#new Zealand railways

[guerrerense]

DX Power por James Stearn Por Flickr: DXC 5356 along with partner 5039 powers upgrade with the northbound Transalpine. The train is pictured in the Arnold Valley heading towards Stillwater and journey's end. I had chased the train up from Moana (mostly because we were travelling on the return, rather than to photograph it) under cloud cover, but having got ahead, wanted to try this view from the Arnold Valley Rd. I though it could be imposing whatever the weather, but things were starting to look a little less dull as we headed north. Miraculously a little patch of sunshine opened up as the train approached and disappeared soon after it. This was the only patch of light we had seen all morning, and there would be no more until later on the train when we emerged from the Otira tunnel at Arthur's Pass.

[sebengineer101]

The "Streamliner", high speed rail commuter service connecting Christchurch to wider Canterbury, the West Coast and Nelson-Marlborough-Tasman regions?

[postcard-from-the-past]

Railway station of Dunedin, New Zealand

British vintage postcard

[newzealandrail]

Driving Creek Locos, Driving Creek, Coromandel, April 2024

[polwarth]

[tornadoyoungiron]

The Kiwis using their steam engine, the Kingston Flyer as a Coffee Machine

[supertrainstationh]

Waihi Gold Mines (New Zealand) - 2-4-2T steam locomotive EMPIRE (William Bagnall Locomotive Works, Stafford 2513 / June 1934) - 2 ft 9 in by Historical Railway Images

[hindbodes]

[jontycrane]

Alps to Ocean Trail - Tokarahi to Oamaru

My final day on the A2O Trail, finishing up at the historic town of Oamaru after cycling nearly 300km over six days from Twizel. Between Tokarahi and Oamaru is basically farmland, which the trail weaves through thanks to the generosity of land owners. Tokarahi is a tiny place, with some old buildings, and even more old cars! After five days of excellent weather it finally started to turn but…

[eltristan]

Trains in the rain at Oaro - by drone

Some damn pretty cape-gauge railroading on the coast of New Zealand.

(3′6″)

[railnewzealand]

What Is So Special About Transalpine Train?

Travelling on the Christchurch to Greymouth train is one of the best ways to explore the Alps of New Zealand. The journey starts in Christchurch on the eastern coast and ends in Greymouth on the western coast. The total distance from Christchurch to Greymouth is 223 km, and it takes almost five hours to complete the journey. Travelling on this train will offer an experience that you will want to enjoy during every train journey.

Exploring the Southern Alps by Train: A Journey from Christchurch to Greymouth

There are not one or two, but a plethora of reasons for this.

Beautiful Sceneries

Whether you are traveling from Christchurch to Greymouth or vice versa, you will have to travel by the Transalpine train. During the journey, you will be fascinated by the snow-covered mountains of the Southern Alps. While traveling from Christchurch, you will pass through the Canterbury plains before the beginning of the mountain range.

Tunnels and Viaducts

While traveling from the high plains of Craigieburn, the train will pass through 15 tunnels and 4 beautiful viaducts. The most fascinating viaduct on your way will be a 72-meter-high staircase viaduct. The Otira tunnel separates the Canterbury plains from the Alps and continues for 8.5 kilometres from Arthur's Pass to Otira. This whole creation is the best illustration of modern engineering, creating mesmerizing views. The track from Springfield to Arthur's Pass is known as the major attraction of this journey.

Water Reservoirs

Moving on during the journey, you will have a beautiful view of the Waimakariri river and gorge river while traveling from Christchurch. Lake Brunner, between Arthur's Pass and Greymouth, is the scenic midway of the journey. The train passes through several river valleys. Traveling between the Otira river and the Taramakau river, the train comfortably travels between mountain hills and riverbeds.

Arthur's Pass:

This is the midway of your journey and a place to get off the train to stretch your legs and enjoy the fresh air. Needless to say, the views of the surrounding area are breathtaking. The area is covered in beech forest and mountains and is located 70 meters above sea level. If you love hiking and walking, then Arthur's Pass National Park is a mecca for you.

The Train:

Finally, the Transalpine train itself is worth mentioning while traveling from Christchurch to Greymouth. It offers a royal travel experience. Each compartment has an advanced airbag suspension system and un-tinted, non-reflective, panoramic side and roof windows, making it easier for passengers to capture the beautiful view of the Southern Alps and alpine forest landscape. To inform you about the different locations along the way, GPS-triggered commentary in five different languages is played and broadcast via headphones. The same information is also displayed on an overhead HD video. There is an onboards washroom facility and a café where you can enjoy all types of snacks and drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) according to your needs.

[sebengineer101]

Should New Zealand have Siemens’ Smartron and Vectron range of German-built electric locomotives as a part of Kiwirail’s electric locomotive fleet? 

[anguilliforme]

this world eel day we need to reflect on the eels that are endangered and think about why that is. here are some endangered eels that may be local to you:

Critically endangered:

European eel

Found throughout europe and the northern coast of africa, this eel is under continuous decline due to overfishing, various human actions changing or destroying waterways (commercial development, mining, roads and railways, logging, dams etc), pollution, and of course- climate change.

Endangered:

New Zealand longfin eel

Found in well. new zealand. this eel is threatened by modifications to existing water systems, pollution, and climate change.

Japanese eel

Found in east asia, this eel is heavily farmed for food but the population in the wild is decreasing. It is threatened not only by fishing, but also housing development, mining, human modification of existing waterways, pollution and climate change.

American eel

Lives in freshwater and estuaries along the eastern coast of north america. It is threatened by pollution, mining, human modification of existing water systems, climate change, fishing, and invasive species.

Gymnothorax parini

(no image available), a moray eel that lives in the west indian ocean. It is threatened by commercial fishing occurring in its limited range.

They may not be the most photogenic or traditionally "cute" creatures, but eels are so important to the environment, from being important predator species to being sources of food for birds and larger fish. if we lose eels we lose a lot more.

[newzealandrail]

NZR DSA Shunter, Bay of islands vintage railway, Kawakawa, March 2024

[logandria]

Okay one small thing that I have to get off my chest about Nona the Ninth…

The fact that shit went down in Greytown of all places cracks me up. Greytown??? Really, Tasmyn? Hilarious shitpost of a detail to write.

For fans that don’t live in New Zealand, Greytown is real place a little over an hour north of the capital city, Wellington. There is absolutely nothing going on there. No industry. It used to be a thriving settlement in the 1800s, but was bypassed by the railway in the 1870s and never recovered from that. Now it’s just a very small rural town surrounding a few over-priced shops (antique store, candy shop, lingerie store for mums, a few shapeless expensive dress stores for mums, and a few ~curated home decor boutiques~ etc) clustered around Highway 2 that you have to drive through on your way up north. There’s a Sunday farmer’s market that’s cute, but nothing special. It gets made fun of a little bit in Wellington because it takes itself a little tooooooo seriously as “New Zealand’s Most Beautiful Small Town 2017” (it’s cute, I have to admit) and because it seems to be kept alive entirely by rich farmers’ wives.

I absolutely think Tasmyn Muir was taking the piss by making Greytown the place where a God is made

[hopefulkidshark]

Northern Explorer Train, Auckland, New Zealand: Journey from Auckland to Wellington... The Northern Explorer is a long-distance passenger train operated by the Great Journeys New Zealand division of KiwiRail between Auckland and Wellington in the North Island of New Zealand, along the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT). Three services operate per week in each direction between Auckland's The Strand Station and Wellington railway station. Wikipedia