Please click on the images to see a larger image and a brief description.

Introduction: I have many of images from my travels in the southern portion of the North Island. Please note that all railway images that were taken on the property of Tranz Rail were done with either direct permission or with a cab pass in hand. I will start mid-way into my New Zealand travels at a place called Whareroa and later as time permits I will add to this page the images from places such as New Plymouth, Stratford, Palmerston North, and along the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT). 2002-March-02 Let us take a short train ride on an empty milk train from Whareroa to Patea. Prior to our ride let us quickly walk around the yard at Whareroa, home of what may be the largest diary plant in the world. We will not go onto the dairy plant property at this time as our train is due to depart in a few minutes. We find near the yard office a single DAR and a pair of DFT locomotives.

Time to get to the other end of the yard and join the empty milk train which will run from Whareroa to Patea. At Patea the drivers will switch. This is done not because of the distance but rather the driver from Whareroa is getting near his maximum hours of service and instead of waiting for a new driver from Palmerston North, Tranz Rail had made the decision to keep this train on schedule as the empty milk tanks are due back for loading. We will be riding the head-end on DFT #7145. And away we go. I spent the first few kilometers talking to the driver. Then we came upon this cutting and I decided to put the E-20N digi to work. Three images of the cutting and then I returned to the conversations with the driver.

As we made our way across this valley I took a few more images. Look at all that green grass, no wonder the dairy business is thriving in New Zealand.

Approaching the town of Patea and the sunlight for photography has returned........... for a while.

Back at Whareroa and the sun is setting and the clouds are moving in.