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'Ivanhoe' Model Engine

Local man Victor Hurley made this five-inch gauge model of the New Zealand Government Railway’s F-Class Locomotive ‘Ivanhoe’ in 1966.
Ivanhoe is a working model with a real miniature steam engine and wheel mechanism.
Hurley used quality materials, personally fabricating every component, with the exception of the engine pressure-gauges. Due to the authenticity of its construction, the model weighs close to half a tonne.
The F-Class steam locomotive that inspired Hurley first appeared in Aotearoa New Zealand in 1872. With a working life of up to 100 years, the F-Class was a stalwart of the New Zealand Government Railways Department’s network. Dubs and Company of Glasgow built the engine on which this model was based, the F-163, between 1878 and 1880. The F-163 entered service for the New Zealand Railways in 1881.
Not withdrawn from service until 1964, the real Ivanhoe remains in working condition at the Feilding and District Steam Rail Society.

Maker

Victor Hurley

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Where

Hamilton, New Zealand

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When

1966

Materials

Metal, paint and glass

Dive Into the Details

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Detail 1

A long-time New Zealand Railways employee, Hurley worked on the Auckland-to-Wellington express service and in the goods areas at Frankton and Te Rapa in Kirikiriroa Hamilton. Hurley’s daughter, Robyn, remembers her father spending hours working on his lathe to build model steam engines, his great passion.

Naming

The engine was named in reference to the title of an 1820 novel by English author Sir Walter Scott. 

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