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went from steam to diesel power in 1963, and the afternoon expresses in 1964. The change, according to the railway annual report for 1965, "has eliminated smoke nuisance in tunnels and has enabled the journey time to be reduced by approximately 50 minutes". Diesel-electric motive power was typically
351:
lived near the
Otahuhu Station, and Petrie arranged via a sympathetic guard for the driver to slow the train after Middlemore Station so that they could save time by alighting there; the younger Freer first so Petrie could pass their bags to him and then alight; the train then speeded up towards
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s heyday was in the 1930s, when multiple extra services had to be run at the peak
Christmas and Easter holiday periods to cater for the traffic volume. Accommodation on board was primarily seated, although first class sleeping cars were utilised. The sleeping cars had sixteen two-person cabins
397:. An unnamed ordinary express continued to operate nightly between Auckland and Wellington, providing transport for less than the Silver Star's premium fares and stopping at more stations. In November 1975 this express was renovated and re-introduced as the Northerner, withdrawn in 2004.
370:
During the 1950s, demand began to significantly decline as competition from aeroplanes and the private car increased. Business travellers increasingly opted for other options, although the schedule was steadily improved to 13.5 hours each way. In the North Island all
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member of parliament in 1947, and recalled the Friday night comradeship in a sleeping compartment of the train to
Auckland after a week in Parliament, when a bottle of whisky would be produced and incidents in the house or caucus recalled. Freer and
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railway was completed in 1908, services between
Auckland and Wellington were slow and tedious, taking two days to complete the journey. The first expresses ran on 14 February 1909 and took 19 hours 13 minutes, though stopping only at
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began investigating the introduction of an upmarket overnight service in 1968 to recapture some of the patronage it had lost. This service, named the Silver Star, was introduced in
September 1971 and replaced the
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was introduced in 1924 to provide a quicker service. Its name stemmed from the fact it ran overnight and had limited stops at
Palmerston North, Marton, Taihape, Ohakune, Taumarunui and Frankton.
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Motive power in the days of steam was typically the most powerful and efficient locomotives available. A class locomotives were superseded by members of classes such as the
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were employed to haul the service, and this factor combined with the reduced stops allowed the reduction in travel time to just over 14 hours.
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reached by a corridor along one side of the carriage. Dining cars were never used on the
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Auckland. In 1949 air travel to
Wellington was introduced for backbench MPs.
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s time. Passengers could purchase refreshments at stops along the journey.
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231:. It commenced service on 15 December 1924 and was replaced by the
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493:"RAILWAYS STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, HON. J.G. COATES"
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Wellington
Thorndon station, Wellington City (1924–1937)
570:
Encyclopaedia of New
Zealand 1966 – Train Services and
467:"RIGHT THROUGH. WELLINGTON TO AUCKLAND. EVENING POST"
523:
A Lifetime in
Politics: the memoirs of Warren Freer
572:New Zealand's History Online – Travelling By Train
325:-era economy measure and not re-introduced to the
577:Photo of new 56 foot second class carriages c1938
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215:was an express passenger train that operated in
181:10-minute stops at refreshment rooms along route
876:Long-distance passenger trains in New Zealand
612:Long distance passenger trains of New Zealand
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16:Former express passenger train in New Zealand
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551:Annual Report for year ended 31 March 1965
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441:"WELLINGTON TO AUCKLAND. EVENING POST"
896:1971 disestablishments in New Zealand
886:Railway services discontinued in 1971
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227:, utilising the entire length of the
173:Twin-berth cabins (first class only)
881:Railway services introduced in 1924
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891:1924 establishments in New Zealand
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421:. 2 December 1924. p. 5
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376:provided by members of the
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745:New Plymouth Night Express
419:Hawera & Normanby Star
102:Wellington railway station
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527:Victoria University Press
497:paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
471:paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
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126:681 km (423 mi)
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201:3 ft 6 in
113:Auckland Railway Station
529:. pp. 29, 30, 42.
251:North Island Main Trunk
229:North Island Main Trunk
157:First and second class
170:Sleeping arrangements
846:South Island Limited
740:New Plymouth Express
678:Taieri Gorge Limited
647:Wairarapa Connection
162:Seating arrangements
131:Average journey time
415:""limited" Express"
342:became an Auckland
178:Catering facilities
82:Current operator(s)
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805:Waikato Connection
725:Geyserland Express
637:Capital Connection
473:. 15 February 1909
123:Distance travelled
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826:Culverden Express
760:Northland Express
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632:Northern Explorer
447:. 2 November 1908
299:steam locomotives
241:express in 1975.
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147:On-board services
139:Service frequency
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836:Lynx Express
819:South Island
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656:South Island
625:North Island
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549:AJHR D2 NZR
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501:. Retrieved
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475:. Retrieved
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449:. Retrieved
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423:. Retrieved
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340:Warren Freer
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327:North Island
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245:Introduction
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108:(1937–1971)
73:Last service
58:North Island
36:Service type
24:
20:
18:
785:Silver Star
780:Silver Fern
710:Blue Streak
705:Bay Express
668:TranzAlpine
618:Operational
384:Replacement
329:during the
323:World War I
256:Paekākāriki
233:Silver Star
217:New Zealand
192:Track gauge
870:Categories
851:Southerner
765:Overlander
755:Northerner
401:References
280:Taumarunui
238:Northerner
221:Wellington
49:Superseded
720:Endeavour
425:8 January
305:Operation
249:When the
186:Technical
153:Class(es)
691:Historic
673:Seasider
521:(2004).
503:17 April
477:17 April
451:15 April
378:DA class
373:Limiteds
288:Frankton
284:Te Kuiti
264:Feilding
225:Auckland
219:between
134:14 hours
31:Overview
642:Te Huia
296:A class
290:. The
276:Ohakune
272:Taihape
98:Termini
533:
499:. 1924
359:, and
344:Labour
286:, and
268:Marton
54:Locale
46:Status
334:'
314:'
93:Route
531:ISBN
505:2021
479:2021
453:2021
427:2016
388:The
363:and
309:The
223:and
209:The
76:1971
68:1924
553:p11
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