Ab 608 Visits Auckland

Heading down the grade into Pōkeno, Ab 608 leads the Matamata Explorer from Glenbrook to Matamata, heading GVR's yellow carriages solo

Ab 608 drifts downhill, heading for Matamata. Ab 608 is being used on a number of excursions while on loan to the Glenbrook Vintage Railway

That evening, Ab 608 returns through Pōkeno, charging up the Whangarata bank with the return Matamata Explorer

Ab 608 heads for its destination of Glenbrook and ultimately Waiuku as it heads back up the Whangarata bank

At Pukeoware, Ab 608 reverses onto the red set, ready for a Passchendaele Society charter

Ab 608 sets back onto GVR's carriages at Pukeoware

Ab 608 waits for departure from Pukeoware to Glenbrook on an empty run

At Glenbrook, a small ceremony was held remembering the Battle of Passchendaele, the locomotive's namesake

After speeches, a wreath was placed on the locomotive's running board at Glenbrook

The wreath on the running board of Ab 608, alongside its permanent Passchendaele plaque

After the ceremony, Ab 608 runs around the train, ready to run a return trip to Victoria Ave

Ab 608 arrives at Pukekohe station, with DBR 1254 and DC 4818 in tow. The train was heading for Tauranga and back as the Kaimai Express, with Ab 608 coming off the train at Waharoa with the diesel locomotives taking over for the Kaimai tunnel

Ab 608 pulls into Platform 4 at Pukekohe, with the Kaimai Express bound for Tauranga

At Waharoa, Ab 608 was cut off the train and moved forward, then DBR 1254 and DC 4818 took the train around the triangle heading for the Kaimai tunnel and Tauranga

After arriving at Tauranga and running a local trip to the tunnel portal and back, DBR 1254 sits at the head of the train in the loop at Tauranga while passengers board

DBR 1254 sitting on the loop at Tauranga while passengers disembark

In the loop at Tauranga, DC 4818 now leads the train after the locomotives have run around

Looking out the back of the train as it departs Tauranga back towards Glenbrook

After exiting the Kaimai tunnel, the train stops at Hemopo above the road, where Ab 608 was reattached

Back at Pukekohe, the three locomotives sit at the head of the train as passengers disembark to head home

Ab 608 waits at Pukekohe station for a signal to depart. Under new ETCS rules, heritage trains can run between Pukekohe and Paerata without ETCS as long as they can get a clear run. This means that Ab 608 must wait for the South City Line service ahead of it to clear Paerata before it can depart for Glenbrook