The ''Northland Express'', also known as the ''Opua Express'', was an express passenger

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

operated by the New Zealand Railways Department between 1925 and 1956. It ran from

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 ...

via Whangarei to

Opua Opua is a locality in the Bay of Islands, in the sub-tropical Northland Region of New Zealand. It is notable as the first port for overseas yachts arriving in the country after crossing the Pacific Ocean. In the original 1870s plans for the ...

in the Bay of Islands.

Operation

On 29 November 1925, the North Auckland Line linking Auckland to Whangarei and other parts of Northland was completed. Soon after passenger expresses began to operate, but the twisting, rugged nature of the railway line meant that they did not achieve particularly fast speeds. The ''Northland Express'' was the premier service north of Auckland and it operated thrice weekly in each direction. Mixed trains operated from the termini of the Okaihau and Dargaville branch lines to connect with the ''Express''. By the 1950s, the ''Northland Express'' was able to maintain a schedule of 5 hours and 20 minutes on the section between Auckland and Whangarei and was operated by

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 such as the J class. In tandem with the ''Northland Express'', a nightly mixed train ran between Auckland and Opua until 1956. This unnamed train was known locally as the '' Morepork'', after a breed of native owl.

Replacement

In the 1950s, the Railways Department made the decision to replace its remaining provincial expresses with

railcar A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a drive ...

services. 35 RM class 88 seater railcars were supplied in 1955, and in November 1956, the ''Northland Express'' was replaced by these railcars. They did not operate entirely the same route as the ''Northland Express''; at

Otiria Otiria is a rural locality in the Northland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It neighbours Moerewa to the east, with the nearest major town, Kawakawa a few kilometres further eastwards. Other nearby localities include Pokapu to the south ...

, instead of heading northeast on the

Opua Branch The Opua Branch or Otiria-Opua Industrial Line, partially still operational as the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway, is a former section of the North Auckland Line in the Northland Region of New Zealand, between Otiria and the Bay of Islands towns ...

, they ran northwest to Okaihau. From this time, Opua's passenger services were provided by mixed trains from Whangarei and they were not timetabled to provide a connection with the railcar service, although the Dargaville mixed continued to meet the railcars until March 1967, when passengers ceased to be carried on the Dargaville Branch. The railcars reduced the journey time between Auckland and Whangarei to 4 hours and 10 minutes, but mechanical faults with the railcars and the 1959 opening of the Auckland Harbour Bridge meant that the railcars did not have a long future. They ceased operating on 31 July 1967 and passenger services on the North Auckland Line and Okaihau and Opua branches were operated by mixed trains. The Okaihau mixed ended in 1974, followed by the others in 1976.

References

Bibliography

*Graham Hutchins. "Last Stop, Bay of Islands: The Opua Express, 1946." ''Last Train to Paradise: Journeys from the Golden Age of New Zealand Railways.'' Exisle Publishing, Jun 1, 2011 {{NZR Passenger Long-distance passenger trains in New Zealand Named passenger trains of New Zealand Railway services introduced in 1925 Railway services discontinued in 1956 1925 establishments in New Zealand 1956 disestablishments in New Zealand Discontinued railway services in New Zealand