Click photo to enlarge
Steam locomotive
A steam train will travel from Wellington to Auckland
next week to celebrate 100 years of the main trunk line.
The train will include an original carriage used in the first
trip in 1908.
The trip, departing the capital on August 6, will take three
days to complete.
Carriages and locomotives from the era have been supplied by
heritage operators in the Wellington region including Steam
Incorporated (Paekakariki), Mainline Steam (Plimmerton) and
Silver Stream Railway (Upper Hutt).
The original train trip was known as the `Parliament Special'
and was the first passenger train to travel from Wellington
to Auckland.
It left Wellington at 10pm on August 7, 1908, carrying 200
passengers including 44 parliamentarians, and arrived in
Auckland at 6.30pm on August 8.
Temporary tracks were laid for the trip.
