Hauled by historic steam locomotive AB608 (Passchendaele), a train pulled into the Oamaru Railway Station with about 130 passengers on board yesterday afternoon.
A crowd of nearly 100 gathered to watch the steam train as it chuffed into the North Otago town about 4.45pm.
One of the South Island AB608 Centennial Rail Tour passengers, Desmond Langham, of Devon, England, sat at the station upon arrival, looking for his motel booking and marvelling at the history of the train.
The self-described ''rail fan'' boarded the train in Christchurch at 9.15am yesterday and despite a half-hour delay before departure, the train rolled into Oamaru slightly ahead of schedule.
AB608 was built in Christchurch and went into service in Dunedin in October 1915.
It was named Passchendaele in 1925, ''in memory of those members of the New Zealand Railways who fell in the Great War''.
After being withdrawn from service in 1967, the locomotive was stored in Dunedin.
It was restored to working order by Paekakariki company Steam Incorporated and returned to service on Anzac Day in 2014.
Steam Incorporated has suggested this could be its last South Island tour.
It left Picton on Monday and returns on November 8.
Mr Langham said he would continue on to Bluff before disembarking and next week visiting Greymouth and Westport.
''[Touring on a steam train] is very rare and it's getting rarer,'' he said.
''Certainly in England it's getting harder and harder to run these tours.''
Mr Langham and some fellow British tourists were looking forward to their night in Oamaru.
''We know there's a brewery,'' he said.
''We like our trains and beer.''
Oamaru Steam and Rail general manager Harry Andrew said he saw Passchendaele ''when it was lying in Dunedin waiting to be cut up ... before they saved it''.
Now it was ''beautiful''.
Oamaru Steam and Rail would be providing the security detail for the train before its 10.15am departure for Dunedin today.
Passchendaele will be back in Oamaru next Tuesday and will stay until Wednesday morning.
