New Plymouth Night Express
The New Plymouth Night Express was a passenger express train operated by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) that ran between Auckland and New Plymouth. It ran in various forms from 1933 until 1983, though the Express designation was lost in 1956 and later incarnations did not operate at night and terminated in Taumarunui rather than Auckland. The New Plymouth Night Express should not be confused with the New Plymouth Express that operated between New Plymouth and Wellington.
Introduction
In 1933, the
Operation
Joint running with the Night Limited for the Tauramunui-Auckland leg was the pattern for the 1930s, with the service provided thrice weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
In 1940, the independent service began operating thrice weekly year-round. It departed Auckland at 7:50 pm on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, made refreshment stops in
Replacement by railcars
The actual New Plymouth Night Express ceased to operate in 1956. RM class 88 seater railcars had recently been introduced to New Zealand and they provided a more economical service, so they replaced the carriage train. They offered a more regular daily service on a quicker timetable but continued the Express's pattern of operating at night. The southbound service arrived in New Plymouth at 11:23 pm and departed for Auckland at 2:34 am. There was some speculation that the service was originally intended to only operate between Auckland and Taumarunui and its late running to New Plymouth was a result of this run being extended, but as it turned out, this section of the run was cancelled in 1971 and the railcars operated solely between New Plymouth and Taumarunui. Soon after this change, the service was altered to a daytime run in December 1973, with a departure from New Plymouth at 8:30 am and the return service leaving Taumarunui at 3:10 pm.[5]
Return and demise of carriage trains
The new daytime service proved more popular with the local population and allowed
References
Citations
- ^ a b Churchman & Hurst (2001), p. 140.
- ^ a b Mahoney (1987), p. 67.
- ^ Mahoney (1987), p. 66.
- ^ Mahoney (1987), p. 68.
- ^ a b Churchman & Hurst (2001), p. 141.
Bibliography
- Churchman, Geoffrey B; Hurst, Tony (2001) [1990, 1991]. The Railways of New Zealand: A Journey through History (Second ed.). Transpress New Zealand. ISBN 0-908876-20-3.
- Mahoney, J.D. (1987) [1981]. Kings of the Iron Road. Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.