Model 'R' class steam locomotive.

Te Papa's collection of model locomotives and rolling stock is largely the work of craftsman and railway enthusiast Frank Roberts (1882-1963). Born in 1882, Roberts spent seventeen years as a cleaner, fireman, and driver for the Railways Department. He and his brother Jack then became partners in an electrical firm, although much of Roberts' time was spent developing a garden railway at his home in Epsom, Auckland.

An accurate record
Roberts built 1:24 scale models of New Zealand steam locomotives. He worked from photographs, close observation, and his own memories, rather than from plans. His model locomotives and his brother George's models of rolling stock provide an accurate record of the equipment of the Railways Department from the 1870s to the 1930s.

Centennial highlight
The high point of Roberts' career as a model maker came when he was commissioned by the Railways Department to operate a large working layout at the Centennial Exhibition (1939-1940) in Wellington. Thousands of visitors saw the model railway, and many considered it the Exhibition's greatest attraction.

Acquisition
In 1950, Roberts sold his models to the Railways Department. They were widely exhibited for many years, and Roberts was employed to maintain them to museum display standard. In 1993, just before it was privatised, New Zealand Rail Ltd gifted its collection of heritage models, including more recent work by other model makers, to Te Papa.

R class locomotives
Frank Roberts made this model of New Zealand Railways' R class locomotive R 273 in 1930. R class locomotives were known as Single Fairlies, after their inventor Robert Fairlie (1831-1885). They differed from the E class Double Fairlies by having only one boiler.

Unlike Double Fairlies, Single Fairlies were quite successful in New Zealand. They were fast and popular with their crews, and some remained in service until the 1930s. R 273, on which Roberts had worked as a young man, remained in service until 1927.

Only one example of the class, R 28, has been preserved. It is on display at Reefton in the West Coast region of the South Island.