The ''Taneatua 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 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 ...

that ran 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 Taneatua in the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...

, serving centres such as

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

and

Te Puke Te Puke is a town located 18 kilometres southeast of Tauranga in the Western Bay of Plenty of New Zealand. It is particularly well-known for the cultivation of Kiwifruit. Te Puke is close to Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Papamoa, and Maketu, whi ...

. It commenced in 1929 and operated until 1959.

Introduction

The immediate precursor to the ''Taneatua Express'', and a victim of its introduction, was the ''

Thames Express The ''Thames Express'' was an express passenger train operated by the New Zealand Railways Department between Auckland and Thames. It ran between 1908 and 1928. Introduction In the early 20th century, the railways that fanned out from Auckland ...

'', which operated from Auckland to

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. The

East Coast Main Trunk Railway The East Coast Main Trunk (ECMT) is a railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, originally running between Hamilton and Taneatua via Tauranga, connecting the Waikato with the Bay of Plenty. The ECMT now runs between Hamilton and Kawerau ...

, in its first incarnation, diverged from the

Thames Branch The Thames Branch railway line connected Thames, New Zealand, with Hamilton and was originally part of the East Coast Main Trunk railway. Part of the line between Morrinsville and Waitoa remains open and is in use as the Waitoa Branch line, ...

Paeroa Paeroa is a town in the Hauraki District of the Waikato Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou River and Ohinemuri River, and is approximately 20 kilo ...

(the Thames Branch later included the line from

Morrinsville Morrinsville is a provincial town in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, with an estimated population of as of The town is located at the northern base of the Pakaroa Range, and on the south-western fringe of the Hauraki Plains. ...

to Paeroa with the opening of the

Kaimai Tunnel The Kaimai Tunnel is a Rail transport in New Zealand, railway tunnel through the Kaimai Range in the North Island of New Zealand. Since it was opened in 1978, it has held the title of Tunnels in New Zealand#Railway Tunnels, longest tunnel, at , ...

deviation), and when it opened in 1928, Thames swiftly declined in status as a railway terminus as services began operating through to the Bay of Plenty. A direct passenger service between Auckland and the Bay of Plenty terminus in Taneatua commenced upon the East Coast Main Trunk's opening, rendering the ''Thames Express'' superfluous as the ''Taneatua'' service ran all of the ''Thames Express''s route except the final leg between Paeroa and Thames. Accordingly, the ''Thames Express'' ceased to operate and the ''Taneatua'' train was upgraded to the ''Taneatua Express''.

Operation

When the East Coast Main Trunk opened to Taneatua in 1928, track conditions were not optimal and the train took 12 hours to complete its journey from Auckland to Taneatua. Over the next year, the trackage was upgraded and the ''Taneatua Express'' commenced operating. It took 10.5 hours to run between Taneatua and Auckland via a circuitous route. It was nonetheless one of the quicker forms of transport for its era, although the rise of the private car began to impact upon traffic. The proposed direct Paeroa–Pokeno Line from

to Pokeno on 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 ser ...

would have facilitated a faster service; though construction commenced in 1938 and some earthworks constructed, the project was stopped by the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was never completed. In 1950 the train was speeded up by about an hour, when it ceased serving flag stations east of Paeroa. The ''Taneatua Express'' operated daily, but the economic impacts 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 ...

and Second World War as well as post-war coal shortages meant that its services were often cut back to operate just twice or thrice weekly in each direction. Motive power was first provided 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 of the A^B class and during the 1940s J class engines took over.

Replacement

By the 1950s, the lack of frequent, daily operation began to prove a significant discouragement to prospective travellers. The ''Taneatua Express'' survived to be the second-last steam-hauled provincial express in New Zealand. The final service operated from Taneatua to Auckland on 7 February 1959 and consisted of three passenger carriages and a guard's van hauled by J 1217. A wreath was placed on the front of the locomotive to signify the occasion. The very next day, New Zealand's final steam-hauled provincial express, the ''

Rotorua Express The ''Rotorua Express'' was a passenger express train operated by 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 depart ...

'', ceased operating. Both expresses were replaced by

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 operated by RM class 88 seater railcars, but the ''Taneatua Express''s replacement terminated in Te Puke, permanently ending regular passenger service to destinations beyond that town. The railcar itself did not last long; it was cancelled in 1967, and this was as much due to mechanical problems with the railcars as with patronage numbers on the long and circuitous rail route from Auckland. Rail passenger services to the Bay of Plenty were not reinstated until the 1991 introduction of the ''

Kaimai Express The ''Kaimai Express'' long-distance passenger train was operated by Tranz Rail under the Tranz Scenic brand (originally by New Zealand Rail Limited under the InterCity Rail brand) between the North Island cities of Auckland and Tauranga via Ham ...

'' from Auckland to Tauranga which used Silver Fern railcars running via the more direct new Kaimai tunnel route until the service was discontinued in 2001.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{NZR Passenger Long-distance passenger trains in New Zealand Named passenger trains of New Zealand Railway services introduced in 1929 Railway services discontinued in 1959 1929 establishments in New Zealand 1959 disestablishments in New Zealand Discontinued railway services in New Zealand