Thread: Trains NZ style

I’ve just come back from New Zealand and I have never seen so many p38 and MkIII Range Rovers in such a short period.

There are heaps of them in Christchurch and a fair few in Dunedin as well


But my main interest was the rail side of the trip and here’s a few pictures from the trip.

I made the trip on the Tranz Alpine train earlier this month and can totally recommend the trip to anyone, whether they are interested in trains or not.

Not only did I enjoy the trip but both my wife and daughter thoroughly enjoyed it as well.

Wasn’t all plain sailing though.

3 months earlier we booked and paid for our trip, then 3 weeks before the trip we get an E-mail from Tranz Scenic informing us that because of track work on the day of our trip, the Tranz Alpine will run from Christchurch to Arthur’s Pass, where it will terminate and the rest of the trip to Greymouth by bus.

NOT HAPPY JAN!.

Only that we had a prepaid rental waiting for us at Greymouth, we would have cancelled the train trip.

Anyway, we get to the station in Christchurch and find out that because of whether conditions at Arthur’s Pass, the track work was cancelled and the train was going through to Greymouth.

What a trip. I rode the open observation car to Arthur’s Pass and up until about 15 kms from the pass, the temperature was crisp but, judging by all the passengers on the open observation car, comfortably tolerable.

The last 10 minutes of the trip into the pass saw the weather go from mostly sunny to blizzard conditions, the temperature went from comfortably tolerable to freezing and all but two of us left the open observation car.

There were buses waiting at Arthur’s Pass to take day trippers on tours around the area. The buses no sooner left when they were forced back to the station by the 6” of snow that had now fallen.

The whole trip was tremendous and I recommend any rail or non rail enthusiast going for a trip to the South Island to make the effort and catch the train across the alps from Christchurch to Greymouth.

Cheers

This first view is from Springfield, just before the Tranz Alpine starts it’s climb into the Southern Alps




This is Arthur’s Pass at the beginning of the blizzard




What a backdrop to a rail yard in Christchurch.



Cheers.

I have done that trip many times by road but never by rail, I think its best done in winter for the scenery so might have to try for next years mid winter school hols. I fancy a round trip from Nelson, bus to Picton, Trans Pacific down the coast, night in Chch & then Trans Alpine to Grey. I'd be all for bus back to Nelson that afternoon but I'm sure I wouldn't get away without at least one night with the sis in-law n Greymouth Nice pics, definitely makes me want to do it.
Steve