The Uc locomotive, dumped in the sea in the 1930s to reduce coastal erosion, was pulled from the Oamaru foreshore and is now sitting on a track at the rear of the historic area of Oamaru, where rail enthusiast Harry Andrew plans to turn it into a static display.
He faces a mammoth task.
The years under water have taken their toll, and shingle and sand is embedded in every nook and cranny.
Other old locomotive parts pulled from the sea as part of coastal protection work have also been shifted from the foreshore to Oamaru Steam and Rail.
Mr Andrew is "guardian" of all the pieces, which could have ended up as scrap iron.
They will be available for genuine re-use, and he has even had an inquiry about turning some into at art work.
Most of the pieces are from Uc locomotives, which were imported from England and ran on New Zealand railway tracks between 1901 and 1958.
In February, the rusted remains, which included wheels, axles and other pieces, were offered by the Rail Heritage Trust for removal.
No-one was interested and Mr Andrew feared they could end up being lost forever if they were sold as scrap, so he arranged to have "every nut and bolt" shifted to a safe place.
The parts included a virtually complete Uc platform and boiler, which Mr Andrew separated out to mount on rails alongside Oamaru Steam and Rail's headquarters.
"Even now it's a massive drawcard, with people running over to take photos," he said.
He has just started work stripping off the rust and using a jack-hammer to remove the build-up of stones and and sand.
He then intends to join the boiler to the Uc platform and paint it as a display, with a plaque outlining the history of the Uc locomotives.
By doing that, it would be preserved.
"You never know - a long time in the future someone might want to restore it," he said.
Mr Andrew is doing the work at his own cost, but hopes to apply for some funding to help defray expenses.
