Arrival of the Silver Fern

Silver Fern railcar RM 24 beside Taieri Gorge carriages in Dunedin railway stations south dock. 26/9/12.

On the drive into work today I spotted a silver fern railcar in the Dunedin yard. 
The ferns normally work a morning and evening suburban passenger express between Pukekohe and Britomart station in central Auckland. They don't stray to far away from Auckland, so seeing one sitting in Dunedin is a very rare occurrence.

I was thinking the silver fern might have been down here for some work at Hillside, but later in the afternoon I spotted it sitting in the south dock at the railway station. I couldn't help myself and dropped in to have a look and grab a few shots.

Front shot of RM 24. 26/9/12.

And the standard 3/4 shot.

Talking to one of the Taieri Gorge railway staff, it sounds like the TGR has leased the railcar for the next year. Most of its work will be charter runs and maybe the seasider service to Palmerston and return. 

Just before I left the station DXB 5166 and DXC 5431 cruised by light engine on 922 Dunedin - Middleton freight. These loco's will be light engine all the way to Palmerston where they will pick up empty 'goldies'.

DXB 5166 and DXC 5431 at Dunedin railway station. 26/9/12.

The rail scene in Otago is already pretty interesting. Having one of the silver ferns down here over the summer is going to make it even better.

Famine to Feast

Its good being a shift worker. While most of the country is at work, I can get out and enjoy the beautiful spring time sun that is bathing East Otago at the moment. 
Friday's are always a good day to chase. Not only can I snap some shots of my usual targets, 922 Dunedin - Middleton freight and  923 Middleton - Dunedin freight but Taieri Gorge's Seasider return passenger service between Dunedin and Palmerston also makes an appearance. 

We began our trip with the aim of catching 922 at Waitati, but railfan luck was alive and well with a chance sighting of the Seasider in the distance. We had plenty of time to get to Merton and snap DJ 3228 and its five car train as it came to a halt with a red on the main departure signal . A few minutes later the signal flicked to green and with a blast on the horn the Seasider continued on its trip to Palmerston.

Tairei Gorge Railway's northbound Seasider passes through Merton on the main behind DJ 3228. Great to see a DJ on the main south line. Not sure about the square windows though. 21/9/12.

After catching the Seasider, we continued on to Waitati, anxiously hoping we would get there before the arrival of 922. Shouldn't have worried. We had plenty of time. 922 duly arrived behind a grubby DXC 5370 and slightly less grubby DFT 7092.

922 was a long train of empty container flats. Kiwi Rail and Port Otago have just begun operating new container services between Dunedin and Timaru. Hopefully they'll be loaded on their return journey.

DXC 5397 and DFT 7092 lead 922 Dunedin - Middleton freight through Waitati. 21/9/12. 

Anybody who has chased north of Dunedin will know how hard it is to chase between Warrington and Seacliff. The road is windy, hilly and fairly narrow with a few railway crossings thrown in for extra fun. Just when you think you've managed to get ahead of your target you get caught at a crossing. A grin and a wave from the LE just add's salt to the wound. 
Eventually we got ahead of 922 and after skidding to a halt in a cloud of dust, I managed to get a shot I've been hoping to get for a while. Hope to bring you a few more shots of this station as part of a station profile in the future.

922 crawls past Seacliff station. 21/9/12.

I also got a  'dirty' away shot of DFT 7092.

Second loco DFT 7092 assisting DXC 5379 at Seacliff. 21/9/12.

With some shots of 922 on the SD card it was relaxed drive to Merton and a short wait before 922 arrived on the loop and came to a stop.

922 holding the loop at Merton. 21/9/12.

Close up of DXC 5379. Working on the coal route (Christchurch - West Coast) hasn't done these loco's any favours. 21/9/12.

Not long after we found out the reason for 922's delay. DJ 3228, long hood leading, cruised into Merton with the Dunedin bound Seasider.

.

DJ 3228 cruises into Merton with the Seasider. 21/9/12.

After 922's departure we headed to Palmerston. Arriving in plenty of time we grabbed an icecream at McGregors before getting a shot of DXC 5379 and DFT 7092 shunting the gold siding.

DXC 5379 and DFT 7092 on the gold siding at Palmerston. 21/9/12.

With time running out we also managed to get southbound 923 Middleton - Dunedin freight as it headed out of Palmerston. 

DFT 7023 and DC 4421 head southbound on the MSL on 923. 21/9/12.

All in all not a bad days chasing.

One thing that surprised me was that out of the four locomotives I saw working on freight services today, none were painted in the yellow, red and grey Kiwi Rail livery. Maybe the Kiwi Rail liveries arn't as dominant as I thought.

Time for some DSG action

Black and white shot of DSG 3251 cruising through Port Chalmers tunnel. 20/9/12.

I got out for a few hours this afternoon and managed to snap two of Dunedin's DSG shunting locos in action. 
Kiwi Rail keeps these beasts working hard shunting the yards and hauling heavy trains around the greater Dunedin area so expect some more shots of these loco's in the future. 

Enjoy.

DSG 3251 on the siding into Port Otago. 20/9/12.

DSG 3170 pushes a short shunt from the Port Otago siding on Fryatt St into the Dunedin rail yard. 20/9/12

I'm still here.

DXC 5212 leads 923 Middleton - Dunedin freight as it grinds its way out of Oamaru up to the former junction station of Waiareka. 12/10/2011.

Hi team

If you’re a follower of this blog (I think there might be one out there) then you’ll know that this blog has been dormant for well over a year.

I’m hoping to change that and get back into posting on this blog. Wish me luck!