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History of the Rotorua Rail Line
On December 8, 1894, the first Auckland - Rotorua express service pulled into Rotorua with the name ARAWA emblazoned on its side, hauled by two 44 ton J class locomotives. The journey had taken eight hours 40 minutes at an average speed of less than 20mph. This was not the first express to arrive in the district - one had arrived from Auckland at the Tarukenga railhead on November 24, 1893 - but it was the first to arrive in the city. From December, 1894, the weekly express left Rotorua for Auckland at 9am on Mondays, and Auckland for the return journey at 8am on Tuesdays. Passenger and freight trains also ran twice a week, the journey taking II hours. The summers of 1895-9 saw the service extended to three express trains per week during the tourist season till 1899 when they were continued year round. A daily express began in October, 1902. With all en route shunting eliminated the northbound journey took just seven and a half-hours with the southbound taking 20 minutes longer. December, 1903, saw the introduction of dining cars, with catering carried out by the Railways Department, not private contractors. In 1917 dining cars were withdrawn never to be reinstated. But a feature of the Rotorua express service became the dinner stop at Frankton Junction, in 1954 shortened to a refreshment stop when the Frankton dining room was closed. The First World War saw the curtailment of train services with the Thames and Rotorua expresses combined between Auckland and Morrinsville. In June 1919 a severe coal shortage saw all provincial expresses cancelled for six months with the only service a mixed train between Rotorua and Auckland taking 12 hours. The arrival of the Ab class loco in 1925 saw travelling time cut to six hours 40 minutes and the train became a star attraction. May 1930 it became the Rotorua Limited with a six-hour trip. Coaches were steel-panelled and had enclosed entrance vestibules. The title 'Limited' was dropped in November 1937 but the service remained an 'express' with wartime passenger loadings building to record figures. A coal shortage reduced the daily service to three times a week in January 1944 with further reductions to twice a week after the war. This resulted in considerable depletion of passenger patronage. The final Rotorua Express left for Auckland on Friday, February 6, 1959, NZ Rail's last provincial steam-operated express. A railcar service began three days later. Rotorua's regular passenger rail services ended on November 11, 1968, with the arrival from Auckland of a Fiat railcar complete with ARAWA banner, recalling the first train in 1894. December 9, 1991, saw the re-introduction of passenger services when Silver Fern railcars inaugurated the Geyserland Express with two daily return trips from Auckland.
All rail traffic has now ceased (2002). |
Terry's Train Trax
| Fishing, New Zealand
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This intel was contributed by terrynz
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May, 2012
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