Rimutaka Tunnel The first shot was fired in 1948 when the Public Works Department started the tunnel with bores of at the western end and at the eastern end. A contract for completing the tunnel was let to a consortium of Morrison Knudsen Inc. and Downer and Company on 7 May 1951. The work commenced at the west end in July 1951 and at the east end in August. The contract was expected to be completed in four years, but the headings met on 20 April 1954 with the concrete lining finished a month later. New Zealand Railways took possession of the
Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust the Society asking for expressions of interest in the locomotive. The Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust's proposal was accepted and it was moved to Maymorn in October 2013. Two replica NZR H class "Fell" locomotives will be commissioned by the Trust to operate the incline section of their line for stage 3 of the project. The Trust has acquired 13 YC-class ballast wagons and 2 Q-class coal hopper wagons, currently located at their Maymorn site, and plans to use them in the construction of its line and for ongoing track maintenance. The Trust's fleet includes five NZR 56-foot carriages and