Resources
Find a list of useful links and a New Zealand Railway Map to help plan your rail journeys or researching NZ railways.
NZ Rail Websites
www.fronz.org.nz
Federation of Rail Organisations of NZ. Includes a listing of all rail museums & heritage rail operators in NZ. Includes trams. Steam Inc is a prominant member of FRONZ
www.nzrsr.co.nz
NZ Rolling Stock Register. Has listings of all preserved locomotives & rolling stock throughout New Zealand.
www.railheritage.org.nz
Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand. Has a comprehensive register of significant NZ rail heritage items. Especially station buildings & goods sheds.
www.railsoc.org.nz
NZ Railway & Locomotive Society. A very long established organization. Well known for its publications and research archives. One of our regularly operating steam locos, Ab608 Passchendaele is on long term lease from the NZRLS. An extensive archieves collection is based at Ava. Restoration of ex Wellington & Manawatu Railway cars takes place at Silverstream.
The NZRLS also owns steam locos WAB794 and X442 both currently based at Feilding Steam Rail.
www.kiwirail.co.nz
KiwiRail. NZ national rail operator, includes Great Journeys of New Zealand (long distance passenger services & Interislander ferries). Passenger services include The Northern Explorer between Auckland & Wellington, The Coastal Pacific from Christchurch to Picton, Tranz Alpine running from Christchurch to Greymouth and the Capital Connection running between Palmerston North and Wellington. The Capital Connection to Palmerston North uses ex British Mark 2 carriages that have recently been totally refurbished. Now classified as SR cars
www.metlink.org.nz
Information on Wellington area suburban rail services including frequent Wellington to Masterton train services. Daily Masterton trains use rebuilt ex British Mark 2 carriages ( now class SW & SE) hauled by diesel locos. An ideal short train trip to the Wairarapa. They run from Wellington to Masterton several times a day.
www.tehuiatrain.co.nz
Te Huia,a new rail service running between Hamilton and Auckland. Monday to Saturday. Te Huia uses extensively rebuilt ex British Mark 2 carriages now classed as SR cars with DFB diesel locos operating in a push-pull configuration. In Auckland Te Huia uses the Strand train station
The Marlborough Flyer Tourist train
A summer heritage diesel hauled scenic tourist train between Picton and Seddon that we operate for Pounamu Tourism Group. It is amongst the top New Zealand train trips. Steam Inc have been working as a close partner with Pounamu since 2016 in the startup and operation of this heritage train service. Some rail journeys start from Blenheim station but most from Picton. For the railfan along with travelling on the restored carriages and locos other highlights of the trip are the steep climb out of Picton to Elevation and later in the journey the steep climb through the Dashwood Pass. Train carriages are mostly our 100 plus year old open platform stock. Motive power is one of our sixty year old veteran EMD G12 diesel electric DA locos.There is time for a photo opportunity and legstretch at the Seddon village while the loco changes ends. The next summer season commences in late October 2024.
The iconic Kingston Flyer tourist steam train NZ has resumed operation running public trips on Sundays with two departure times. Next summer season starts late Sept 2024.
www.wellingtontrams.org.nz
Wellington Tramway Museum and Kapiti Coast Electric Tramway located just up the road from us at Queen Elizabeth Park.
www.kapitiheritage.org.nz/
Details of the numerous museums in the Kapiti area.
stationmuseum.co.nz/
Paekakariki Station Museum, our neighbouring society. They have several of our smaller railroadiana items on display. The group has also restored the signal box at the south end of the station platform. Museum is open weekend & public holidays. Afternoons.
www.marinenz.com
Kapiti US Marines Trust. Aimed at preserving and promoting World War II US Armed Forces history in the Kapiti district. 15,000 US Marines were based in our area during WWII.
www.Bluetrain.co.nz
A new Kapiti café in Paraparumu utilising two ex Wellington English Electric multiple unit carriages. Only open for group bookings.
www.kapitirail.org.nz
A miniature railway at nearby Raumati Beach.
www.railex.org.nz
RailEx is an annual model railroad exhibition held in the Wellington/Porirua/Hutt area. For 2024 is being held on 16th & 17th November at Taita. Steam Inc usually has a display and sales table.
www.tracksafe.co.nz
NZ rail safety organisation.
Tour Operators and Event Organisers that use our trains plus other websites
www.ontrackevents.co.nz/
Ontrack events specialise in immersive events and experiences that frequently use our train. Highlight trips include the North Pole Express and the Wizard Academy Train. Next North Pole Express train is in Dec 2024.
www.takeiteasytours.nz
Whanganui based tour operator that regularly coordinates coach tours with our NZ train trips.
www.kapiticoastnz.com
The new Kapiti Coast tourism page.
www.passchendaelesociety.org
The prime objective of the Passchendaele Society is to increase community awareness and recognition of the events at Passchendaele and the Western Front related to the Great War of 1914-1918.
www.baytours.co.nz
Hawkes Bay based tour operator with a travel club making regular use of our NZ rail journeys.
Established in 2016, Pounamu Tourism Group (Pounamu) is an award-winning inbound tour operator (ITO) that provides memorable tourism experiences by train & coach in the South Island of New Zealand. Pounamu is based in Christchurch and owns the following brands which Steam Inc is contracted to operate:
A summer heritage diesel hauled tourist train ride between Picton and Seddon that we operate for Pounamu. Some train trips start from Blenheim Railway station. For the train enthusiast one of the journey highlights is the long climb through the steep Dashwood Pass. Motive power is one of our sixty year old vintage EMD DA locos. The next summer season commences in October 2024.
Heritage NZ scenic train trip to Kaikoura from Blenheim and Christchurch
A NZ rail journey deep into the heart of the Southern Alps by heritage train
- Sir Edmund Hillary Explorer
South Island Rail & Coach Tour. Features Marlborough Flyer, Kingston Flyer, Taieri Gorge, Coastal Pacific and Tranz Alpine rail services. - Taieri Gorge train tour
An iconic New Zealand rail journey through the rugged Taieri Gorge operated by Dunedin Railways and marketed by Pounamu for cruise ship passengers.
Exciting news from Pounamu is that they have just acquired the Capital Connection “S” car (Ex BR mark 2 cars) train consist that until recently was used on the run between Wellington and Palmerston North. These carriages will be used to expand their South Island rail tour offerings. The carriages arrived in Dunedin from the North Island in August 2024.
www.readersrailtours.co.nz
Stuff (formerly Fairfax) newspaper readers tours. North Island rail tours often utilise our train for some sectors.
Kapiti Accommodation
Most of our local train trips start from the Parkakariki Train Station. Trains heading north also pickup at Paraparaumu train station and Waikanae station.
www.finnshotel.co.nz/
Finns, a modern hotel on the site of the old Paekakariki Hotel. Virtually at the end of the Paekakariki station platform.
www.elliottsmotorlodge.co.nz
Elliotts Comfort Inn. A motel in the centre of Paraparaumu, 2 minutes walk to Railway Station, Kapiti bus interchange and shopping centre. Suitable if you are connecting with the Northern Explorer or Capital Connection trains.
www.paekakarikiholidaypark.co.nz/
Paekakariki Holiday Park has camping and cabin accommodation. About a 20 min walk to Paekakariki railway station. Most of our train trips depart from the Paekakariki Station platform.
New Zealand Railway Maps & Our Carriage Fleet Summary
Railway North Island locations [PDF, 88 KB]
Railway South Island locations [PDF, 41 KB]
KiwiRail Network Map
Map of the KiwiRail network, which includes tracks, locations, km pegs, level crossings, bridges and tunnels.
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