And now for some steam...

Dirty 3/4 shot of Ka 942 at Sawyers Bay. 20/10/12.

The household was pretty busy this weekend with family visiting from the North Island, but even with all the mayhem, we were able to get out to see visiting Ka class steam locomotive 942 as she hauled an afternoon passenger service from Dunedin to Sawyers Bay and return as part of the Dunedin steam festival.

First we headed down to Dunedin station to see the action. After a bit of a wait Ka 942 finally arrived and headed down to the north end of the yard to couple to 15 total passenger train.

Ka 942 shuffling through the yard. 20/10/12.

After watching the action in the station we then headed north to Sawyers Bay to await the arrival. We weren't the only ones. Rail fans were out in force with plenty of creative parking along the route to Sawyers Bay. 

After another short wait, Ka 942 pulled in Sawyers Bay tender first. After uncoupling from its train she headed a short distance north before reversing along the loop and around its train.

Here's some shots of Ka 942 as she ran around her train.

After Ka 942 had disappeared down the loop we made the decision to head south to favourite spot along the causeway south of Roseneath. We weren't the only ones. A long convoy of vehicles headed south to points between Sawyers Bay and Dunedin to get a shot of Ka 942 in full flight.

From experience I stay away from camper vans driven by elder gentlemen. Steam locomotives bring out the worst in these guys and they seem to throw the road code out the window in their quest for the perfect shot. Other than that, everyone else seemed to be on their best behaviour.

Finding a good spot, it wasn't long before Ka 942 and her train came into view. Hats off to the train crew. Ka 942 looked great as she headed south at speed.

Ka 942 and her train emerge from the Roseneath tunnel and out onto one of the numerous causeways between Sawyers Bay and Dunedin. 20/10/12

Another shot of Ka 942 on the causeway. Best shot of the day. 20/10/12.

While I'm not a big fan of steam I do appreciate the fantastic engineering involved in the design, construction and development of these machines especially since they were built right here in New Zealand. 

A big thank you to the staff of Mainline steam, the Taieri Gorge Railway and Kiwi Rail for bringing KA 942 south to Dunedin and giving local rail fans the opportunity to get some shots of this machine in action.