In the early nintiees, the Sunday morning goods was regularly re-routed over the Wairarapa to allow work to take place on the main line north of Wellington, including the stabalisation of the ground above 'the beanpole'.
Apart from some different scenery, often frustrating weather and many triple loco combinations, the train was also interesting to watch at Woodville, where the train would arrive, run around the balloon loop, and then the locos would run around the train and haul it out towards the Manawatu Gorge. This rigmarole ensured the hook end of the wagon always faced the correct direction due to the junction arrangements.
Initially the train was normally three DC locos, but after a while, DXs were allowed north of Masterton and started appearing on the trains. These shots are in no particular order!
All images are scanned from Fujichrome 100 slides or Fuji 100 prints. All photos by Darryl K Bond. Feel free to use provided you attribute the photographer.
Click on the thumbnail for the full size image. All are approx 50-100kb jpeg files.
| Treble DCs depart Woodville for the Manawatu Gorge after running around their train. | |
| The first H50 to run departs Wellington with three DCs, passing Kaiwarrawarra station | |
| The same train crosses the river south of Masterton | |
| Apprearing just before H50 is due, DX 5500 on the Bay Express heads through the stunning Manawatu Gorge | |
| DX 5500 and DC 4438 pass 'the 'Cousins knob', rarely seen in sun. 31/3/91 | |
| The same train heads through the Gorge | |
| Another shot at Cousins Knob with one of the three DXs that went anonymous for a while befire the introduction of the blue paint scheme | |
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