The Daylight Limited was an express passenger train between

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

and

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

along the

North Island Main Trunk The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and se ...

. It commenced in 1925 and was replaced by the

Scenic Daylight The ''Scenic Daylight'' was a daytime express train in New Zealand, introduced on 17 December 1960 between Auckland and Wellington along the North Island Main Trunk Railway, replacing the ''Daylight Limited''. The service was steam-hauled initi ...

in 1963.

Introduction

After the introduction of the

Night Limited The ''Night Limited'' was an express passenger train that operated in New Zealand between Wellington and Auckland, utilising the entire length of the North Island Main Trunk. It commenced service on 15 December 1924 and was replaced by the S ...

in 1924, the

New Zealand Railways Department The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR (New Zealand Government Railways) and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway ...

investigated the possibility of a daylight train between Wellington and Auckland. It was introduced on a trial basis in 1925-26, but was then cancelled until another trial in 1929-30. The economic impact of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

intervened and the service was cut back to operating solely during the Christmas and Easter peak seasons.

Operation

In the off-peak season the Night Limited catered for passenger demand between Auckland and Wellington, but at the times of the most intense demand extra trains ran. In the early years of the service, A^B and sometimes W^AB class

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s operated the train, and later more modern locomotives such as the K^A class were used, with ED and EW electric locomotives between

and Paekakariki from 1940. The train made extended stops at

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader, ...

, Frankton,

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kuiti and 55 km west of ...

and Marton for refreshments: Marton refreshment rooms closed in 1954 and Mercer in 1958.

Replacement

In 1963, the train was replaced by the diesel-hauled

operating year-round.

References

New Zealand History Online - The Daylight Limited: Poster and Article

External links

{{NZR Passenger Long-distance passenger trains in New Zealand Railway services introduced in 1925 Railway services discontinued in 1963 1925 establishments in New Zealand 1963 disestablishments in New Zealand Discontinued railway services in New Zealand