221:
s replacement terminated in Te Puke, permanently ending regular passenger service to destinations beyond that town. The railcar itself did not last long; it was cancelled in 1967, and this was as much due to mechanical problems with the railcars as with patronage numbers on the long and circuitous
196:
survived to be the second-last steam-hauled provincial express in New
Zealand. The final service operated from Taneatua to Auckland on 7 February 1959 and consisted of three passenger carriages and a guard's van hauled by J 1217. A wreath was placed on the front of the locomotive to signify the
95:
deviation), and when it opened in 1928, Thames swiftly declined in status as a railway terminus as services began operating through to the Bay of Plenty. A direct passenger service between
Auckland and the Bay of Plenty terminus in Taneatua commenced upon the East Coast Main Trunk's opening,
136:
commenced operating. It took 10.5 hours to run between
Taneatua and Auckland via a circuitous route. It was nonetheless one of the quicker forms of transport for its era, although the rise of the private car began to impact upon traffic. The proposed direct
131:
When the East Coast Main Trunk opened to
Taneatua in 1928, track conditions were not optimal and the train took 12 hours to complete its journey from Auckland to Taneatua. Over the next year, the trackage was upgraded and the
172:
and Second World War as well as post-war coal shortages meant that its services were often cut back to operate just twice or thrice weekly in each direction. Motive power was first provided by
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756:
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would have facilitated a faster service; though construction commenced in 1938 and some earthworks constructed, the project was stopped by the outbreak of the
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from
Auckland to Tauranga which used Silver Fern railcars running via the more direct new Kaimai tunnel route until the service was discontinued in 2001.
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By the 1950s, the lack of frequent, daily operation began to prove a significant discouragement to prospective travellers. The
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Rail passenger services to the Bay of Plenty were not reinstated until the 1991 introduction of the
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and was never completed. In 1950 the train was speeded up by about an hour, when it ceased serving
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occasion. The very next day, New
Zealand's final steam-hauled provincial express, the
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42:
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T. A. McGavin (Spring 1967). "Railcars No More to
Whangarei, Tauranga or Westport".
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s route except the final leg between Paeroa and Thames. Accordingly, the
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38:
34:
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26:
397:
Can't Get There From Here - New
Zealand Passenger Rail Since 1920
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251:
249:
420:
The
Railways of New Zealand: A Journey through History
377:
334:
296:
203:, ceased operating. Both expresses were replaced by
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553:
546:
511:
480:
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168:operated daily, but the economic impacts of the
87:(the Thames Branch later included the line from
53:. It commenced in 1929 and operated until 1959.
255:
79:, in its first incarnation, diverged from the
732:Long-distance passenger trains in New Zealand
468:Long distance passenger trains of New Zealand
453:
310:"SPEED UP OF TANEATUA EXPRESS. TE PUKE TIMES"
8:
762:Discontinued railway services in New Zealand
418:Churchman, Geoffrey B; Hurst, Tony (2001) .
272:"East Coast Trains. Tauranga express to run"
65:, and a victim of its introduction, was the
422:(Second ed.). Transpress New Zealand.
395:Brett, André; van der Weerden, Sam (2021).
550:
477:
460:
446:
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357:New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society
266:
264:
245:
757:1959 disestablishments in New Zealand
747:Railway services discontinued in 1959
737:Named passenger trains of New Zealand
7:
742:Railway services introduced in 1929
752:1929 establishments in New Zealand
91:to Paeroa with the opening of the
71:, which operated from Auckland to
14:
378:Brett & van der Weerden 2021
335:Brett & van der Weerden 2021
297:Brett & van der Weerden 2021
61:The immediate precursor to the
31:New Zealand Railways Department
1:
77:East Coast Main Trunk Railway
16:Express passenger train route
349:New Zealand Railway Observer
778:
601:New Plymouth Night Express
256:Churchman & Hurst 2001
222:rail route from Auckland.
119:train was upgraded to the
115:ceased to operate and the
45:, serving centres such as
314:paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
25:was an express passenger
151:North Island Main Trunk
104:service ran all of the
401:Otago University Press
207:services operated by
180:and during the 1940s
702:South Island Limited
596:New Plymouth Express
534:Taieri Gorge Limited
503:Wairarapa Connection
184:engines took over.
100:superfluous as the
661:Waikato Connection
581:Geyserland Express
493:Capital Connection
316:. 12 December 1950
276:New Zealand Herald
214:railcars, but the
139:Paeroa–Pokeno Line
719:
718:
715:
714:
682:Culverden Express
616:Northland Express
542:
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488:Northern Explorer
174:steam locomotives
33:that ran between
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646:Taneatua Express
571:Daylight Limited
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216:Taneatua Express
194:Taneatua Express
170:Great Depression
166:Taneatua Express
161:east of Paeroa.
155:Second World War
134:Taneatua Express
121:Taneatua Express
110:
63:Taneatua Express
29:operated by the
22:Taneatua Express
777:
776:
772:
771:
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631:Scenic Daylight
626:Rotorua Express
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519:Coastal Pacific
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200:Rotorua Express
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697:Picton Express
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687:Kingston Flyer
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666:Wairarapa Mail
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656:Thames Express
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651:Taranaki Flyer
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591:Napier Express
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586:Kaimai Express
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380:, p. 253.
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339:
337:, p. 179.
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299:, p. 114.
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278:. 18 June 1928
260:
258:, p. 115.
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243:
241:
238:
236:
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228:Kaimai Express
189:
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128:
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113:Thames Express
106:Thames Express
98:Thames Express
96:rendering the
68:Thames Express
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606:Night Limited
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159:flag stations
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93:Kaimai Tunnel
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81:Thames Branch
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43:Bay of Plenty
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24:
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692:Lynx Express
675:South Island
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554:North Island
512:South Island
481:North Island
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388:Bibliography
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318:. Retrieved
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280:. Retrieved
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89:Morrinsville
66:
62:
60:
57:Introduction
21:
20:
18:
641:Silver Star
636:Silver Fern
566:Blue Streak
561:Bay Express
524:TranzAlpine
474:Operational
188:Replacement
726:Categories
707:Southerner
621:Overlander
611:Northerner
235:References
576:Endeavour
365:0028-8624
240:Citations
212:88 seater
127:Operation
547:Historic
529:Seasider
209:RM class
117:Taneatua
102:Taneatua
47:Tauranga
39:Taneatua
35:Auckland
498:Te Huia
320:30 July
282:25 July
205:railcar
182:J class
178:A class
176:of the
149:on the
51:Te Puke
41:in the
426:
407:
363:
359:: 88.
147:Pokeno
143:Paeroa
85:Paeroa
75:. The
73:Thames
355:(3).
219:'
141:from
109:'
27:train
424:ISBN
405:ISBN
361:ISSN
322:2022
284:2016
164:The
49:and
37:and
19:The
145:to
83:in
728::
403:.
399:.
353:24
351:.
312:.
274:.
263:^
248:^
123:.
461:e
454:t
447:v
432:.
413:.
367:.
324:.
286:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.