ocean Beach Railway Family Season Pass

3rd Prize - FreshChoice Roslyn Gift Basket + Ocean Beach Railway Family Season Pass

4th Prize - Fros-Tee’s Mini golf Golf Package + Ocean Beach Railway Family Season Pass

5th Prize - Ocean Beach Railway Family Season Pass

Prizes will be drawn on the 18th January 2026.

19/10/2025

Here’s an update from the team at the Ocean Beach Railway - plus we are running Halloween and Labour Weekend trains!

We will be running 11am-4pm on all 3 days over Labour weekend, plus 4pm-9pm on Friday 31st October for Halloween. Adults $6, Child $4, 3 years and under free. Cash and eftpos available. We are at No. 3 John Wilson Ocean Drive, next to the Dinosaur park and the Mini golf. There is plenty to do, so make sure to bring the kids down for a fun day out. Remember, we are also running every Sunday 11am-4pm too.

Work on Ds 203 and Carriage A 1254 has been continuing steadily, with the majority of the mechanical work on 1254 completed. In a first for Ocean Beach, 1254 tested great on a 3-carriage train up to the end of the line. The windows will be going back in very soon - it won’t be long until this carriage is back in service.

We have also finished the overhaul and testing of our 2 motor trolleys and 1 passenger trailer. Paperwork and compliance is progressing smoothly so far, and we can’t wait to show them off for public rides.

29/05/2025

The end of the running season is upon us, and so here is a look at some of the past few weeks behind the scenes work before we get stuck into winter maintenance. Our last planned running weekend for this season is Sunday 1st and Monday 2nd June from 11am-4pm, so come on down for a ride!

After a brief out of service period due to an electrical fault, Ds 203 has received a full set of battery terminals and is now running great. Good to get these issues sorted now during the restoration process - speaking of which, good progress is still being made with the latest work being the preparation and undercoating of the left cab side.

We are also working towards bringing back jigger rides to the public - we have been working with NZTA on this front and have developed a plan of action to bring these fun four-wheeled vehicles back on the rails again. Here you can see our 6-man passenger trolley, to receive some timber replacement and a light cosmetic overhaul.

Lastly, Lyall is making great progress on carriage A 1254, with the outside platforms now receiving attention. The end is in sight for work on this carriage!

12/04/2025

A busy day today at the Ocean Beach Railway, and an update to our running schedule - next week, we are running Friday, Sunday, and Monday for Easter. Saturday/Sunday running otherwise continues as usual.

Today saw a big reshuffle of locomotives, as well as two carriages getting some crucial brake work - including A 1254, which is now one step closer to returning to service!

7 locomotives were out and about today, with all 4 of our operational diesels running throughout the day too - resulting in a cool lineup of motive power! Dsa 252 is now in the workshop to have its cooling system work completed and should hopefully see a return to operation in the coming months.

01/04/2025

And as an exchange, while Ds 203 is out running around on the mainline, KiwiRail has lent us DXB 5120 to put through the paces on our own railway. Is this the first Dx to run in preservation?

31/03/2025

Ds 203 has returned to its old stomping ground! The team are proud to announce the restoration is finished, and with collaboration from KiwiRail we have been putting this locomotive through its paces on 100km/h passenger trains. Perfect for our planned operations here at the OBR!

Address

3 John Wilson Ocean Drive, St Kilda
Dunedin
9013

Opening Hours

Saturday	11am - 4pm
Sunday	11am - 4pm

Website

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