Warning: The following photos may distract you from work and leave you wishing that you were in NZ. View at your own risk!

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9/28/06 - 9/30/06 (Thursday thru Friday) The end of an era: The last train journey that wasn’t.

Warning: The following photos may distract you from work and leave you wishing that you were in NZ. View at your own risk!


In New Zealand you travel by train for the journey, not in order to get anywhere. There is very little left of New Zealand’s passenger train service. On Saturday the country’s rail service was scheduled to be cut in half with the termination of the Overlander route service between Auckland and Wellington (the only commuter rail line in the north island). The service had been running since 1908 but in the last decade rider ship has plummeted, quality of service diminished, and the operators of the service running a deficit each year. All options had seemingly been pursued but no solution was found, so it was announced a four months ago that the route would be shut forever on 30 September 2006. On Monday of this week the NZ government had announced that they would not bail the train out, seemingly the era of commuter trains was coming to a close.

I had hoped to participate in the historic last running of the train and had looked into purchasing tickets for the last day of service a month ago, but found the train had been booked for months. On Thursday I couldn’t believe my luck when I received an email at work from someone with three tickets, for the last running of the train, for sale. The tickets were a promotional item set up to take us halfway down the line to National Park stop and then come back to Auckland later that day on the sister train traveling north from Wellington. I sent an immediate response begging for my chance at a ticket. While I paid face value it was an expensive ticket nonetheless.

You should have seen me Thursday night when I got home I threw quite a fit when I saw the news. I had just gotten home and told George and Stephanie about my luck when the TV news came on. Turned out the labour party government, lead by Helen Clark (Jannet Reno look alike), had pulled a political stunt and announced that they had worked out a deal to save the train service. Oh, I was so exasperated! I had just purchased a ticket for what I thought was the last running of the trains and now it was just like any other train ride. Actually, I wasn’t upset I was looking forward to getting out of town and the weather forecast called for good touring weather. It was just ironic that two hours before I was in the mindset that I was participating in a historic event and now I was just a fool that paid too much for a ticket, all thanks to the government. I’ve only been here seven weeks and I already feel slighted by the political system here. What good luck, now I can complain with the rest of the blue blooded kiwi’s about their government.

The train was scheduled to leave at 7:20am on Saturday morning. I was hoping to get a great seat so I planned to arrive early to the station. I had a restless sleep Friday night and woke at 430am and couldn’t fall back to sleep. I set out by foot at 5:30am and arrived at the station around 6:00. The doors were locked and wouldn’t open up until 6:30. Very nice sunrise this morning.

Once the doors opened up I rushed down to the lower level platform to queue up like all British commonwealth citizens seem to love to do. I was just a few people back from the front of the line and settle in for what I thought would be a 30 to 40 minute wait. The level of service or better put lack of efficient service that the train has come to be know by manifested itself today. The passenger manifest had been lost and that short 30 minute wait turned into and hour and forty minutes. Think of it, on the day the train was receiving its most media attention (news cameras were at the station as well as all along the route) it couldn’t provided excellent service. Just over an hour into my wait the line of people waiting for their seat assignment ran nearly the full length of the train. One woman grew especially impatient and incited a coup. Se walked up and down the line shouting “This is ridiculous, everyone lets get on the train and get this thing going, their never going to resolve this mess”. About 25% of the people in the line jumped from the line into the train, it should be noted that the instigator waited to board the train until others were on (it’s easy to say something but action is an entirely different thing). I moved up a little closer to the front of the line, but in the end lost more ground when train employees ushered the impatient passengers off the train who promptly assumed a position towards the front of the line.

By 8:20 we were on our way. The train was full of train enthusiast and minor NZ celebrities. The eleven person group that I had purchase my ticket from consisted primarily of 50+ year old men who are rail hobbyists. I learned that the guys had purchased an old Boy Scotts lodge so that they could set up their model railroads. The spent a good part of the day discussing gauge size (track width), model railroad scales (“ You prefer O scale, well I like S scale 1 to 64 is a great model size!), famous rail lines, steam engines, etc…. It was very fortunate that there was a small open platform between two cars that allowed me to stay outside most of the day.

All along the route people were out waiting to take photos and videos of the train, some even drove their cars along the route to take photos at various locations. Many people were out in the yards or back patios waving. I suppose the train’s tardiness is a common occurrence based on the number of people that were patiently waiting to see it go by.

Most of the journey can better be explained by the attached photos. I’ll just mention a few highlights.

At all the small stations where we stopped the local politicians, community, and media was waiting at the platform to great the train. We’d stop long enough for people to get off and interact with those on the platform. Often times there was live music and train memorabilia for passenger’s entertainment.

Up one particularly steep and bending track in a hemmed in valley the train conductor came on over the intercom and mentioned that when he was a boy there was a night service train from Auckland to Wellington. Over school holidays he would take the train to visit relatives. He remembered being awake, looking out the dark window and seeing the orange glow from the engine’s open furnace and the occasional dancing shadow of the coal man dancing on the valley walls as he feverously stoked the fire to power the engine up the hill.

The train from Wellington was already at National Park when we arrived. Since the is only one set of main tracks we had to pass the station by 1km and then back into the station so that the rear car of our train was backed up to the last car of the Wellington train. We were greeted by a group of bagpipe players that ceremoniously marched from our train to the Wellington train.

The landscape around the National park station was barn and in overshadowed by the snow capped mountains of three of the largest mountains on the north island. It still felt like winter at this elevation (in the last 30 minutes of the ride the temperature must have dropped 15 degrees).

We left National Park station at 315pm and started the return journey to Auckland. On the way back I commented to someone standing on the viewing platform with me that I thought that I could smell bee’s wax. At that very moment the train rounded a bend and down below in a valley approximately 1/3 of a mile away there were 20 or so beehives. That’s some really clean air! Lush green fields, various tree varieties at different leafing stages, running rivers and streams, farm animals and varying topography spread out in every direction. What a beautiful country. Wish you were here!

Arrived back in Auckland ten minutes to nine or two hours late. What a great day!

I tip my hat to the Yankees, Tigers, and A’s (I guess St. Louis as well) for making it to the playoffs. Too bad for the White Sox and lest we forget the lowly Cubs!

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Photos

Waiting Outside the Station at 6:10am
I got up early (4:30) just to find out that the station didn't open up until 6:30am.

Two Levels Down to the Platforms
Great day lighting scheme and coloured light displays.

Chris Kate -- Son of a folk song writer who is know for his rail songs.
One of the many train enthusiast that took a ride today.

The trains been saved, the trains been saved. Today is not the last day.
I was supposed to be one of the last passengers to ride the rail, but because of the Government saved the day I was not making history. I now have a good reason for being upset with the Labour Party and NZ PM Helen Clark. Anyone see Helen on David Letterman a few weeks back?

Sit back and enjoy the show. I’ll let the photos do all the talking.
I guess I spoke to soon. I need to explain this photo. People came out all along the line to photograph and and wave to the train. Despite the fact that the train was nearly an hour behind schedule people were out there waiting. Perhaps they know that the train is late all the time and only just arrive, unlike me who got to the station 1 1/2 hours early!

Wind Beneath My Wings
Here we were standing on a tiny platform (3.5 foot x 7 foot) and this guy was like a happy dog with his head sticking out the window. His hair was all in a frizzle when he finally grew tired of ducking branches and poles.

All engines stop!!!
Every train moving North and South must cross this rickety old bridge. The slow the train down to 5mph so as not to shake the thing right off of it’s foundations. Imagine every freight train has to slow down too, that’s a lot of wasted time.

Comments

[Jim Lesniak]

Thanks!
Donavin, this was the most wonderful train trip. Your photography is outstanding as was the scenery along the way. I'll bet you enjoyed the Bagpipe Music and those musicians who performed for you. I cannot wait for my wife to return so she can see your latest adventure! Jim Lesniak

[Uncle Cliff]

Photos
Great shops....I like your compositional eye keep up the architectural shots, different styles in NZ that we do not see here in patterns

[Uncle Cliff]

meant to type GREAT SHOTS