The lower North Island town of Foxton is about to have a clearer horizon as disused trolley bus lines come down.
Their removal, after a court case, ends any nostalgic hope of the former tourist attraction rumbling down the main street again.
Ben Duncan and his team from lines company Electra are doing the work. He said the trolley bus lines were in poor condition.
"They've not live, they're old. Just time to come down - an eyesore."
Depending on traffic, it would take his team until the end of the week to get rid of the lines and posts along Main Street, he said.
Trolley bus rides and an accompanying museum were for decades a tourism mainstay in the town, created as a labour of love by Ian and Christina Little in the late 1980s.
After their deaths - Ian in 2008 and Christina in 2013 - the last bus ran almost seven years ago, although their son Malcolm told the Horowhenua Chronicle newspaper he wanted to see the buses return.
But Horowhenua District Council chief executive Monique Davidson said officials had become concerned the trolley bus lines were a hazard.
A district court judge agreed, giving the OK to their removal.
Electra lines company workers bring down the trolley bus lines in Foxton. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
"Just last week the court has, in our view, cleared the way for [the] council to be able to move forward with removing the trolley bus lines," Davidson said.
"This is an ongoing issue. [The] council have wanted those trolley lines removed for some years."
Because the council didn't own the lines, there were concerns it did not have the right to pull them down.
"We've gone through a long and expensive court process, which led to the court requiring the owners to move the trolley bus lines," Davidson said.
"They haven't done that to date, so we went back to court to seek permission to remove them ourselves."
On the streets of Foxton, people had mixed feelings watching the lines come down. Many spoken to by RNZ were saddened the buses would not return, although they thought it made sense to pull down the lines if they were not being used.
A section was removed a few years ago.
Buses are still parked at the trolley bus museum. None have run for seven years. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
Three buses were parked near the old trolley bus museum on Tuesday, although they did not appear in working condition.
Davidson acknowledged the buses' place in Foxton history, but said the town still had plenty going for it.
"Foxton has so many fantastic things to offer. In the time that the trolley lines stopped being utilised we've had incredible businesses, incredible community members and even [the] council itself investing in facilities like [community centre] Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom."
RNZ was unable to contact Malcolm Little this week.
