An Invercargill-based charitable trust needs to raise $200,000 by Friday if it is going to be successful in its bid to buy the historic Kingston Flyer.
The train ceased operations this year and its owner, Kingston Acquisitions Ltd (KAL), was placed into receivership early last month by Prudential Mortgage Nominees.
The receivers put the historic steam train up for sale by international tender, which closes on Friday.
Kingston Flyer Charitable Trust spokesman Karl Barkley told the Otago Daily Times yesterday the trust had raised between $500 and $600.
The trust also established an account at SBS on Monday, enabling anyone who wanted the category 1 protected train to stay under New Zealand ownership to make a donation.
Mr Barkley said about 20 people attended a meeting in Invercargill on Monday night and all were "reasonably positive" about success.
"Nobody came out of the woodwork with some great capital, but they encouraged me to carry on," Mr Barkley said.
"All we need . . . is $250,000 to give us the deposit.
"If we're not successful this time, we'll certainly keep a close eye on what's happening . . . [and] get everything in place now to readdress it if we have to at a later date."
Yesterday, Bayleys Queenstown sales consultant Barry Robertson said since the announcement of the sale of the Kingston Flyer last month, news had spread quickly.
Thirty-five parties had registered an interest in the sale, including one from North America and one from Australia.
Locally, inquiries had come from Southland, Otago, Wellington and Auckland.
The assets include two steam trains towing up to seven fully refurbished carriages, the station, tracks, associated buildings and almost 80ha of surrounding land.
Mr Robertson said among the residential sections and development blocks was one title which had consent for a 15-dwelling subdivision.
Since the Kingston Flyer receivership had been brought to the market, he said, the Queenstown Lakes District Council had "brought in land-zoning changes which will now allow for intensive residential development on the land directly adjacent to the land contained in this sale".
"For those inquiries we have received who have based their proposal around developing the Kingston Flyer land, this means there are potentially greater returns from the rezoning of the neighbourhood.
"As a result, we anticipate there will be a considerable amount of last-minute number-crunching before final tender valuations are submitted."
The rezoning of 88ha beside the Kingston Flyer lots allowed for up to 700 new dwellings to be built, as well as recreational, educational and commercial operations.
New water and sewerage services would also be laid down to handle the predicted growth.
"There is a lot of sentimentality around the Kingston Flyer and the place that it has cemented in the hearts and minds of people down here," Mr Robertson said.
"We are very mindful of that and hope that by offering it for tender, the ultimate outcome may be that it will be running again in due course."
Mr Barkley said he was hopeful the Invercargill-based trust would be able to raise the money in time to keep the Kingston Flyer a New Zealand icon.
"Realistically, if we don't come up with a similar figure to the Americans', it will become an American icon."
The SBS account for "Save the Kingston Flyer", the Kingston Flyer Charitable Trust's account, is: 03-1355-0613417-00.
