Carriage 14: Darren Wakefield's West Coast Project

Darren Wakefield is a Tasmanian master craftsman whose latest commission took in an all-round range of advanced woodworking techniques. For the last nine years Darren has been tasked with restoring carriages for the West Coast Wilderness Railway (WCWR). A nine-year refurbishment program has seen carriages modernised and upgraded to luxury standards.

In the beginning

Carriage 14 was one of WCWR’s earliest carriages and is the latest to receive Darren Wakefield’s master touch. This was an O-class 40-seat standard carriage that was refurbished and upgraded to a 26-seat premium carriage, with small dining tables and a balcony.

The story actually goes back further, right back to the Huon pine selected by Darren and the emphasis throughout on keeping it all local. ‘All the Huon pine used has never left the West Coast, which is really special. The logs were sourced by Forestry Tasmania and then transported on a West Coast Wilderness Railway train from Teepookana to the forestry yard at the nearby Queenstown mill. In fact, every trade utilised has been from the Northwest and West Coast.’

First stages

Initially, the rotted interior of the carriage was gutted and the windows removed, taking the structure back to a steel frame. The balcony with aluminium roof was built on, the exterior recladded and new wheels fitted. The entire construction was modernised and brought up to national standards. In addition, laminated ‘bus glass’ was fitted to withstand the West Coast Tasmanian weather as well as to protect the timber.

Interior fitout

After the external work was finished, attention was turned to the interior. The only parts of the original that were retained were the celery top pine window arches. The floor was replaced, and a kitchenette, walls and seat frames added.

For the fitout, Darren used a full suite of traditional joinery techniques, including steambending, turning and marquetry. ‘The interior alone took nine months as every single thing is hand fitted and/or steambent, and all of the marquetry is hand cut utilising old-fashioned equipment,’ explained Darren.

The birdseye Huon Pine panelling was custom pressed by Somerset-based Britton Timbers. The piéce-de-resistance is Darren’s hand cut marquetry which he designed to depict local flora and fauna. ‘There are 27 panels featuring local birds such as wrens and honey eaters, and local plants like blue gums and wattles’, said Darren. ‘Each dining booth has a different theme, and the main kitchenette wall features black cockatoos and waratahs. Even a Tasmanian tiger appears on one of the walls. Each panel took 15 to 60 hours to complete.’

In service now

Carriage 14 ‘Lowana’ is now in rotating service for the three journeys which WCWR operates. Currently, lucky passengers can get a peek at this local marvel on the Queenstown Rinadeena Rack & Rainforest journey.

The image gallery at the top features some of the beautiful marquetry panels created by Darren Wakefield for the refurbished Carriage 14.

Images by Sammie Saltmarsh courtesy West Coast Wilderness Railway.
Process images by Darren Wakefield
Learn more at wcwr.com.au