Steam Incorporated, often abbreviated to Steam Inc., is a railway heritage and preservation society based at the Paekākāriki railway station, Paekākāriki at the southern end of the Kapiti Coast, approximately 50 minutes north of Wellington on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. Unlike some societies who operate on preserved sections of closed branch lines, Steam Incorporated own a depot ("The Engine Shed") beside one of the country's most important railway lines, the North Island Main Trunk railway, and restores heritage locomotives and rolling stock for use on excursions on the regular national rail network. History Paekākāriki's close association with the railway began in 1886 when the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company's line from Wellington to Longburn opened. Paekākāriki Railway Station was a large station despite the settlement's small size, as it was ideally located as a locomotive changeover point - powerful engines were required to tackle the difficult grades between Wellington and Paekākāriki, while lighter and more nimble ones were better suited to the gentle grades and straight track through the Kāpiti Coast and Horowhenua to Manawatū. The New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) took over the Wellington and Manawatu Railway in December 1908, but Paekākāriki's status as an important depot remained unchanged. In 1940, the line from Wellington to Paekākāriki was electrified and Paekākāriki's depot was altered: it became the changeover point from electric to steam motive power, or electric to diesel from the 1950s onwards. Paekākāriki also was an important goods transfer point between NZR and its "Rail Air" service that operated out of Paraparaumu across Cook Strait, before the inter-island rail ferries were introduced. A large shed was constructed at Paekākāriki by the US Marines stationed in the area for use with the Rail Air service during World War II. In the late 1960s with steam power coming to an end, the locomotive depot in Paekākāriki was closed and the diesel locomotives that replaced steam were based out of Wellington instead. The main engine shed was demolished along with a number of other buildings, but the Rail Air Shed, two signal boxes, amenities building and a turntable remained when Steam Incorporated acquired the site. New sheds were constructed to replace those demolished, and the Rail Air Shed and amenities buildings were acquired when it became available. While initially leasing a portion of the site, Steam Incorporated now owns the whole former depot site including the 70