Before the Silver Fern Seasider even left Dunedin Railway Station, children were being chastised by their parents for fighting, standing on the seats, playing with the fold down tables and just general grizzling.
It didn't bode well. But when the wheels started rolling, all eyes were glued to the windows - especially 4 year old Felix Hayde-Cowan.
''I love trains. Trains are so fast, but they're not noisy. They're only noisy when you're on the outside.
''I want to be a train driver when I grow up, because then I'll get a special hat to wear.''
Felix's enthusiasm for trains is such, that he has several boxes of them at home, including the complete Thomas the Tank Engine set.
And not surprisingly, this was not his first train trip. He had been on several, including the Crunchie Bar train and the Ronald McDonald train.
Felix was one of about 300 people, mostly school children, who took one of three sold out trips to Waitati and back on the Dunedin Silver Fern Railcar yesterday, as part of Dunedin Railways' school holiday special programme.
The spectacular views of Otago Harbour, the clifftops overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Blueskin Bay kept children entertained and their parents relatively relaxed.
