Railway Reminiscing- 1

Elsewhere I penned how photography became the preferred expression of my railway fascination. I have been thinking about that while contributing to FB pages, NZ Rail photography and NZ Rail Geography. For some years my railway interest was on the back burner while I took on a craze for mega bicycle travel in several countries. Photography, however, remained a common activity across all interests.

Apart from owning a succession of wonderful cameras, a prized early possession was the booklet of New Zealand Railway timetables. It was purchased from a railway station for the princely sum of One shilling.

Prior to having access to a motor car, I had to get to railway locations. I could bike to Christchurch railway station. An option was to take the 10 am Greymouth railcar as far as Springfield, arriving at 11.16 am. I could get a shot of the railcar departing, hopefully with a Torlesse mountains backdrop. Soon after a west-bound goods followed. It was typically Kb-hauled.

Then it was a matter of amusing myself to be ready to catch the afternoon Christchurch-bound railcar at 2.20 pm. That was during the early 1960s. I recall wandering along the line as far as the Kowai viaduct. The new viaduct was completed. Beside it was the remains of the original bridge which lost its central span in a flood on April 22, 1951.

I would be home by 5 pm in time for the evening meal.

Another, weekend option, was taking the Greymouth railcar to Arthurs Pass where I stayed in the YHA. I would spend the rest of the day close to the railway to catch activity involving the Kb. class steam locos and Eo. class electrics.

 Not much happened on Sunday so I went walking in the mountains. About 8 pm on Sunday evening I got the railcar to Christchurch, arriving about 11pm. I rarely relished riding my bike home so late at night, especially if I had dozed on the railcar.

Arthurs Pass is responsible for my railway passion. My father belonged to the Canterbury Mountaineering Club. So most holidays prior to him getting his first motor car were at Arthurs Pass. We got there aboard the West Coast express departing at 9.50 am. Our never complaining mother carried everything essential for the family of four in improvised carriers. One container had been an unlikely oval hat box. Our father had a back pack, a souvenir from WW2. We always had a cottage to stay in. It would have been built for those working on building the Otira rail tunnel. One cottage was ``Gaya.’’ Formally the tunnel engineer’s dwelling, it was occupied by a colourful Scotsman, Charles Warden.

 If we needed assistance getting to our accommodation from the railway station, there was local taxi driver, Jack Suiter. He had two veteran Rolls Royce taxis. He drove at break-neck speeds on the shingle roads.

Hence, my passion for railways and the Alpine environment never looked backwards. Later, I enjoyed travel in countries that thrived on railways and Alpine environments. An obvious choice was Switzerland.  I dubbed Switzerland as an ``Arthurs Pass on steroids.’’

Back to my early teenage years. I found companions with the railway photography bug. Some had transport. We would drive to Kowai Bush just beyond Springfield and walk about 5 km. to the 37 metre-high Pattersons Creek viaduct. One tunnel on the line could be walked around.

At the viaduct, we waited for the Greymouth-bound railcar to cross. We knew it would then be safe to walk across the viaduct and await the following west-bound goods train. A small hill on the far side offered an interrupted view of the viaduct. Often the locomotive crew would spot us and made themselves visible in our photographs. 

We might later get an east bound goods, and then walk back to Kowai Bush. One time an expected Kb was replaced by a pair of diesels, Dgs. We debated if we were disappointed or not. We concluded we were fortunate in photographing locos belonging to the future. Yarning was part of the rewards. We were young people with a curiosity for a wealth of subjects. In time girls would be part of the discussion even if they were to lead to personal derailments, figuratively and literally.