Passchendaele Journey

Ab 608 sits at Wellington Platform 9 shortly before departing for Trentham. The train made a number of shuttle runs during the weekend, with one shuttle each day having a play on board

14 October 2017

Ab 608 departs Wellington for Trentham

14 October 2017

On the return journey, Ab 608 leads the train tender first through Silverstream

14 October 2017

On board the next run, three soldiers and a nurse recall their excitement for the war before signing up. Here, the first soldier performs for the passengers

14 October 2017

The second character, a nurse, then appeared for her performance

14 October 2017

A Maori soldier character then took his turn to entertain passengers

14 October 2017

The Maori soldier looks over at the commander waiting for his turn while the train continues to Trentham

14 October 2017

Passengers look on as the commander takes his spot

14 October 2017

On arrival at Trentham, a brass band was on hand to greet passengers

14 October 2017

The carriages sit on the loop platform at Trentham, a seldom-used platform

14 October 2017

Ab 608 runs around the train at Trentham

14 October 2017

Ab 608 sits at Trentham waiting to depart

14 October 2017

FT 4282 stops at Trentham next to Ab 608 on a scheduled run to Wellington

14 October 2017

On the trip home, the characters reflected on the Battle of Passchendaele. The first character reads out a letter he sent to his parents

14 October 2017

The nurse character also reads out a letter, outlining the battle from the point of view of the general public back home

14 October 2017

The Maori soldier then reads out a letter addressed to his fiancée

14 October 2017

The commander then reads out his letter, wondering what went wrong with the battle

14 October 2017

Back at Wellington, DSC 2665 sits on Platform 8 wile Ab 608 waits to run around

14 October 2017

Ab 608 stops at the end of Platform 9 waiting to run around

14 October 2017