A funding boost from the Tauranga Electricity Consumers Trust means the model railway track extensions in Memorial Park are likely to be completed in time for a 2016 national convention.

The Tauranga Model Marine and Engineering Club wants to show them off at the national convention of model engineers to be held in Tauranga in January 2016.

Tauranga Model Marine and Engineering Club members, making progress on the viaduct. Picture: Bryan Kincaid.

The track project was inching along as money permitted until TECT gave the model engineers a boost late last year, says Tauranga Model Marine and Engineering Club's publicity officer Bryan Kincaid.

'The reason the piles were there for a while was because we ran out of money,” says Bryan.

'The TECT Trust came through and we have been able to progress from there.

'The other thing that lengthened the time was the timber had to be dry from its treatment; then we could assemble it. Otherwise, it dries while it's in place with all the holes drilled and you can imagine what it's going to look like.”

While the viaduct construction is moving forward with regular working bees, the next phase of the project is taking the pre-load off the earth ramp, leading up to the new viaduct.

This year the club is hoping to lay concrete on the ramp, do all of the railings and lay the track. Given good weather, and no other hold ups, the project could be in operation by the end of the year.

'It should be at the end of 2014, maybe early 2015,” says Bryan. 'At the beginning of 2016 we have what's called the Meanz conference; our overall guiding body of the entire model engineering clubs.”

The Tauranga Model Marine and Engineering Club won the rights to hold the biennial Model Engineering Association of New Zealand conference at Christchurch in January.

'The opening of the track is a big event, locomotives will be coming from all over the place, and then we'll be heading towards doing the convention in January 2016.

'This summer it's been very busy and everybody is starting to notice the track. Everybody is talking about it and things are starting to happen.

Bryan says the response the club's had during summer has been incredible. 'Usually in the summer we die. Everybody goes to the beach; winter time we are flat out.”