Tangiwai Memorial Service

The day before the service on 7 May 2017, Ja 1275 ran an excursion train from Glenbrook to Ohakune, with the passengers spending the night there

6 May 2017

Ja 1275 heads south through the Waikato in thick fog, seen here passing alongside SH1 through Mercer

6 May 2017

Think fog is evident all the way through Mercer

6 May 2017

A group of photographers chasing the train south collect their shots at Oram Road

6 May 2017

Ja 1275 stops at Amokura to let DL 9204 bring train 138 out of the single track section

6 May 2017

At Huntly, Ja 1275 stopped in the loop to let the Northern Explorer pass, with DFB 7160 in charge. The train passed slowly to let passengers in the packed viewing carriage get a view of the steam train

6 May 2017

Ja 1275 heads out of Huntly and crosses Tregoweth Lane

6 May 2017

Ja 1275 stops at Hamilton to pick up passengers and let passengers stretch their legs

6 May 2017

Ja 1275 stopped at Hamilton station for a leg stretch

6 May 2017

Ja 1275 pulls into Te Awamutu station, with EF 30134 and EF 30192 waiting in the loop with train 390

6 May 2017

At Otorohanga, a crowd of an estimated 450 people greeted the train, along with passengers

6 May 2017

A huge crowd of people turned out to see the train arrive. During the stop, a ceremony was held to pass on wreaths to the locomotive crew

6 May 2017

A small display was set up at Otorohanga

6 May 2017

Otorohanga Mayor Max Baxter makes a short speech during the ceremony

6 May 2017

Max Baxtor finishes his speech and heads over to exchange wreaths

6 May 2017

At Te Kuiti, Ja 1275 was uncoupled from the train and moved into the siding for servicing

6 May 2017

The couplers between GVR's wooden-bodied and steel-bodied (56-ft) carriages

6 May 2017

Newly overhauled AL 1991 made its first outing at the end of the memorial train

6 May 2017

Ja 1275 sitting in the siding at Te Kuiti during servicing

6 May 2017

Ja 1275 gets a service in the siding at Te Kuiti

6 May 2017

Ja 1275 moves to pick up the second tank wagon

6 May 2017

Ja 1275 picks up the second tank wagon again before coupling back on

6 May 2017

Ja 1275 sitting at Te Kuiti with the carriages at the platform

6 May 2017

Running over 8 hours late, EF 30007 brings train 391T through Te Kuiti. This train prevented Ja 1275 from returning to its train as soon as it had finished servicing and delayed the excursion

6 May 2017

Ja 1275 sets back for a photo run just out of Te Kuiti

6 May 2017

Ja 1275 setting back for the first and only photo run

6 May 2017

Ja 1275 charges forward up the hill

6 May 2017

With the hills as a backdrop, Ja 1275 charges up the grade

6 May 2017

Ja 1275 whistles as it finishes up the photo run

6 May 2017

At Taumarunui, Ja 1275 dropped passengers at the platform then set back to take on water. Here, it sets forward again to pick up passengers

6 May 2017

Ja 1275 pulls into Taumarunui station with the sun starting to set

6 May 2017

Redundant Auckland carriage SD 5648 sits at Taumarunui

6 May 2017

Ja 1275's exhaust smoke contrasts against the sun as it sets

6 May 2017

At Oio, the train stopped at the site of a washout in 1991 that took the life of the driver Graeme Orange, and wrote off EF 30036 and EF 30088

6 May 2017

Ja 1275 arrives at Ohakune to drop passengers for the night and stable

6 May 2017

The following day, Ja 1275 prepares to depart Ohakune for Tangiwai, running tender first as it cannot be turned at Tangiwai

7 May 2017

Ja 1275 waits with its rake of carriages at Ohakune

7 May 2017

A crowd of people gather around to look at Ja 1275 before departure

7 May 2017

Passengers board the train early so that Ja 1275 can depart dead on time

7 May 2017

At Tangiwai, Ja 1275 reversed into the WPI siding to disembark passengers

7 May 2017

Passengers wait for the clear to go while passengers with mobility issues are loaded into buses provided by the Army

7 May 2017

Ja 1275 sits in the WPI siding while passengers disembark

7 May 2017

The Tangiwai bridge lies straight ahead from the WPI siding

7 May 2017

On arrival at the Tangiwai memorial site, a crowd of people have already gathered in the area

7 May 2017

A powhiri was held to welcome the passengers onto the memorial site. Visible on the left is the flag station sponsored by the RMTU

7 May 2017

The base of the newly installed flag station at Tangiwai

7 May 2017

The base of the flag station bears the logos of the sponsors, including KiwiRail

7 May 2017

The existing Tangiwai memorial at the site

7 May 2017