| Tuesday
July 1, 2008 - Otago
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KiwiRail
day one, 1 July, sees me up a few hours before the sun in search
of prey. The train crew converses with control about the
unveiling and the reply is that they're a government department
now which is why 920 is running three hours late. All the better for
me to get further south...
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Bit
of a weird shot in a frosty field somewhere. Hey, it looked OK from the car...
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7213+4542
wheel a decent sized train between Shag Point and Katiki. Log
wagons, ZAs, a JP, a coalie. Whatever happened to the good old
Beard days of running empty
UKs up and down the islands? What's next? Four wheelers? Hauling
loaded wagons around?
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Into
Moeraki. Dammit. Missed the Tumai shot. <Kicks self>
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Under
the Waianakarua/ Hampton forest overbridge
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As
if to make up for 920's tardy timekeeping, 922 heads out 40
minutes early with DX 5293 at the helm. Minus 10 points for
cutting off the back of a small train
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Tumai
overbridge from the less exciting side. Is this the only loco
left with no
ditch lights?
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On
the Shaggers coast again after stopping at Palmy to pick up
empty goldies.
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Coming
out of the Herbert tunnel for a crossing with 923
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923
trundling along the Katiki coast as the day ends. Looks like
Highlanders blue and yellow
locos are mandatory in Otago today
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And
again approaching Shag Central. End of KiwiRail day one.
KiwiRail locos seen other than on email and the news: zero
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| Thursday
July 3, 2008
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Pause.
I saw the DG yesterday for a few hours and did try to catch a couple
of early trains this morning but was too far south. Then I waited
almost two hours in the sun on Dashwood for the south passenger after
walking 15 mins. Yep, of course a snotty cloud bank raced overhead in
the minutes between the train leaving Blenheim and attacking the pass.
I took an awful shot. Then I fell over. Then it started raining. Then
I got back to the car.. So I meandered to Picton to catch my ferry.
Hold that thought...
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735 departs Picton behind DFT 7132 and DQ 6382. Our family used
to bring the caravan to this camping ground about thirty years
ago. Thirty years ago! Holy crap!
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| At
8:17pm, 7077 and 6324 drag train 737 across the Waitohi viaduct
and up the 1 in 37 grade to Elevation. Shame this train didn't
have the blue engines as the bumblebees don't flash anywhere
near as well.
Oh and that
ferry...it would seem I clicked the wrong button on the web page
and booked to go from Welly to Picton instead of the other way
around. It did seem odd that the terminal was closed this
evening... On the bright side, cabins at the motor camp are only
$50 a night and as I'm writing this from the cabin with the
green roof at the far left of the 735 pic above, my train
detectors will go off during the night as a bonus, and if
I hadn't had to stay the night, I wouldn't have got the night
shot. There's a sound reason behind all stupidity. Then again,
this cabin's heater isn't doing much heating. It just seems to
be stirring up the frigid air...
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| North
Line, July 4, 2008
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| Fri
4 July: DB bumbles south in the Mini forever looking for trains
that aren't there. Here's a grab shot near Ward when 726 finally surfaces |
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| By
the time it gets to Seddon, the sun is on the wrong side for the
shot I wanted and
here at Dashwood it's clouded over
completely. A shot is popped nonetheless |
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| Cripes,
what a whopper. This could almost be the States if it wasn't for
those good looking sheep |
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| Waiter,
this wine tastes of sheep poo... |
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| On
the way to Picton in classic Question Mark formation |
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| Approaching Elevation
in semi-sun |
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| Houses
on Mt Victoria, Wellington |
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| Ferries
at Picton - that blue one was a complete stinker, smokier than a
hundred Alcos |
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| On
the road to Nelson |
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| 9
July - West Coast
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| Meanwhile,
not at the same time, and in another place, empty coalie 847 drops off the Reefton saddle
on some wobbly trackage that's about to be replaced. That's
not a grade... this is a grade. - Paul Hogan. |
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| Just
north of Reefton |
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| 426
trundles toward Tawhai in snow and frost |
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| A
pair of crappy pan shots just past Tawhai, although I half like the DX
one
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| After
picking up 4 UKs worth of coal containers from a recently
re-opened siding in the far far background, 426 is on the move
again
towards Mawheraiti past Cliff's annoying Shadows. Pseudo-clever musical quips
provided free of charge |
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| 826
at Raupo again in the last of the sun with 4640 and 5333. I
underestimated the height of this wee thing and had top pop it a
little earlier than I'd focused for but should've taken another
one after this methinks |
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| I'd
hoped to get a night shot at Red Jacks crossing 949, but it
wasn't really dark enough, so in desperation I pulled over here near
Kotuku and waited forever for this feeble attempt |
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| July
10: the same pair of blues on the return service next morning at Te Kinga |
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| Following
closely behind is 847 seen here at Moana |
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| An
Ontrack ballast train with those nifty YJ wagons between
Rotomanu and Inchbonnie
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| Birds.
I guess. |
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| The
westbound TranzAlpine passenger train near Rocky Creek. The new
bridge here beside the old one looks almost complete |
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| And
just west of the Jacksons bridge, which is also being replaced |
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| Coming
into beautiful Moana |
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| And
departing Moana with Lake Brunner in the background |
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| 803
at Stillwater. Damn, could've sworn the sun was on this side... |
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| Driver
Mike
Kilsby pilots 832 onto the Midland line at Stillwater |
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| This
was supposed to be a clever pan shot of 804 but due to the distance
it looks more like a bizarre focusing experiment |
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| The
Chosen Pair on 826 again on the Te Kinga bridge after another
long wait, which will probably be
replaced soon as it's currently afflicted with a 10km/h speed
restriction. Sorry, these night shots are all getting a bit
predictable because of some technical hassles... |
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| July
11 To Reefton and Back
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| Next day I'm aboard 827/826 on a day that is
rainy and stormy, but as we can see, is less so here in the Tawhai tunnel |
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In
the yard at Reefton
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| Crossing
847 at Reefton |
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| On
the way home near Stillwater. Then a drive in the rain for a few
hours until the storm forced me to shelter in the Otira Hotel
("they bought the town" but now run by a nice Scots
couple) for a sleepless night as the wind and rain battered the
place until I managed to convince myself that despite the walls
moving in and out in the wind, that the place wasn't going to
blow away after all these decades. |
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