Time for a chase

DXC 5379 and DCP 4761 climb away from the Waihemo Valley with a Dunedin - Middleton freight. 28/10/2016.

After finishing night shift and getting the kids to school, I had a few hours to spare. After doing some jobs around the house I heard the nearby rail crossing activate... What the hell, lets chase a train.

I got out the door and soon managed to grab my first shot as it climbed out of the Waihemo Valley towards Shag Point,so named after the bird and not the other thing. 

I then headed north to Hillgrove and the Moeraki railway crossing for my next shots. By this time there were a few showers coming through which definitely help the shots.

Through Hillgrove. 28/10/16.

Departing Hillgrove. 28/10/16.

With time starting to run short I decided to head up to Herbert for my last shots. Herbert is one of my favorite places on New Zealand's rail network so its always nice to get a few shots of trains passing through this location.

 Approaching Herbert. 28/10/16.

On the main at Herbert. 28/10/16.

It was time to head home. Getting back to Palmerston I decided to get a few shots of what's left of the gold ore infrastructure. 

The old gold ore storage shed.

Gold ore from Reefton was shipped down to Palmerston in wagon mounted bins. From here it was unloaded and transshipped to Oceania Golds Macraes Mine processing facility. With the Reefton mine shut down, wagons of gold ore no longer arrive in Palmerston. The gold ore storage shed is now used to store fire wood. The gold ore bins are now in storage near the old locomotive shed. 

Gold ore bins in storage.

Word has it that with recent increases in gold prices, Oceania Gold is looking at restarting production at Reefton. Hopefully this happens and we get to see long racks of wagons with gold ore bins back in Palmerston.

And that's about it.