Miscellaneous and Happenings

Ww 644 pulls into Glenbrook station, with ADL 810, ADL 805 and ADL 809 stored behind. A recent addition to the signal box is also in full view; a newly installed bell for the level crossing

3 June 2023

Ww 644 sitting at Glenbrook with a King's Birthday weekend service, the first such holiday in the GVR's history

3 June 2023

Sitting at Papakura, DFB 7335 and DFB 7077 wait with train 103 for departure time. As of this afternoon, Te Huia is no longer allowed to run north of Papakura due to several SPAD incidents, forcing train 102 to terminate here

11 July 2023

On the other end of the train, DFB 7077 sits idle on the rear. This is now as far north as Te Huia will travel until ETCS is fitted to the locomotives, due to several SPADs and returning to the pattern the service had on launch

11 July 2023

Passing through Homai, DFB 7295 leads a lengthy 6-car Te Huia towards The Strand, running as train 100. After Electronic Train Protection (ETP) was fitted to the locomotives, Waka Kotahi lifted the ban on the service travelling north of Papakura, allowing the service to resume running to The Strand after additional driver training

8 August 2023

DFB 7077 brings up the rear of the consist as train 100 approaches its next stop at Puhinui. For the first week the service is running back to The Strand, passengers travel free of charge and additional carriages were added in anticipation of higher demand

8 August 2023

DL 9089 and DL 9210 bring train 222 out of Pokeno towards Westfield, with EF 30105 in tow. The EF is heading to Westfield to use the wheel lathe, a semi-regular journey for the class

9 August 2023

Heading south light loco, DBR 1254 descends the Whangarata bank through Pōkeno, en route to Palmerston North. The locomotive is heading to Steam Inc for servicing until January 2024, and joins their Hawkes Bay Wine & Food by Rail Experience excursion on the return leg from Palmerston North to Paekakariki

27 October 2023

At Kingsland station, large crowds of people wait to catch a train home after Pink's concert at Eden Park. The station is designed to cope with the large volumes of people from events, after upgrades in 2011 for the Rugby World Cup - approximately 16,000 people travelled home from Kingsland station on each concert night

9 March 2024

Shortly before heading back out to Swanson, AM 687 displays its destination at Pinkland, a reference to the concert at Eden Park near Kingsland station. To assist with boarding the thousands of people waiting at Morningside, the train did not stop at Grafton or Kingsland stations on its way out

9 March 2024

On one of its weekly ETP test runs, DFB 7295 and DFB 7077 head north through Pōkeno as train A24 on their way to test between Papakura and Pukekohe. In the consist this time is SRV 5993, heading to Westfield

17 March 2024

SRV 5993, the solo carriage on the train, sits behind DFB 7077 on the consist on its way to Westfield for an unknown reason

17 March 2024

On Te Huia's third anniversary, SRV 5859 leads train 108 into Huntly station, with DFB 7077 pushing at the rear. Train 108 is one of the additional Saturday services introduced in February 2024

6 April 2024

With lucky timing, DFB 7282 powers south through Huntly with train 201, while train 108 waits for its passengers in the loop. Train 108 needs to cross train 201's path to continue north, so waits at the platform for a clear path ahead

6 April 2024

At the end of the journey at The Strand, SRV 5859 looks on at the Sky Tower, as an AM unit heads towards Newmarket

6 April 2024

Passengers disembark and head on their way to their final destination as SRV 5859 waits to lead the train to Westfield for stabling

6 April 2024

SRV 5993 bringing up the rear of train 108, a service it would normally lead

20 April 2024

DFB 7295 leads train 108 up the Whangarata bank through Pōkeno, with the set facing the opposite way to normal. Points failures at Waitematā and the redirection of the Eastern Line to The Strand the previous day prevented this set from reaching The Strand from Westfield, so commenced from Ōtāhuhu instead without running around the Southern/Eastern Line loop

20 April 2024

With Daylight Saving now over, train 103 makes most of its journey from Auckland to Hamilton in the dark. Here, DFB 7077 leads the train down the grade, with the carriage lights showing in a long exposure photo

26 April 2024

DFB 7049 coasts down the Whangarata bank with train 201, the Northern Explorer, on the drawgear

13 May 2024

A new addition to the Northern Explorer consist is kitchen car AKF 6112. The carriage is converted from an ex-Auckland SA carriage and is used to provide restaurant-quality food to Scenic Plus passengers, with the service coming soon to the Northern Explorer

13 May 2024