Here in the sticks across the pond we get our copies of Trains magazine rather late. Around a month after the next month’s has been published it seems. However I am scribbling this note to say what a wonderful photograph of an SA set with a DC class (built originally by GM) leading across the tranquil waters of Hobson Bay toward Britomart which is situated in Queen Street, Auckland.
I would urge all readers of Trains to open their wallets, empty out the moths and jump on a trans pacific flight to the land of the Long White Cloud as you will experience a system of the weird and wonderful, a mixture of British and American with increasingly Korean and Chinese thrown in.
The network itself is 3"6 but with the same loading gauge as the UK. You can catch some heavy duty GM action on the intermodal traffic toward Tauranga, coal over the Midland route and Arthurs Pass in the South Island and Milk trains by the dozen trundling to and from New Plymouth with the looming presence of Mount Taranaki in the background. Fans of Lord of the Rings will be pleased to know that plastic Hobbits can be purchased from any decent tat shop for a reasonable sum…
The picture itself will probabley be able to be “recaptured” for around the next 2 years or so as the suburban network around Auckland (which has had 2 brushes with extinction within the last 30 years) is being electrified (at long last).
And the poor sods have just been subjected to a huge earthquake…
Disclaimer: I do not work for the New Zealand tourist board, nor any of it’s subsidiaries, affiliates or have any connection to it. Not even my best mate…oh hold on…Kia ora Bro…