John Titter, the man who orchestrated an epic project to establish a railway heritage hub in Lumsden, was officially honoured with a Community Service Award today.

The award, bestowed by the Northern Community Board in conjunction with Southland District Council, recognises Mr Titter’s relentless work over 12 years to create a world-class static heritage railway display in the northern Southland township.

John Titter has been the driving force of the Lumsden Heritage Trust since its inception in 2012, fronting a mission to preserve the past, promote the future and provide an attraction for visitors to Lumsden.

Southland District Mayor Rob Scott, who presented the award, is himself a member of the Lumsden Heritage Trust, which consists of just three members.

He told the audience gathered for the presentation at the Lumsden Senior Citizens Centre that Mr Titter’s vision and energy had created a legacy that would bring people and benefits to the township and Southland for many decades to come.

“John's countless hours and dedication to his dream will leave a lasting legacy for Lumsden and Southland, and it would not have gone ahead without his drive, his determination, his passion and probably thousands of hours of his time.”

The citation says that Mr Titter recognised in 2012 that Lumsden was missing a heart – it had a train station, reflecting its strong railway history, but it needed a train.

Having come up with the idea he pursued the goal of establishing a heritage train display at the station.

It took 13 years and more than $500,000 of funding, secured by Mr Titter, but in April 2025 the heritage trust completed the job when the final piece of the puzzle, a refurbished 1880s D class locomotive, was swung into position at the head of the train display, completing a unique pre-1900 heritage train.

As well as this, Mr Titter presided over an audacious plan in early 2020 to recover two V class locomotives and their coal tenders buried in the mud of the Mararoa junction near Lumsden.

It was a mammoth logistical effort.

Around 20 men, four contracting companies, multiple pieces of heavy machinery and equipment and a host of local service organisations and businesses were involved in the successful effort to salvage the two historic steam engine sets, which now sit on the grounds of the Lumsden railway precinct.

Mr Titter fondly refers to all those involved as “the A team”.

It is testament to his remarkable networking skills, project management and determination that he has been able to pull together a dedicated bunch of professionals to drive the many individual projects to a positive outcome.

The Lumsden Heritage Trust has won several national rail awards, the direct result of Mr Titter’s efforts.

He has for many years voluntarily run tai chi classes for senior citizens in the Lumsden area and is actively involved in the local hunt community.

Mayor Scott acknowledged Mr Titter’s wife, Karen, who had been a generous supporter of all the hard community work her husband had done over the years.

“If you want something done, ask a busy person,” Mayor Scott said.

“And John is the type of person who certainly knows how to get stuff done. He’s a true legend!”