Of Interlockings And Other Machines ...: New Zealand

From Pukekohe we drove towards Bay of Plenty and then via Rotorua to Wellington over several days. So far I have scanned only a few shots from there, but I am sure that I have e.g. taken some shots at the Raurimu Spiral ... someday I will find them and show them here. For locating the photos some members of the NZSignals-Group on groups.io helped me—many thanks for that!

Our first stopover after Auckland was in Tauranga, where I picked up a couple of locomotives on the other side of the harbour in Mount Maunganui.

Here are a couple of diesel locomotives at the south end of the harbour station. Unfortunately, I completely ignored the turntable, which according to satellite imagery is still there nowadays:

NZR DC 4035, 4260 and 4277, Mount Maunganui, September 1992

NZR DC 4438 and DF 6231, Mount Maunganui, September 1992

In the station, NZR DSG 3196 shunts some wagons. The turonouts here are still in the same position as 30 years ago, as can be seen at openrailwaymap.org. In the background, you can see the town's namesake, Mount Maunganui. In front of it, "Shed 10" can be seen, which is also still around:

NZR DSG 3196 shunting, Mount Maunganui, September 1992

The crane and ship in the background of the next shot are on the opposite side of Tauranga Harbour:

NZR DSG 3196 shunting, Mount Maunganui, September 1992

On the way to Rotorua I took the following pictures.

Probably between the Paengaroa and Pongakawa loops we followed this train:

NZR DC 4438 with goods train in the Bay of Plenty, probably between Paengaroa and Pongakawa, September 1992

Here is the northern starting signal of the Hauone loop:

Starting signal 8RA, Hauone, Bay of Plenty, September 1992

About 65 km north of Wellington, in the Horowhenua District, probably between To Horo and Otaki, this train came towards us, which we then chased a litle bit:

NZR DX 5068 and 5425 with goods train, probably between Te Horo and Otaki, September 1992

The following two pictures of the same train were taken 10 km further north at Pukehou—I had to lighten them a lot, the original slides are more or less completely black:

NZR DX 5068 and 5425 with goods train, near Pukehou, September 1992

The following pictures are from Wellington. The first picture shows an EMU on the steep Johnsonville Branch line, which was in the 1930s the start of the main trunk line to the north:

Ferry terminal and a DM class on the Johnsonville Branch, Wellington, September 1992

Shunting locomotive DSC 2624 was busy pulling freight cars off one of the trajects:

NZR DSC 2624 at the ferry terminal, Wellington, September 1992

NZR DSC 2624 pulling wagons from a ferry, Fährbahnhof Wellington, September 1992

On a second, older ferry bridge, you can see the split switch for the three ferry tracks. It is interesting that a three-way switch is also installed here on the station side—its use is completely unclear to me:

Ferry bridge, Wellington, September 1992

This short train comes from Upper Hut:

NZR ET 3812(?), Wellington, September 1992

The last pictures of this posting are from the passenger station in Wellington. At the following picture you can see the imposing station building from 1937: