The first train to travel the length of the North Island main trunk line, the ‘Parliament Special’ left Wellington on the evening of 7 August. On board were Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward and other members of Parliament heading to Auckland to greet the American navy’s ‘Great White Fleet’.
The train travelled over a temporary, unballasted track in the central section of the still-unfinished main trunk line. It was hauled in turn by locomotives from the Wellington & Manawatu Railway Company, New Zealand Railways, the Public Works Department and New Zealand Railways again. The trip took 20½ hours.
The main trunk line was not formally opened until 6 November, when Ward drove home a final polished silver spike at Manganuioteao, near Erua. Regular services began soon after, and an express train introduced in February 1909 made the trip in 18 hours.
Image: the ‘Parliament Special’ – follow link to see this image and hear the railway guard describe the journey.
Read more on NZHistory
Rise and fall – The North Island main trunk lineHistory of New Zealand, 1769-1914 – A history of New Zealand 1769-1914Makatote Viaduct – 100 New Zealand Places
External links
- Engineering heritage: North Island Main Trunk (IPENZ)
- North Island Main Trunk Line 'Last Spike' Memorial (Heritage NZ)
- Raurimu Spiral (Heritage NZ)
- Makohine Railway Viaduct (Heritage NZ)
- Ohakune to Horopito Coach Road (Heritage NZ)
- Birth of a national railway system (1966 encyclopaedia)
How to cite this page
'First train runs length of main trunk line', URL: /first-direct-train-trip-between-wellington-and-auckland, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 4-Jun-2015
