I met your dad back in October 1988. The Glenbrook Vintage Railway was taking Ja1250 and train to Christchurch. I babysat the loco overnight at Taumarunui and lit the loco up early in the morning for the run south. Ralph turned up as driver. I had only been a GVR driver for a couple of years. Even with all his experience of working with steam, he did nothing without checking with me first. I found it very humbling to tell such an experienced driver what to do. A lovely guy and a true gentleman. It was a pleasure to know him and work with him, even if it just for one day.
I love this video. Such a wonderful snapshot of how things used to be when I worked for NZR. When you consider what is shown, just about everything is gone. Practically all of the wagons, locos, ships, electric units, carriages, buses, lines, workshops, buildings, planes, people and practices are a thing of the past. Finishing off with the ( to me) emotive music of the Addington Brass Band and this is a great show.
I moved to Taumarunui..when I was 18 moved in with a train driver and my brother was a train driver there as well..we lived there for 12 years and had 2 children...loved the life...🎉🥰🎇✨💖🙁💥💯💛from New Zealand.x🥝July 2024..🥝🌹
My first thought was how charming. Then I wondered, "How much remains in 2019?" The comments educated and updated me. Even here in the US, there are many things gone and no longer around. Sad, but true. Love you Kiwi's. God Bless New Zealand!
Thats me on the front scraper at 20.33 (good ol T2) Hurlstone earthmoving from Egmont village New Plymouth those 6 wheel dump trucks were the first 6 wheelers in New Zealand there would be many hours of footage of this job railway filmed the whole job cameras on site at least every month it was a big job for nzr and the government every one had a job would love to see more of this 1988
Railways canteen and you could enjoy a smoke and there was common sense nice to see facelift CF Bedford and mk 4 CORTINA wagon this is the New Zealand I grew up in
5 лет назад
This was definitely made in the late 80’s I’ve got to say; the shots and editing is much better than the crap that TVNZ and TV3 make now.
My father worked for NZ Rail most of his working life. Starting as a Shunter working his way up to Station Master at Whangamomana and then becoming a Guard until he died in 1985. He loved his job which saw us moving around a bit to different places including Wellington, Hawera, Whangamomana, New Plymouth, Paeroa and then finally Hamilton. He was just doing his passenger Guard exams in 1985 because the Guards were being taken off the goods trains around that time. Sadly he died before achieving that goal.
Family worked on the railways.... my parents met working there. I heard about what it was like, but growing up in the 90's it was a mere shell of what it was after privatization. Great to see some decent footage.
Just watched where I grew up in Lower Hutt. Now watching the main trunk which went past my yard in Otorohanga and Te Kuiti and Taumarunui. Now I live in Hamilton have moved a long way including the steam train going from Christchurch to travel on the Maori to the North Island. A few years we travelled on steam train trips around the North Island. We loved trains and have many books here Now my grandson drives a train down the middle of the North Island. We moved from the Hutt valley to the King Country on the Silver Fern over fifty years ago.. The old units were away to get around and my dad would take me on the rail car to Featherstone. Nothing like trains ...things have changed so much.
Richard Greaney I remember this mentioned in "Rails" magazine. It was filmed using a large mirror between the the rails. The mirror did not survive the filming process. If you freeze it in just the right place, you can see the headstock number has been taped over. The biggest give away is that the tail lights are on the right, where they are in fact on the left (or driver's side) of a Dx when facing the loco.
Yep, 1988, Roman numerals at end are MCMLXXXVIII. The most obvious give-away is the easily recognisable film soft hue, slightly emphasised gain and lower grain, moderate contrast and colour tint that it is prototypically late 80s anyway. 1980 would have a higher ratio orange contrast tint film stock and more monochrome darks, more shaky rostrum indents and titles plus lower quality narrative overdubbing. Great to see this historical film, and see some 4 wheeler wagons.
Also, at 18:37 the GT welded underframe assembly that is displayed on the CAD screen is shown on the drawing as first dated August 1987. The TMS screen at 29:43 has a date 17 March 1988, which aligns well with the very shiny aluminium CB coal hopper wagons at 49:52. But some shots are from a later date, such as at 43:18 where the Jubilee floating dock is shown in the background near Aotea Quay after it was moved there in December 1988.
So i would have been 2 years old.Mum use to take us from Nelson to Tauranga twice a year. Bus(Newman) then the train from Wellington.....Last time i went there i was 10
1988 as the Pilgrim train arrived in 1863, amazing how this way of life is gone now. No more NZ Railways and Railways buses or the fully operational cafes and Maoris with mullets!! The newcars shown are now mostly lawn ornaments in Taumarunui.
The kiddies who were around then were better behaved. If the old man had found out they'd sprayed rubbish all over the trains they would have got a hell of a hiding. These days they do their toddler-scribble knowing they can't be touched.
I love this, but crikey, other than the excellent commentator, the pronunciation of the Maori place names in 1980 was nothing short of appalling! Fortunately, though far from perfect, these days it's a helluva lot better :)
Good pics and story, but obviously 35 years out of date. Also disconcerting in the first part of the video to be swapping from one end of NZ to the other and back again every few clips. Could do with making an updated version.
