First MilkTrain For 2021 Climbing The Westmere & Kai Iwi Banks 

#KiwiRail #MilkTrain #WestmereBank DL locomotives 9158 & 9688 lift an eight wagon milk train up two of the gradients on the Marton to New Plymouth Line in New Zealand.
Train 544 was the first milk train of the new dairy season that takes peak-season surplice milk from a dairy factory in Longburn up to the Fonterra's large dairy factory in Whareroa. The milk trains operate from about mid September to mid December each year.
The Westmere Bank is one of New Zealands steepest railway grades. The gradient averages at about 1/35 (2.86%) but has sections as steep as 1/33 (3.03%). The next gradient of note up the line is the shorter Kai Iwi Bank. While is not quite as steep, it still provides a challange for northbound trains.