New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society

06/10/2026

Serendipitous Photo-stop

In October 1982 Steam Incorporated ran an excursion from Wellington to Taihape and back behind Db 1007 (DB1082). Several photo-stops were held during the day including this one on the outward journey between Feilding and Maewa, where some curve and gradient-easing earthworks for the forthcoming NIMT electrification was taking place. Former NZRLS President AT (Tui) Johnston took this photograph as the travellers carefully and safely headed forward to take up their positions for a photo-stop.

Serendipitously his photograph includes NZRLS Archivists past and present in the near foreground with current Archivist David Parsons wearing the light blue jersey in the centre and Graeme McClare, his predecessor, with his trusty walking stick to David’s left.

Can you identify any of the other travellers that day?

06/10/2026

Step Back in Time - Article 52 from an early issue of New Zealand Railway Observer is now on our website.
This article is - Spectacular Derailment at Ngaruawahia Bridge (Volume 31, Number 3, Spring 1974)
Earlier Step Back in Time Articles are available on the website under the Publications Tab (historical NZRO articles)

Welcome to the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society Now on Facebook Go to Facebook The Society was formed in 1944 by enthusiasts interested in the then New Zealand Railways. Membership is open to all with an interest in the New Zealand Railway system both old and new. Member groups meet in mos...

30/09/2026

Step Back in Time - Article 51 from an early issue of New Zealand Railway Observer is now on our website.
This article is - The Takaka Tramway by F.H.E. King (Volume 31, Number 3, Spring 1974)
Earlier Step Back in Time Articles are available on the website under the Publications Tab (historical NZRO articles)

Welcome to the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society Now on Facebook Go to Facebook The Society was formed in 1944 by enthusiasts interested in the then New Zealand Railways. Membership is open to all with an interest in the New Zealand Railway system both old and new. Member groups meet in mos...

23/09/2026

Back to the Future II

Like the movie franchise we too have a sequel to the original posting.

Thanks to those who commented on and corrected the previous posting of the excursion train passing the original Paerata station.

This time the images show the new Paerata station looking south (opened July 2026) as it sits in the landscape and at platform level with AM class electric multiple-unit sets crossing. The set in the foreground (set AM1074) is a service heading for Pukekohe while that in the distance is a city-bound service arriving from Pukekohe. Both images are from David Parsons' camera and were taken in mid-September 2026.

23/09/2026

Step Back in Time - Article 50 from an early issue of New Zealand Railway Observer is now on our website.
This article is - Spit to P**i P**i - A note on the Frist Railway in Hawke's Bay - by E.C.G. Fletcher (Volume 31, Number 3, Spring 1974)
Earlier Step Back in Time Articles are available on the website under the Publications Tab (historical NZRO articles)

Welcome to the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society Now on Facebook Go to Facebook The Society was formed in 1944 by enthusiasts interested in the then New Zealand Railways. Membership is open to all with an interest in the New Zealand Railway system both old and new. Member groups meet in mos...

16/09/2026

Step Back in Time - Article 49 from an early issue of New Zealand Railway Observer is now on our website.
This article is - Some Auckland Industrial Locomotives by B R Hutchinson (Volume 31, Number 2, Winter 1974)
Earlier Step Back in Time Articles are available on the website under the Publications Tab (historical NZRO articles)

Welcome to the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society Now on Facebook Go to Facebook The Society was formed in 1944 by enthusiasts interested in the then New Zealand Railways. Membership is open to all with an interest in the New Zealand Railway system both old and new. Member groups meet in mos...

08/09/2026

Back to the Future
Thanks to those that noted that the train was north bound rather than south bound. We have updated the post below....

The current extensive rail developments in Greater Auckland include a ‘new’ station at Paerata on the now-electrified extension between Papakura and Pukekohe.

There was a station at Paerata from the 1880s until it closed in October 1982, having closed for passenger use 10 years earlier. It featured a ground-level island platform between the north and southbound main lines and several sidings either side of the main running lines. It was also the junction station for the Waiuku (later Mission Bush) Branch line. This week’s image from Peter Baker’s camera is in the NZRLS collection. It shows a Railway Enthusiasts Society picnic train hauled by Jb 1229 passing the 1874-vintage station building (built for the princely sum of 30 pounds) on its way home from Waiuku on 2 February 1964. The buildings are peeping over the first and second carriages of the train.

The new station at Paerata opened in August 2026. It is a few hundred metres north of the original station site and features all mod-cons that today’s travellers expect ... and probably cost a bit more than 30 pounds (60 dollars) to complete. It has been built to serve future housing developments in the area, rather than an existing population of commuters surgically attached to their cars.

Does this posting whet your appetite to join the NZ Railway and Locomotive Society? Click on this link https://railsoc.org.nz to find out how to become a member.

01/09/2026

Step Back in Time - Article 47 from an early issue of New Zealand Railway Observer is now on our website.
This article is - A Century Between Wellington and Lower Hutt (Volume 31, Number 1, Autumn 1974)
Earlier Step Back in Time Articles are available on the website under the Publications Tab (historical NZRO articles)

Welcome to the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society Now on Facebook Go to Facebook The Society was formed in 1944 by enthusiasts interested in the then New Zealand Railways. Membership is open to all with an interest in the New Zealand Railway system both old and new. Member groups meet in mos...

27/08/2026

Step Back in Time - Article 46 from an early issue of New Zealand Railway Observer is now on our website.
This article is - The First Locomotives at Wellington and Napier - Some notes on the Old "C" Class Saddle-Tank Locomotives of 1873-76 (Volume 31, Number 1, Autumn 1974)
Earlier Step Back in Time Articles are available on the website under the Publications Tab (historical NZRO articles)

Welcome to the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society Now on Facebook Go to Facebook The Society was formed in 1944 by enthusiasts interested in the then New Zealand Railways. Membership is open to all with an interest in the New Zealand Railway system both old and new. Member groups meet in mos...