- Imagine finding the house of your dreams in the place you always wanted to live for a budget that doesn't break the bank. Sound impossible? What if you could truck the house you want to the section of your choice and maybe save money along the way? - That's my lounge. - Whoo! Love it. - Have you got your ass on the seat? You're rolling. - 'It's a journey that can be fraught with anxiety,...' What was that? '...pressure,...' There's only inches in it, Leonie. - Oh my gosh. - '...and stress.' - Yeah, I've got some very unhappy people up here. - 'From grand old villas to brand-new buildings,...' It's on the move. There's no turning back. '...these homes are picked up, sliced up, 'and trucked down some of New Zealand's most challenging roads.' We're even taking them across the water. This is New Zealand's oldest recycling industry. From impassable roads to impossible deadlines, is all the trucking, trauma, and tension really worth it? This time... - Oh my God, that's amazing. - ...a retired couple go full steam ahead with plans to relocate a rail carriage. - I think we really are mad, aren't we? - (LAUGHS) - But are they on the right track? - Just need to give it a wiggle, Sam, and it'll go in. (LAUGHTER) - Or are their attempts to turn the carriage into somewhere to live already off the rails? - That coupling's gonna come down on that trailer. - It's a bloody nightmare. - So come along for the ride. This is Moving Houses. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2021 On the east coast of the North Island, Hawkes Bay is all about lush landscapes and world-beating wineries. Long-time locals Colin and Trish are well settled on their 3-hectare piece of paradise just out of Hastings. Colin, recently retired after 43 years as a firefighter... - Need to look at some kind of supplementary income because we'll be a couple of crusty old pensioners looking for something to do. - They've got plenty on their hands with a big garden and a plum orchard. Plus they're renovating an existing house to rent out and building a new one to live in. As if that wasn't enough, they've decided to add to their property portfolio by purchasing a train. - I looked on TradeMe and saw the train carriage and thought, 'Whoa. 'That would make a cool little house.' - The next day, at midday, we had our bid go in, and within a few minutes of that, 'Congratulations. You now own a train carriage.' - (CHUCKLES) - Simple as that. - We have a million other things that we should be finishing, but this, you can't choose your time when things come up for sale, can you? They're there, and you take the opportunity or not, so we did. - Their plan is to transform this old train carriage into a quirky cottage for visiting friends and family and to rent out as accommodation. - I've looked at these smaller homes, but really, nothing took your fancy. - No. - Nothing was really quite what we wanted over there. We just wanted something a little bit different. Yeah. A few people have put ideas into our heads about quirky things, and so the train just kind of hit a note, and we thought, hmm, why not? - Yeah. - 'Let's do it.' It took ages to get the plan right cos we don't agree on too much. - We fight like cats and dogs. - (LAUGHS) - If say, 'Jump,' she won't say, 'How high?' She'll go, 'No, I don't want to jump. You make me jump.' But she always keeps coming back for more. Well, I do. (BOTH LAUGH) - Yeah, we're stuck with each other, really. - But placing a 23-tonne train in a paddock needs quite a bit of prep. With the carriage due here in just three weeks, Colin has somehow found time to build his own authentic tracks. (LAUGHS) - Like a real train track. - There's absolutely no mistaking where this is gonna go. It's ready. No need for piles. - The whole track. The shortest railroad in the country, I think. - Shortest railroad in the country. - It looks pretty cool, though, doesn't it? - When you get a train delivered here on the back of a truck, you can't just park it up the driveway or on the front lawn because the thing will sink. It has to go on something solid to support it. - But it's not just a carriage the planning. Oh no. - I've basically got a sketch here. This is my blueprint. That's the end of the carriage. There's a platform here with a building that looks like a station with an arch going between the two for shelter and shade. It's pretty much looking east, so from the windows on the other side, you've got a clear view of Te Mata Peak up there in the background. Behind us directly is north, so you get the best part of the sun. - I mean, it all comes down to how well you've laid these tracks. - You did go measure the railway line, didn't you, (LAUGHS) on the way home Monday? - Yes, I stopped at the track. Unless our train's different, it'll fit. - You know, there's plenty of great blues songs about the old train to nowhere, which is, well, quite literally what this will be. Of course, it has to travel many miles before it's going to arrive here at its final destination. And while it might arrive here as an old train carriage, it will finish as brand-new accommodation. I'm actually starting to get quite excited about this project. (COUNTRY ROCK MUSIC) So we're off to the Taumarunui railyards in the heart of the King Country to look at Trish and Colin's impulse online purchase. This is quite the novelty for me. I'm usually in a truck, hauling a house down a highway, but, well, this move and its load is quite different. Trish and Colin are here to see their carriage shunted into position, ready to be craned on to a truck. With just five days to the move, it's all getting very real. - Oh my God, it's amazing. - I think we really are mad, aren't we? - (LAUGHS) - It's a classic 56-seater 1960s carriage that ran the commuter lines in both Brisbane and Auckland. - Hello. How are you? - How are ya, Clarke? - Hey. - Good to see ya. - Good to see you too. But most importantly, good to see this. - We've lost the plot. - (LAUGHTER) This is totally losing the plot, buying a train. - Have you already sort of come up with a couple of ideas for how you want to design it? - Well, we both have our ideas, and really, I think we're gonna have to split it in half; (LAUGHS) he does one half, and I do the other. But people will want to stay in my half, not his, cos his ideas are dumb. - Trish's half's gonna be a house. My half's gonna be a train. - Oh, I see. - Anyway. We're working on that. - You have to come and look at the other side. It's, um,... - The other side? - ...very interesting round there. - What, there's even more round here? Oh wow. - (LAUGHTER) - It's not that pretty. - That's quite talented. - It is. - It is. Very. - Someone's put a lot of time and effort in there. - (LAUGHS) I think it'll scrape off OK. - Yeah. - Oh yeah, look at that. It's coming off with my fingernail. - It's just so much better than I thought. It's beautiful. I love it. - Great. What a great, positive attitude. Fantastic. While Colin and Trish agree on erasing the graffiti, I discover there's considerably less consensus on what's going to happen with the interior design. - To me, it would all be gone and start again. But, yeah, all the seats going, and we have a bedroom. This will be the lounge part, and then there'll be a dining room/kitchen that side, bathroom behind, and right down the end, another bedroom. - And we want to retain the least four of the seats to go around the dining room table so you're at least sitting in a train seat. - They'll definitely be covered, but that's OK. - Oh, sorry. Hang on. So you're not gonna keep the decor of the seats, the fabric trim? - Nope. (LAUGHS) - That's where we differ. It's a train. It has train seats. - Right. Wee shake of the head there, Trish. - A big shake of the head. It is gonna be a house, so train outside, and I don't mind what else is outside that looks trainy. Inside is house. Comfort, warmth is my motto here. - OK. - Yeah. - I get a sense that's not the last we'll hear on the subject, but, whoever gets their way, it's going to take a lot of work to turn the carriage into a liveable space. Do you have a sense of budget on what you want to spend in here? - I don't think it's quite the train that's going to cost very much. It'll be the infrastructure then getting it home, the cranes, so I don't think there'd be any change out of $100,000, I wouldn't think. - OK. It's hard not to get excited about the potential here. (LAUGHTER) - It's great. You're focused. But Colin and Trish have to get their carriage 270km to Hawke's Bay by road. the entire enterprise could still end up a train wreck. It's just 24 hours before Colin and Trish's carriage starts its journey to becoming boutique accommodation in Hawke's Bay. The team at the Taumarunui yard are on track to prepare the carriage for departure, including 40-year railyard veteran Willy. Are they ambitious in what they're trying to do? - Absolutely, yeah. When Trish seen it, she absolutely fell in love with it. You could tell by the expression on her face. Absolutely loved it, eh? And Colin was quite bright about it too as well but nowhere near as what Trish was. - (CHUCKLES) Do you reckon it's the type of place you'd go and stay? - Oh, definitely, yes. Yeah. I'd love to go in there and stay. I've actually been invited there to go and stay. - Have you? - Yes. - Actually, I heard you inviting yourself. - Well, it is what it is, eh? - (BOTH LAUGH) - It is what it is. The team from Glenbrook Vintage Railway have organised the sale of six carriages, including Colin and Trish's. Commercial manager Sean now has to make sure each carriage is in the correct position to be craned on to a truck in the morning. Hooking them all up for one last push? - One last push. One last push. Yep, we've towed them round, pushed them round the yard, shunted them into a different order, separated them by a couple of metres so that we can crane them out on Thursday. - It's a huge job manoeuvring the carriages into place, but it's a labour of love for these train enthusiasts. - Into the model trains and the miniature trains and the live steam trains as well. Railway kid. - Is that the term for it? You call yourselves railway kids? - I think foamers is the` Foamers. Yes. Yes. - Foamers? - Yup, yup. The idea is that when a train goes past, they foam at the mouth because they're just so excited by it all. - (LAUGHS) Have not heard that term. And you proudly wear that as a badge? - I don't know if I do, but that's what we get called. - (LAUGHS) How do you feel about them not being trains as such anymore? - Probably a little bit jealous of them to have a carriage in their backyard. If I could have one in my backyard, I probably would. - I reckon a train relocation is going to be quite different to shifting a timber house, so I'm expecting a few surprises tomorrow. It's 7AM on moving day, and the experienced team from Hastings House Removals rolls into the station. - All right, mate. Take all the strops off. Grab that back pin too, mate, please. - This is a very different move for me. We'll be pulling a long load, but there's no real stress about width or powerlines overhead. The real drama will be attaching the carriage to the trailer. See, when it comes to moving a house, you pretty much build the house into the trailer, and it doesn't go anywhere. But with a carriage, it has wheels, and that can actually get quite dangerous, so the most important part of this entire operation happens right now. - Place the slings down here. - This isn't truck driver Carl's first rodeo, but it is the first time he's shifted a train. You more of a truck or a rail man, Carl? - Oh, trucks over rail any day. - Trucks over rail any day? What's the plan today? - The route that we're using over Turangi is one that we don't use often. A lot of the stuff we do is at night, so daytime just adds another dimension cos more traffic. - The carriage has wheels, and that could be dangerous. - Oh, absolutely. Yeah. You'll notice when we set up, we'll have little timber plywood packing between the carriage and the steel cos it's just too slippery. - I don't think this fog is lifting. If anything, I think it's getting a little heavier. That actually becomes an issue after a certain point, doesn't it? - Yeah, exactly. We're not allowed to travel in fog if there's less than 500m of visibility. And then, of course, you could run into a patch of it that's worse, and so you have to stop and wait for it to lift. - On the other side of the yard, Colin and Trish have arrived. I thought Colin would be focused on the big move, but it seems he's been side-tracked. Looks like he's been shopping. Look at this. I mean, half this stuff looks like it's been buried under grass and mud. - It's been sitting on a farm property for a number of years. I got on to a train enthusiast, and he says, 'Come round and have a look. I've got something that might interest you.' So we went shopping yesterday, hence I brought my trailer and loaded it all on, and we'll take it home and erect it with the train and set the scene that it's a railway station and not just a toy. It'll look like a real railway station, and that's the theme. She calls all my stuff junk, but I politely point out to her it's not junk, it's 'stuff'. - (LAUGHS) - It needs to be bang on in line, eh? Keep going another metre or so. We could go that way a metre anyway. - With one crane comes a bit of a balancing act. You've got to get the weight distribution absolutely right to get the 23-tonne carriage on to the back of the truck. In order to lift the carriage, these chains have to be heavy duty, but they also have the potential to damage the exterior. The team need to add wooden blocks on each side hold the chains out from the stainless steel. Colin's keen to protect his new toy. - I'm not trying to interfere, but I presume you won't want to get your finger caught in there, will you? - I can see Colin holding his block of wood back there. I think it makes him feel involved. - (LAUGHS) - I even brought my chainsaw. (CHUCKLES) Hence the hat, you know. - He should have been a very good boy scout, I think. He always comes very prepared for pretty well everything. - I'm picking up on that. He's been talking to the crane drivers about that they had the diagram sorted. He knows where the lift points are on the carriage, and he's got his blocks of wood to protect your stainless steel. - Mm-hm. He has literally thought of everything. Well, I think he has. - How do you feel, Trish, given that you sort of dragged Colin into this space and now he has more than embraced it? - He's literally taken it over, actually, to be honest, but that's kind of what we do ` get him interested, and the next minute, he's like, 'Well, actually, I thought of that.' Yeah. - (LAUGHS) Well, good luck. - I'm gonna need it. (LAUGHS) - The movers and the crane crew have plenty to contend with. The wooden blocks have to stay in place. If they slip or the chains aren't dispersing the weight evenly, the carriage could crush like a tin can. - It's a bloody nightmare. Get that end first. - We're all hoping the blocks stay in place once the lift starts. - I don't like a lot of blocks in there cos that's the thing that has potential to work its way out on the way home. - Right. Right. But Carl's not about to get in the way of a determined Colin, and when it comes to keeping his train safe, Colin has a one-track mind. - I don't think it'll be wide enough here. I think they'll have to go out here. - Just go and get some more packing on standby, I think. (CHUCKLES) - OK. Very good. The problems with the packing mean we're now falling behind schedule, but if we don't solve this, well, we're not going anywhere. Down at this end, it is quite delicate. You've got to get the chain just the right place. You don't want it sitting down on one of these points that are still attached to the suspension because if that lifts, this could all pop out. The other crucial thing is to try and protect the stainless steel here. We don't want that getting crushed. So this is why we're holding this board in place ` to make sure that when it all lifts, it's got a bit of gap and we don't damage the all-important carriage. Crane driver Mike wants to see what happens when the chains take some weight. - Could I get you just in here, Ian, just to have a look at the other side as we come up slowly, please? All right, we're just gonna pinch, all right? - Yup. - Just enough to hold it there while we look at it. - Yup. Up a tad. How's that other side? Are they working round there too, are they? - We're just gonna lift it nice and easy. We're just gonna pinch it, make sure these blocks are positioned right. - Just watch that cable. Willy's right hand. We're just starting to take the weight. - Ooh. So here we go. This is it. The chains are tight ` or pinched, as crane drivers say ` and it's the last chance for the team to make any final adjustments before they commit to a full lift. (SUSPENSFUL MUSIC) It's a big call and a tense time for all of us. With their 23-tonne carriage literally hanging by a single chain, will Colin and Trish's dream of a tiny train home get back on track, or have they reached the end of the line? - Just need to give it a wiggle, Sam, and it'll go in. - It's moving day for Colin and Trish's train, but unexpected delays with the bracing mean we haven't got the carriage on the back of the truck yet. A crane is set up to take the train's weight, which the manuals say is 23 tonnes. - It's 25. - Now, that's looking like a serious underestimate. - I've got 28 all up. So minus the spreader, it's 26, 25 and a half, give or take. - That's an extra three tonnes to contend with, and the heavier the train, the more chances those blocks will slip. - Colin, it has to turn, eh? - Sorry? - It has to turn? - That's the back. - Yeah. - Yeah. - The next step is to rotate the carriage so that it's facing the right way when it's unloaded in Hastings. - Um... - However, no one told crane driver Mike which way it should be facing on the trailer. - You're turning it around, eh? - Oh, you wanna spin it round? I was told that end was going to the headboard. We'll get it up and see if I can spin it under the hook. - The carriage will have to be spun around to face the other way. Everything's just taking a little bit longer today. - No. Bring this end to me. Come around slowly, Bailey. - Unbelievable. And it's actually no real effort. It's like... - No. Just gliding through the air. - I know! Oh, that's magnificent. - It may look effortless. There's a lot riding on getting the carriage in position on the trailer so we can hit the road. - All good! - For Carl, the next step is vital. He's never fixed a train carriage to a trailer before. He's also under pressure to get going. There are five more carriages waiting to get off the yard, and they can't go anywhere until he's out of the way. - Hold there, bro. You're good. - With nearly 300km of challenging road ahead, it's crucial that they secure the carriage safely so that it doesn't tip and unbalance the trailer during the journey. - Does that lever go up, mate, or not? - Yeah. - Oh, OK. - Yeah, you're gonna have to move forward. - Colin's still not convinced how stable the whole thing will be. - I thought he might have put a bloody whole fence post right through, you know? Not little wee pieces. But, you know, it is what it is. - To give the carriage more points of contact with the trailer, Carl and his team are putting blocks under the chassis. But Colin doesn't think they're big enough. - I just think if it sits on that, you're only on one point; it'll be unstable, won't it? Cos we don't want those blocks to come loose, eh? - If only there were some longer blocks around. - Carl, are these gonna be any good? One of those right through is better than two little bits, isn't it? - Well, yeah. - And we can cut it off with the chainsaw. - Colin's happy, and Carl is also happy that Colin's happy. We're away. Just gotta strap it down now, and we're off. With the carriage safely secured on the trailer, the removal team change gear into driving mode. The goal was to be on the road by 9 o'clock this morning. - It's only 9. - It's 11, nearly 11.30 - (LAUGHS) Well, that's only 9-ish. - 9-ish. Trish and Colin plan to follow their train for the seven-hour near-300km journey home. The route takes the heavily-laden truck east through farmland and bush before hitting the steep gradients of the Central Plateau. From there, it's south at Kuratau, where they'll negotiate a series of bends before cutting across the bottom of Lake Taupo to the main highway at Turangi. The route then rejoins the winding shores of the Great Lake, turning south at Taupo, tracking towards Hawke's Bay. There's one final push up and over the twists of the Ahimanawa Range before hitting the home straight to the east coast and Colin and Trish's paddock just outside Hastings. This must be such a strange sight for anyone who passes us on the road. - Are those back axles running straight there, mate? - Yeah, mate. Running through. - Just one silver ute on their way down. - The challenge for Carl isn't the width of the load. It's the extra weight of the carriage. - Yeah, there's definitely a bit of weight there. - Yeah, you can feel it? - Yeah. - It's amazing that that much sensation can be transmitted through the trailer and the tongue into the cab. Yeah, it's pushing us around a bit. - Yeah, I can feel it in my seat. - (BOTH LAUGH) - All those years that train has been in New Zealand. Now it's doing 82 mile an hour. Ah, kilometres an hour. It's the fastest it's ever been in its life, probably, cos New Zealand trains only do 80K. - TRISH: I love that train. Can't wait to get it home. - For Colin and Trish, observing from behind, every kilometre they travel takes them just that little bit closer to their dream of a tiny train home. - When it goes to the side like that, seeing it from the side, that is amazing. - Following, it looks like... - It's nothing, is it? - It looks like a garden shed. But from side on... - Oh my God, that's awesome. Look at that. - We're about to hit the shores of Lake Taupo. That means a stretch of tight corners that will reduce us to a crawl, thanks to the length of the load. - RT: There's a postie van, a white camper, and a little car behind the camper. - Roger. - It's the job of the pilot vehicles to stop traffic and guide the 17m, 26-tonne train through these narrow roads. - Got them stopped so you can get around the 25 bend. - This is the first of our tight corners. - All traffic's stopped. Won't be long. Thank you. - RT: There's a white car. It's stopped. Cars coming up behind it. - Won't be long. - RT: A metre on the white car. - Cars have all pulled over. It's still tight. - Should be all right around the bend. Clear of the last car. - Not a huge amount of room. (CHUCKLES) - There's a white car. It's stopped. Cars coming up behind it. - For me, it's a slightly nerve-racking part of the journey. But for Carl, ehh, it's just another day on the road. - CARL: Yup. Through all there. Past the cars. We're on our way. - So here we go. We've cut up high around the lake along the last part of Turangi, and this is the Napier-Taupo turn-off. Is it gonna get easier from here? - Oh, no, we've got some long climbs ahead of us, but it's a road I know well. - Turns out it doesn't have to be the dead of the night for the comforts of the cab to lull me to sleep. Lucky for Trish, she's got Colin in the car to keep her... entertained. - Because they don't want steel on steel. That wants to slide. - Yeah. - You put a little piece of wood between it, plywood, then it just, you know, locks it in. - Yeah. - It doesn't slip. - We've almost made it to Napier, which is only 30km away from Colin and Trish's property. But our two-and-a-half-hour delay this morning means we're not going to get a clear run home. - We're gonna have to park up for a bit, unfortunately. - Traffic regulations prevent Carl from moving oversized loads during peak time, so we'll have to stop for tea and wait for the traffic to clear. It's frustrating for everyone because we're so close. So, we've got an hour's break now before we're allowed legally back on the roads again. What have you made of the people driving past, looking out their windows, thinking, 'What on Earth is going on there?' - Oh, it's so funny. The ones overtaking us, they've got their phones, the iPads up, and they're filming everything, and they've got their heads turned. - (LAUGHS) So funny. - Jaws are dropped, and they go, 'What the hell is that?' It's a train going down the road. - You both could just sneak home and pop your slippers on, and no one would say anything, but you're committed to following this all the way through. - Turn the lights out. - He is more worried that he won't get anything to eat at home. - Right. (LAUGHS) - That's why he's staying ` because there's more chance here than when we go home. - With rush hour over, we're back on the road. The delay, though, means we're travelling at night, so the pilots have to be even more vigilant. But the good news is that, after a very long day, we're on the final stretch to Hastings. Wow. So, after... starting this morning in the fog and the rain in Taumarunui and having a delay getting the carriage on to the back of the truck, setting off, and covering a huge, huge drive, we've made it. This project is now very real, and it's right on their doorstep because here we are. - LAUGHS: Oh my God. Here it is. - No, it's the wrong sort. Take it back, please. We don't want that. - Not one but two cranes are booked to arrive first thing in the morning to lift the carriage on to Colin's tracks. But first they have to reverse a very long truck and trailer off a narrow country road and on to the property. - Nah. He's gonna have to go forward again. - Several days of rain have made the paddock muddy, and there's concern that the truck and carriage could get bogged down. It's stressful for Carl but great entertainment for the neighbours. - He's not gonna make it. - Oh, it's creaking. - Carl's plastic mats are providing some traction, but after a few metres, they've gone as far as they can. The ground is just too soft. - It's not too late, you know. - (CHUCKLES) It is too late. - We're gonna have to leave it for the night, and with more rain expected before morning, I don't imagine Colin and Trish will be getting much sleep. Colin and Trish's carriage is just metres from its final resting place on Colin's custom-made tracks, but there's a waterlogged paddock to navigate and a complicated two-crane lift before their dream can really be considered back on track. Morning, Carl. - Morning, Clarke. - How are ya? - Very good. - I got you a sausage roll. - Really? Is it peppered? - It is peppered. Yeah, yeah. - Oh. Yeah. Thanks very much. We're prepared for the ground conditions, so hopefully we'll get across this paddock OK. Rain should be arriving in about an hour's time. They'll set up on the other side of the tracks and pluck it off. (ROCK MUSIC) - There wasn't a lot of rain overnight, but it's still wet underfoot. - How far back, Col? - That's 17 and a half, tip to tip, and these are 18, so the coupling will probably end about level with that, thereabouts. - This is where we'll find out if Colin's meticulous track measurements are on the money. We're doing things a little bit differently today. Yesterday, we had one crane. Today we have two, one at each end, so it's gonna be a bit of a delicate dance, a literal balancing act, to bring the carriage off evenly and pop it down on to their backyard tracks. The pressure's on to get the cranes in and out as quickly as possible. The longer they're here, the more likely they are to get bogged down and the more expensive for Colin and Trish. Did you finally catch up on some sleep last night? - We did but not enough. I'm a bit jaded this morning, I have to say. - And we're gonna, what, try and tackle some of that spray paint? - Yeah. - Have you got something to take it off? - You. - Me? - (BOTH LAUGH) And what's left of my nails. Right. - Relying on you. - Lifting the carriage means we're back to the blocks. - Yup. Ready to go. - But by now, they've got placement down to a fine art. - Yup. That's clear on the body. Perfect. - Yeah, it's better spread than you had on the other one, eh? - Yup. (SUSPENSFUL MUSIC) - This is just moments away from lift-off. And it's just that sense of unknown. You know, these crane guys know what they're doing, but using two cranes and bringing it up and over is a whole new dynamic. (MUSIC CONTINUES) This, of course, is his moment of truth. This is where he needs those tracks to line up perfectly. - TRISH: They will. - They will? - Guaranteed. - Trish is confident. - I am. - How's the other rail? - It's crunch time, and things don't look quite right. The lip of the wheel is catching on the track instead of sitting over it. - How's that? - Go back now. Yeah. The back one here is sitting on top. - There you go. We're about four inches away. - I know. The moment of truth. - Yeah. - This is such a worry. - All right? - Nah, it's still touching now. Get that crowbar. - Shifting at 26-tonne carriage with a crowbar seems like a bit of a stretch, but this is New Zealand. - You're not gonna turn the bogey, eh? - The danger here is misaligning the bogey, which may mean the carriage will never sit properly. - You're not gonna turn it, eh? Carl. - I got it. It's in. Whoo-hoo! - Look at that. - Yes! It fits! - Well done, Carl. Well done. - That's it. We're officially in place. - They did it! - Well done. (SIGHS) It's a huge relief. Relocating a 26-tonne carriage almost 300km was a first for everyone. - Hey. - Oh, well done. - That's a relief. - (LAUGHS) - I imagine the euphoria won't last long for Colin and Trish. For them, the work has only just begun. - (LAUGHS) What can you say? - (LAUGHS) There's plenty I can say, Trish. I was just gonna comment on how quiet it is. - It's so quiet. - Everyone's gone. - Yes. - All that stress and rush to this moment. - And it's sitting all by its little self. (LAUGHS) Never seen it like it before. It didn't sink. - It didn't sink. - LAUGHS: Here it is in all its glory. - There's nothing stopping us now. - Now's our opportunity. - Let's go in. - Shall we get the fireman's ladder? - Get the ladder and have a nosy. - We're all desperate to see how the interior has survived the journey. - Oh. Wow. There she is. - Yup. Welcome to our house. - (CHUCKLES) - Does it feel different now that it's here? - Oh, definitely. It's home, eh? Look at the view. - Actually, that is... really cool. - Yeah. - The three sheep out there staring back, wondering where all their grazing paddock's gone. - Seats don't actually look any better than I thought they would. - (LAUGHTER) - So that's gonna be your first job, Trish, you think? Just... - First job. - Start unbolting them. Out they go. - They've gotta come out. - You've got this big bit of ceiling panel. - Yeah, we wanna respect that speaker system. There's wiring up there to announce the arrival of the next platform you're coming to. - That's the thing, Colin. It's quite authentic, isn't it? - That's right. We wanna keep those sort of things. - Yeah. - Yeah, exactly. - Decisions to be made. - No taking sides, remember. You're neutral. - No, of course not. - Are you still sticking to your original plan? - Yeah, I am. Yeah. - So am I. Yeah. - (LAUGHTER) - Whether those two plans are the same thing, we will see. (UPBEAT MUSIC) It's only been 24 hours since Colin and Trish's carriage was craned on to the custom-made tracks at their Hastings property. And the water blaster is already out. - It's gonna be a big job, isn't it? - A bit bigger than I thought. - He's really cleaned that graffiti up nicely, and it's starting to pop out. - (LAUGHS) Now we can really see the skulls. Yeah. - Colin's hope that the graffiti would slide right off with a good blast may have been wishful thinking, but it comes as no surprise that he has a backup plan. - This is what you always use on chrome bumpers. See, that's coming up like a brand-new sink bench, isn't it? - Can you hear that? (CHUCKLES) It's Trish and Colin, still behind me. There's no stopping these two. They're just straight into it. You know, I am jealous of this project. And what a setup. They live right there. They can wander across at their leisure and just chip away at that big long list of jobs to do, you know, slowly transforming what looks behind me to be a big, long yellow caterpillar into a bright shiny butterfly. Between Colin's desire for kitsch collectibles and Trish's vision for a tasteful interior, I'm not seeing a lot of common ground at this junction. But I can't wait to see who gets their own way at the end of the line. (ENGINE RUMBLES) PHONE: Motorcycling puts a little adventure in every day. It gets under your skin. The more in tune you become to the subtleties and the physics and the geometry of riding a motorcycle, the more it actually gives back. (ENGINE RUMBLES IN BURSTS) The more you understand it, the more rewarding it is. When Colin and Trish bought a train carriage on the internet, their and family all looked at them sideways. They thought that the couple had gone off the rails. I have to say I was on board from the beginning, but the thing with the couple is that they both had completely different ideas about what the interior should look like. On one side, tasteful design with Trish. And on the other, train geek chic with Colin. So I can't wait to pop inside and, well, see who won. The signs say 'look for trains', but there's no missing Colin and Trish's two-bedroom guest residence. Scrubbed clean of years of graffiti, the gleaming carriage is so bright I should have brought my sunglasses. After just four months, it looks so good I can imagine KiwiRail on the phone, wanting it back. The whole experience starts outside. The crossing lights are genius. Their little train station is totally crazy, but it's perfect. Now I just need to find the conductor. Colin. - Yo. - Hello. - How is it, Clarke? - Hey, how are ya? - Good to see ya. Good, thanks, mate. - Hey, Trish. Hey. How are you? - Hello. Good, thanks. - We're standing on a deck, and we've got` - Ah, a platform. - Platform. - Platform. OK. And then what are we calling this? - Train station. - The train station. The train station office isn't just there to look pretty. It's got a barbecue and storage for bikes. In this location, I bet both will get loads of use. And it's fit perfectly. - Pretty cool, eh? - Oh, unreal. - And have you been happy through the project? - Some days, and some days not. - Some days, yeah. Little bit to go, but we're getting there. - Do you guys have as much perspective as I do? Because last time, it was completely covered in graffiti. It's transformed! - It's just been full-on. Wouldn't have time to go to work, because every day has been train day. - Everything else has stopped. Not a lot of housework goes on. Not a lot of gardening. We just train. - Can't wait to have a look inside. - In you go. - In you come. This is it. - Amazing! It's one hell of a trains-formation. While anything would look better than rows of well-worn train seats, this is something else. And at first glance, it looks like Trish has won the big tug-of-war over the interior. Or has she? The first thing I notice ` the signs are all still here. - Every damn one. - (LAUGHTER) - Every damn one. - Trish, I could have sworn I saw you sort of almost pulling them off as I was walking out the door the last time I saw you. - I wanted to. - As we come through the dividers that... - That I didn't want either. - I also could have sworn you pretty much had a screwdriver, removing these as I left, and they're still here. - I know. I know. - And I noticed the ceiling panels down the middle, they're still there. - It's what it is, really, isn't it? You can't disguise it. It's a train. Yeah, and I did have to back down. I hate saying it, but I did. - (LAUGHS) First time in her life. (LAUGHTER) - But I guess... I mean, this is more than accommodation. Right? This is an experience. - Well, yeah, it is, really, isn't it? - 'It sounds suspiciously like Colin and Trish may have learned to compromise.' - We often did something, and the whole lot's changed around. - 'Or maybe not.' - And then at the end of the night, it was all back exactly how I put it in the first place. - Oh, it so was not. - I was waiting for a beautiful ending on that. 'And it all got swapped around, and it looks so much better.' - Can we saunter into the huge dining area? - Guys, there's so much more room in here now that it's all been lightened up and the chairs have come out. It's all coming together. - Not sure it's totally coming together because I'm going to talk about these lovely seats. - They made it! - (LAUGHS) They are here, but they are not staying. - Just the upholstery. She doesn't like the colour. - I do not like it. - All right. But you're gonna keep it in this set up? - Keep the chairs themselves. - Yeah. - She wants to change the upholstery, but that format... It's a dining table, train seats, just like in a real train. - And what's going on here on the table? - I'm just wondering whether to put these stickers on and then get a glass top, just so it looks a little bit different. I'm not sure. I'm reserving judgment on that one. The little kitchen actually turned out a lot better than I ever imagined. - Just the way it's set up hard against the wall has allowed that extra room to get the flow going right through. - It's actually quite spacious, really, isn't it, to walk through. - So from the kitchen/dining area, we flow through to the bathroom. The bathroom's split across the hallway. On the left is the toilet with an upcycled vintage sewing machine hand basin. Oh, that's nice. - Isn't it beautiful? - Yeah. - Absolutely love it. That's my favourite part. - And on the right, the shower. All right. And then through here into the bedroom. These are lovely big thick doors. - That's my favourite bit. - This is your favourite bit up here, Trish? - I just love that bit, yes. Aren't they cool? - It's very in keeping. 'Friends, family, and other visitors will be very comfortable here. 'I can definitely see myself enjoying this after sampling a couple of those famous Hawke's Bay wines.' - Lie in bed and gaze at the Auckland rail map. It's got every station on it. - And there's another bedroom, a work in progress, at the other end of the carriage that will soon be filled by two single beds. There's still sewerage to go in and consents to be signed off, but what Trish and Colin have managed to accomplish in only four months is incredible. I think they've found the right balance of retaining the look of a train and creating the feel of a stylish tiny house that will be a welcoming place to stay. What's been the hardest part of this whole project? - Trish. - Colin - (BOTH LAUGH) - Did it match your budget expectations? - Hmm... Well... - Cos you thought you had $100,000 to play with, right? - Yeah, but we were dreaming. - Above it? - (LAUGHS) It's never... - Much above? - Oh, maybe another 30. - OK. - So it's not that much, really, is it? - It is what it is, and there's a little bit more to do, and it'll be what it is. - Well, and still, I mean, you can't build a house from scratch for that sort of money. And yet you've got, you know, all the history and the novelty of it. - That's right. It's 53 years of history in the train itself. - Colin and Trish's impulse online purchase cost them $10,000 with a further $10,000 to move it to site. You can't put a dollar value on the passion that's gone into this project. And to say thank you to all their great tradespeople, they've put on a barbecue. - Here's to everybody that helped. Thank you. Wonderful job. - Before we go... I've got a little something that you might have some space for. There you go. If you can just hold that. - (LAUGHS) - Oh, look at that. - Oh! That's amazing! - Oh, what?! - There we go. (LAUGHS) - Oh, that's awesome. What a likeness. Yeah, amazing. - Oh, that is lovely. Thank you. - I bet that took you a long time to colour that in, Clarke. - (LAUGHS) - It did. Yeah, it did. Some of my best work with a highlighter. Enjoy. - Thank you. - To you guys. - Cheers. - This may be the most unique accommodation in the Hawke's Bay, but it might also be the one with the most heart.