- A Whanganui property with a miniature railway has been bought by a local couple and their son.
- The railway, built by Ian Jones, features 10 tunnels, two bridges, and two stations.
- The property sold for $240,000, $20,000 above RV, attracting significant interest for its uniqueness.
It’s the Whanganui home with the ultimate big kids’ train set - and it has been snapped up by a local couple and their teenage son.
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The property on Cornfoot Street, in Castlecliff, made nationwide headlines in February after listing photos highlighted its unique selling point: a fully functioning miniature railway with 10 tunnels, two bridges, an artificial hill and two stations.
Vendor Ian Jones, who owns multiple properties in Whanganui, built the railway on a whim after he spotted a child-sized petrol locomotive for sale online and bought it.
His Nikau Junction Railway, as he named his project, is 370m long and takes 12 minutes to drive around, Jones told OneRoof earlier this year. “When you do a ride, you leave the station, and it’s two intertwining loops.”
Two of the 10 tunnels owner Ian Jones built at the property. Photo / Supplied
Nikau Junction Railway station is one of two stations that Jones’ train passes during its 12-minute trip. Photo / Supplied
Jones said the buyers were “going to keep the railway and live in the bus”.
“It’s a couple with a teenager. They live in a bus now, so they’re going to sell their bus and live in the bus on the property,” he said.
He said buyers wanted something they owned. “The brother [of one of the buyers] was keen on the property. He lives in Australia, and he’s been part of the whole deal. So maybe he’s dreaming of coming back at some point and living there. Or playing trains.”
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Jones told OneRoof that the property attracted a lot of interest, although most potential buyers wanted the land to build on, and weren’t that keen on the railway.
The 70-year-old retiree is looking forward to getting stuck into other projects, including renovating his own home. “I’ve got plenty of hobbies, and so I’ve got plenty of things to spend my time on. One being my own little house which has gone to rack and ruin in the last few years so I’m just tidying up there at the moment.”
He is also about to start helping a friend build an even bigger model railway just out of Castlecliff. “I’ll be playing trains, but I won’t have to own them,” he said. The friend is developing the property into a wedding venue.
Jones says many of the buyers who took a look at the property weren’t interested in keeping the railway, but the new owners are. Photo / Supplied
The property comes with a house bus, which the new owners plan to live in. Photo / Supplied
Property Brokers agent Kerryn Irvin told OneRoof that viewings had been by appointment only, to safeguard the property and for health and safety reasons. “We had a lot of interest – a lot of quirky interest, I guess – thanks to the publicity we received,” she said.
“Ian was great. He’d take some people for a ride on the train, so people had a wonderful experience.”
She added: “Both of us knew when we’d found the actual right buyer. It just clicked.”
The property sold for $240,000 – $20,000 above RV. Irvin said to get more than RV in the current market was good. “There are sections for sale which haven’t sold. I guess this is just something that was little bit different. We knew it might take a little bit of time, but we were quite happy to follow the process through. And it wasn’t really that long.”
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