Historic locomotives have been rendered “basically wrecks” after thieves stripped valuable copper and irreplaceable parts from trains stored at Glenbrook Vintage Railway over the Christmas period.
Police received a report of a burglary on December 29 that had allegedly occurred on December 27, at an address on Pukeoware Rd, near Waiuku, south of Auckland.
Inquiries into the circumstances were underway, including a scene examination which was completed on December 29, and police have asked anyone with information or dashcam footage from the area to come forward. Investigators are treating the incident as a targeted attack on the heritage site rather than opportunistic theft.
The theft was believed to have taken place over several days inside one of the railway’s sheds, with significant damage done to long-term storage vehicles rather than trains in daily service. Many of the affected vehicles were awaiting or undergoing restoration work funded by ticket sales and donations.
Glenbrook Vintage Railway Charitable Trust chairperson Glenn Deed said workers came across the robbery “completely by accident” while carrying out routine work at the site.
“Our teams have unfortunately uncovered what was quite an extensive burglary inside one of our sheds, likely over several days,” Glenbrook Vintage Railway general manager Tim Kerwin said in a Facebook post, describing the discovery as devastating for staff and volunteers.
“We had a heritage locomotive and heritage railcar stored in that shed – both have had copper and other unique parts stripped, rendering them as basically wrecks now – likely repair cost in the $100,000s.”
Deed told 1News the thieves completely stripped the radiator from a DE class diesel-electric locomotive, removing all the copper components in what he described as a major undertaking that would have required time, tools, and a vehicle to move the heavy parts.
Other stolen items include tanks and fittings from carriages, gates and frames from the ends of carriages, and extensive wiring from locomotives. In several cases, fittings were cut out rather than unbolted, compounding the damage to the historic fabric of the vehicles.
“Carriages have had parts stolen which cannot be replaced easily. This sets us back hugely,” Kerwin said, noting that specialist suppliers for such components are limited and often overseas.
A passerby on a train spotted someone wearing overalls and carrying items near Shakespeare Road around 3pm on the day of the burglary. The person, who Kerwin said appeared to be disguising themselves as a railway volunteer, ran off when the train approached. Police are appealing for information about that sighting as part of their investigation.
While the scrap value of the stolen parts was relatively low, the cost of replacement would be enormous because many parts are irreplaceable and will need to be specially manufactured or imported from the UK. Heritage operators say that, in practice, the loss is less about commodity prices and more about the destruction of historically significant engineering.
“A lot of the parts are completely irreplaceable; they don’t exist out there in the world now,” Deed said.
“The only way to replace them is to either recast them and remake them, remould them, or engineer them from scratch.”
The trust had already spent between $60,000 and $70,000 on upgraded security in the past 12 months, including security cameras and a secure compound with razor wire, electric fences, and eight-foot-high fencing for some vehicles. As a registered charitable trust, GVR is required to account for that spending to regulators and donors, even as repeated attacks drive up its costs and divert resources away from conservation work.
“It’s a real kick in the guts as a heritage organisation,” Deed said.
“Every dollar that we make gets put back into that place to keep it running, to preserve the rail heritage that we aim to do.”
The latest incident follows a pattern of criminal activity at the site. In April last year a fatal derailment could have occurred if thieves had succeeded in stealing railway sleepers from active track at the heritage railway, after bolts were removed from a section of line.
Deed said a member of the public had alerted the team to bolts being removed from a section of track. That incident was investigated as a potential endangerment of transport, an offence covered by New Zealand’s Crimes Act, which includes provisions against acts likely to cause danger to trains and gives police significant powers to respond where public safety and critical transport infrastructure are at risk.
In 2025, the site had experienced what Deed called a “multitude” of attacks, including diesel units being gutted by vandals, with copper wiring stolen, fire extinguishers discharged inside, windows smashed, and seats dragged outside and set on fire. In a statement shared via a local community page, GVR warned that interference with the active main line not only threatens heritage assets but could put passengers and staff at risk if left undetected.
The heritage railway attracts around 65,000 visitors a year and is almost entirely supported by rail activities, from public steam excursions to charter services. The trust had spent upwards of $100,000 on repairs and security in the past year alone, diverting money from restoration projects and raising questions for local authorities and cultural agencies about how smaller institutions can sustainably protect critical infrastructure from repeat offending.
“It’s a really sad day for GVR,” Kerwin said, adding that the trust will review its security settings again and continue working with police and local authorities to try to prevent further attacks, while keeping the site accessible to the public as a living museum of New Zealand rail history.
