Recent travels

Double DC's leading 922 Palmerston - Middleton freight along the East Otago coastline at Katiki. 10/7/15.

Hi everyone

After my last past I took a break from railfanning and put the camera away. Heading out the door the other week I saw the camera sitting there on the shelf and on a whim thought I'd take it along with me. 

Heading through town I saw 922 Palmerston - Middleton freight getting ready to depart the Palmerston yard with a rack of empty 'goldies'. I had some spare time so I decided to follow 922 for a little while. 

I grabbed my first shot at my tried and true spot near Katiki. With only a light load, the DC's at the front had 922 flying. I managed to make the south end of the Hillgrove loop and grab a second shot just as 922 arrived to cross 923. 

922 Palmerston - Middleton freight slows as it approaches the Hillgrove loop to cross 923 Middleton - Dunedin freight. 10/7/15.

Once again I was heading through Palmerston and spotted 922 sitting in the yard. The weather was nice and I had the camera in the car so I grabbed a shot. 

DC4755 and DXB 5137 sitt in the yard at Palmerston with empty 'goldies'. 12/8/2015.

Not much effort for this one but I might not get many more chances. Oceania Gold has announced the closure of their Reefton operations in October which will result in the 'goldies' being no more. So if you can get trackside between Reefton, Christchurch and Palmerston get out there and get your 'goldie' photos while you can.

Heading through Oamaru the other day I decided to pass by Oamaru station to see what was up in this neck of the woods. In the yard I found a blast from the past. A bitumen tanker on the back of a container flat. Now these tankers used to roam throughout the country during the 1990's. For whatever reason this didn't continue into the 2000's. Seeing this in the yard is a good sign. It means Kiwirail is winning back some the traffic it lost in the past.

The tankers are actually ex UC tar tankers that have had their bogies removed. Like I said earlier good to see these on the network again.

Its good to be back.

And thats about it.