Once one of the most scenic networks in the world it was inevitable with high car ownership that passenger traffic would decline leading to the situation today where few regular passenger are run and even freight seems to be in serious decline. I came to New Zealand twice in the early 1990s and the decline already was in full view. I regret not coming thirty years earlier when I could have made the detour on my return home from Canada to the UK via the Far East. Those were the days - all the branch lines open with steam everywhere. I have travelled on trains around the world - presently a fan of the old East German narrow gauge steam railways - but New Zealand railways have a magic around them that beats the lot. I am grateful for those of you who have photographed and filmed New Zealand railways and written books about them to bring that magic back to life for some of us who live on the other side of the world.
Another sad fact about this video is that both of the DJ Class locomotives (DJ 1246 and DJ 1218) were both withdrawn and scrapped not long after the final train to Clyde. DJ 1246 in April 1990 and DJ 1218 in September 1991.
Excellent doco. I'm watching this from Cairns in Far North Queensland. My Son, Daughter-in-Law and Grandsons live in Omakau. It just popped up on fb suggestions.. What a blast!
Great video! Loved how you included the still shots of the rail trail so people could get a reference as to where the train was at and to show how it was compared to how it is now. Nicely done!
Great video, brought back a few memories, worked on this line from Dunedin in the 60;s and then from Cromwell in the 70's....Also was part of a group that did the Rail Trail last xmas.....
I too was on this train and this has bought back many memories. I went with Mum, Dadand Aunty. It was called the "Photographers Special" Will have to go and look out my photos from that day. Remember coming home in the dark and watching the moon appear on one side then see it out the other side with all the winding trail. Now they are thinking of closing the route to Middlemarch from Dunedin which run daily (mainly to Pukurangi and occasionly to Middlemarch) before Covid😢
Bob Furgeson was one of the LE's. 3499 was meant to be saved for the OETT but in true NZR style they rooted it as well as 3194. All the good loco's we picked out the head fitter at NZR made sure we got the rooted ones. Cant remember the pricks name but he and Arthur really hated each other. I can recall an argument they had and the bloke said " I will make sure I will give you wrecks" and he did. Scrapped the good ones. 3499 was in its prime but dropped a liner. The wanker fixed it but didnt change the oil - unknown to us. We ran her up to charge the batts - I was walking out to shut her down - well she shut herself down (OPS) pulled the dip stick - grey ooze. Fixable but guess what that wanker loco depot prick did ?? Scrapped her. And she was mint.
Dam, that brings back days of my youth in Central. Why the hell they pulled up the track is beyond me. Keep the old KA steam loco, the carriages and run them as a tourist attraction and it would be a major winner these days. So sad really - so much of our past is being destroyed.
Absolute travesty - should have put a walking/cycling lane alongside it separated by a fence. Plenty of tourists would take a scenic train trip with large windows on that route
Good and historic video. It looks as if most of the bridges and other structures are still in tact, so in theory the line or at least part of it could be re-opened at some future point without the need for excessively expensive and time-consuming rebuilding. Let's hope. Looking at the usual crowds of photographers on foot and in their cars, I do wonder how many had actually ever used the line to travel on. Perhaps if they and others like them had made the effort to do so, it might have remained economic to this day.
The biggest problem is that bureaucrats and previous governments started to see passenger rail as a profit making venture, and it's well known that rail doesn't make money from travelers. Tourists yes, but commuters no. Freight makes money, but with the advent of containerization, shifting small loads became uneconomic and as freight on the smaller lines started to be moved by road, time was up for these branches and they were closed. You're quite right about most of the infrastructure still being intact, and Kiwirail still owns most of the rail corridors around NZ (of which many have been made into rail trails). KR hold the right to take the corridors back and return them to rail use, so all it would take is a large pot of money and the will to see trains run on these routes again.
A disgraceful act of vandalism by the N Z government. Removing a railway line and substituting a rail trail, which offers no economic benefit whatsoever.
Sorry that is a pack of lies, the trail has brought more economic benefit to Central Otago than the railway did especially in the last years of the railway.
@@bwk4528 If previous governments hadn't run the railways into the ground or sold them off to foreign operators who were only interested in profits then there would still be freight, travelers and tourists on these lines. Rail trails don't keep trucks off the roads or bring tourist dollars in the same way trains do.
Absolutely agree. Far too many lines were closed and ripped up by short-sighted bureaucrats and I doubt they'll ever be re-instated. Laying new tracks would just be too costly. However, it is good to see that in most cases the corridors are still owned by Kiwirail, leaving the possibility open that in the future these rail trails can be turned back into functional rail lines. I just hope I get to see this happen to a few in my lifetime!
@@sw6188 The same happened in the UK with Beeching and the crook Marples. Some lines have been brought back to life at great expense but most are gone, never to return. However we have thriving preserved steam railways.
