A group of Otago railway enthusiasts took six antique motor trolleys for a run on Saturday, taking about 45 minutes each way on the 14km line.
A dozen people rode on five petrol-powered trolleys, also known as jiggers, as well as a manpower-driven "Velocipede" trolley that is more than a century old.
Neville Martin, of Owaka, said it was their second run on the line after first doing it last summer.
Built in the 1950s and ’60s, the trolleys were phased out of use by New Zealand Railways about 40 years ago.
"They were used to take men down the track, towing a trailer with tools, rail and sleepers or whatever," Mr Martin said.
Other types were used for track inspections, carrying a ladder for maintaining telegraph poles, a track gauge and equipment for inspecting bridges and other infrastructure.
Designed to carry a crew of four or six, they usually had a 3hp or 6hp petrol motor.
They had kept their speed at about 20kmh for safety reasons during Saturday’s run, although they could go a lot faster, he said.
"We don’t want any mad people going flat-out down the track.
"They’re old things, and they take a bit of maintenance and tender loving care to keep going."
Mr Martin hoped the run would become an annual fixture that attracted more trolley owners from around the South Island.
Some of the group had done a 34km run on the Taieri Gorge line, from Middlemarch to Pukerangi, last month.
Meanwhile, demand for the Kingston Flyer steam train, which runs twice for the public on Sundays between September and April — as well as private charters on Fridays — had been "steady", he said.
