A&G Price Limited is an engineering firm and locomotive manufacturer in Thames, New Zealand, founded in 1868.
History A&G Price was established in 1868 in Princes Street, Onehunga by Alfred Price and George Price, two brothers from Stroud, Gloucestershire. They built almost 100 flax-milling machines in their first year.Book Reviews Rails June 1983 page 22 The brothers also built machinery for gold miners. They moved to the Coromandel Gold Rushes in 1871 setting up premises in Beach Road, Thames and closing the Onehunga works in 1873 after building 10 coaches and 12 trucks there for the Public Works Department. The firm's ownership was transferred to a limited liability company in 1907.
Ownership
A&G Price Limited remained under family management until November 1949 when it was bought by Wellington engineers, William Cable & Company. The two companies then exchanged board members but kept their separate identities. Cable bought Downer & Co in 1954 and in 1964 William Cable Holdings was renamed Cable, Price, Downer Limited.
In 1974 the staff of A&G Price alone was in excess of 520 people. Its head office was in Fanshawe Street, Auckland. Beach Road Thames was described as a branch.The New Zealand Business Who's Who, 22nd Edition, FEP Productions, Wellington. undated ISSN 0077-9571 In 1988 corporate raider Brierley Investments obtained control of the group parent, Cable Price Downer, and broke the group back into its three separate businesses. A&G Price, Beach Road, Thames, was until liquidation part of the Tiri Group, based in Mount Wellington and controlled from Nelson by Tom Sturgess.History BloombergAbout Us - Tiri Group
In July 2017, A&G Price was placed in administration with the loss of 100 jobs.New Zealand rail engineering firm closes after nearly 150 years The Railway Magazine issue 1398 September 2017 page 103 The business was bought from the administrator by Christopher Reeve in April 2018. Reeve had been unable to sell the land and buildings.A&G Price foundry sold and to be restored. Teresa Ramsey, Stuff accessed 3 March 2019 The business now operates with a reduced workforce under Reeve's ownership.
Products A&G Price produced water turbines under the Pelton patent. Lester Allan Pelton invented and a highly efficient turbine patenting it in 1880. Initially, Pelton manufactured and sold the turbines to gold mine operators in the California goldfields, and later licensed the manufacturing to companies across the world. A small A&G Price turbine is on display at the Goldmine Experience in Thames, New Zealand.
Abner Doble helped A&G Price develop a steam engine for buses at the Thames workshops.Thames News Auckland Star 25 February 1931 page 17 The first engine was trialled by the Auckland Transport Board in the early 1930s. A second bus was made in 1932 for White and Sons for the Auckland Thames route.Thames News Auckland Star 11 July 1932 page 5
In 2004 a precision-formed yacht keel division was set up to make the Maximus canting keel.
A&G Price and railways A&G Price was the largest private New Zealand railway locomotive manufacturer, both in terms of output and in terms of supply of rolling stock to the New Zealand Government Railways (NZGR or NZR) and other firms, mainly Bush tramways used for logging timber.
Price manufactured 22 carriages and wagons in the early 1870s, and manufactured two locomotives in the 1880s for private industry, the first being a 0-4-0ST Saddle Tank type locomotive. The Thames Branch railway line opened in 1898, and Price won a tender to make locomotives for NZR in 1903 and 1906. Later in the 1950s and 1960s they manufactured a number of diesel shunting locomotives for the NZR, the TR class, and some for private users.New Diesel Shunting Locomotives Railway Gazette 25 January 1957 page 100
In the 1920s several petrol tanks were built for NZR and in 1964 for Mobil. 400 LC class wagons were built in 1960.
In 1990 A&G Price regauged 24 of the 31 Silver Star carriages to metre gauge (1000 mm) for running in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand as the Eastern & Oriental Express.Silver Star Carriages Leave New Zealand New Zealand Railway Observer issue 208 Summer 1991 page 168 Six carriages from this train were stored at Price's Thames workshop in case any extra carriage conversions were required, with the remaining carriages shipped to South East Asia but not refurbished. These carriages were later sold by the Eastern & Oriental Express to private owners in New Zealand.
Locomotive types built by A&G Price
1885 type (1), gauge, built originally for Waiorongomai Tramway, used 1886-1894 by Mander & Bradley at Pukekaroro, 1897-1908 by Messrs. Smyth Brothers' Tramway at Kennedy Bay, 1908 as PWD # 511 for railway construction Picton and Otira, and finally scrapped in 1917New Zealand Geared Locomotives. Locomotive Owners: A & G Price Ltd., Thames. WF (15)Metamorphosis of the WF's New Zealand's first export of home-grown motive power Tasmanian Rail News issue 226 December 2004 pages 12-19 A (50)
1912 16-wheeler type (4), similar to the Johnston 16-wheeler 1912 Price C type (2), similar to the Climax A Type 1912 Price D type (1), a smaller lighter version of the Price C AB (20) BB (30) WAB (8) 1923 Price E type (4), similar to the Climax B Type 1924 Price Ca type (1), a Price C but with Heisler style bogies 1924 Fordson rail tractor, followed by similar TR type locos for NZR and PWD 1925 Price Cb type (4), an updated version of the Price C 1926 Price Ar type (1), a Meyer locomotive type 1927 Price Cba type (1), an improved development of the Ca and Cb types 1937 Price E type (1), an improved version of the previous E type 1939 Price Rail Tractor (10), a small petrol-mechanical design 1943 Price V type (1), the last Heisler built in the world for Ogilvie & Co at Gladstone, near Greymouth. Moved from there in 1965. 1951 Price Da type (3), gauge diesel mechanical design for Mines Department at Ohai coal mines early 1950s 5 diesel and 7 battery-electric 3-ft gauge for Rimutaka Tunnel construction Price Model 1 through Model 22, various diesel types, many of which were supplied to the NZR 1971 Price Rail Tractor (1), last locomotive constructed, for yard use at A&G Price. It used a Fordson Major E1 as its base.
Preserved locomotives
A 423 - Glenbrook Vintage Railway A 428 - Weka Pass Railway AB 699 - Pleasant Point Railway BB 144 - Mainline Steam CB 108 - Tokomaru Steam Museum CB 113 - Canterbury Railway Society CB 117 - Bush Tramway Club CBA 119 - Shantytown and Westland Heritage Park E 111 - Bush Tramway Club Price 149 - SteamRail Wanganui Price 150 - Steam Scene Price 151 - Goldfields Railway Price 152 - Ormondville Rail Preservation Society Price 166 and 168 - Blenheim Riverside Railway Price 184 - Bay of Islands Vintage Railway, named Freddie Price 185 - Ocean Beach Railway Price 198 (now TR 119) - The Plains Railway Price 199 - Main Trunk Rail Ohakune Price 200 - Whangarei Steam & Model Railway Club Price 212 - SteamRail Wanganui Price 213 - Mainline Steam Heritage Trust Price 218 - Putaruru Timber Museum. Price 221 - Silver Stream Railway Price 222 - KiwiRail Now privately owned and in service at Waitara Railway Preservation Society Price shunter - DoC Kaueranga Valley Price Shunter - Bush Tramway Club TR 38 - The Plains Railway TR 103 (TR 344 TMS) - Morrinsville Kiwi Fertilizer (now on loan to the Rotorua Ngongotaha Railway Trust) TR 105 (TR 367) TMS) - Bush Tramway Club TR 107 (TR 396 TMS) - Shantytown TR 108 (TR 407 TMS) - Waitara Railway Preservation Society TR 111 (TR 442 TMS) - Taieri Gorge Railway TR 110 (TR 436) TMS) - Bush Tramway Club TR 112 (TR 459 TMS) - Bush Tramway Club TR 113 (TR 465 TMS) - SteamRail Wanganui TR 117 (TR 505 TMS) - Pahiatua Railcar Society TR 118 (TR 511 TMS) - Waimea Plains Railway TR 119 (formerly Price 198) - The Plains Railway TR 160 (TR 632 TMS) - Pahiatua Railcar Society TR 161 (TR 649 TMS) - Reefton Historic Trust Board TR 163 (TR 661 TMS) - Bay of Islands Vintage Railway Named Timmy TR 165 (TR 684 TMS) - Waitara Railway Preservation Society TR 166 (TR 689 TMS) - Waitara Railway Preservation Society TR 170 (TR 724 TMS) - Wairarapa Railway Restoration Society (Stored offsite) TR 171 (TR 730 TMS) - Museum of Transport and Technology V 148 - Canterbury Steam Preservation Society WAB 800 -Glenbrook Vintage Railway WF 392 - boiler preserved at Don River Railway, Tasmania WF 393 - Canterbury Railway Society
References Lloyd, W. G. Register of New Zealand Railways Steam Locomotives 1863-1971 (2nd edition 2002) Vennell, C. W. Men of Metal: The story of A & G Price Ltd, Auckland and Thames 1868-1968 (1968, Wilson & Horton, Auckland)
Notes
External links Company website Jake McKee Cagney: A&G Price 'a healthy business now' after being put into liquidation in 2017. 31 October 2018