Saturday 24 July 2010

Early Years of the Weka Pass Railway – Part 11 : 1988 (B)

Please note that this blog is a personal journal and does not purport to be officially representative of the Weka Pass Railway in any way.
For the narrative of 1988 events on the Railway, see part 10.
88C0505
Mid 1988. The Society’s annual Arthurs Pass excursion with OETT cars is seen here on the Broken River viaduct of the Midland Line.
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October 1988. During the “Ferrymead 125”, a train including Weka Pass Railway blue carriages and van is seen here passing through Woolston on the NZR Lyttelton line.
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October 1988. Right after the end of Ferrymead 125, a special public running day was held at Waipara. This included the operation of the Weka Pass Railway’s DG locomotives and carriages on a public excursion as they returned from Christchurch. The train is seen here crossing the Waimakariri River bridge.
88C0719
October 1988. The “Steam Trek 88” train of the Railway Enthusiasts’ Society hauled by JA 1250 is arriving at Glenmark station, having travelled up from Christchurch following the WPR excursion shown in the previous photo. This train was a special tour operated by the RES and ran from Auckland to Christchurch and return in conjunction with Ferrymead 125, the locomotive and carriages being used throughout the 125 festival events.
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October 1988. The Steam Trek 88 train passing Antills on the Weka Pass Railway. Note the freshly laid ballast along this stretch of line following formation works earlier in the year.
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1988. Showing old tablet machines and equipment in the Waipara NZR station. The use of tablet working on the Addington-Waipara section of the Main North Line ended in 1989 and the station building was subsequently closed and demolished. There were probably tablet machines for both Rangiora and Amberley as the latter was probably a switch-out station.