Cab Ride On 'Train 622' Palmerston North To Napier

[@shanevickers1654]

Now this is just awesome to watch... thank you for the coverage including comms...

[@kevinmahernz]

Thank you for this, a great way to see that part of the country for those of us who are not likely to go there any time soon

[@josephnatana5305]

That soundtrack. Cool! Video Cool!

[@alexswenson400]

@8:00 Palmerston North MKVI tamper group stabled at Hatuma lime siding.

[@tonymckeage1028]

Great Video Mark, especially important since the recent Cyclone, which has broken the link between hastings and napier, thanks for sharing

[@AG4QH1]

Great video. Thanks for taking us along. I like the part where you go through the middle of that fountain. Dave

[@MarkSeconi]

Thankyou, cheers for that!

[@lesliefulton9219]

I used to live near there, above a shoe store in the mall on the right hand side in the Middle of Hastings. Bit of history for me there in that little town of Hastings. My friend threw himself off the clock tower to the left of the water feature one night after his girlfriend broke up with him killing himself when we were about 16-17 (you can see the base of the tower). Silly thing to do over a girl, I used to ride this line all the time in the holidays, as it was the easiest way to get up to Nuhaka (Gisborne line). When i was real young they would run Red coaches up there full of kids off to the summer camps, later on it was the "green grasshopper" rail car. After they stopped passenger services, i often cycled up a few times a year. Thank you for putting up the video, if you do another one, can you get shots off all the stations on the way up, I didn't see Woodville, Dannevirke, etc.. It would be nice to see what they look like now days. was it simply too dark to get any good shots?

[@Blackscorpion1963]

This is one of the best videos here on KZbin I have had the pleasure to view on KiwiRail locomotive DXB 5074; 'Train 622 - Palmerston North to Napier freight train. It is mesmerizing viewing for we wannabe loco drivers. I must confess I am a DX loco nut...I did notice a lunatic driver at 13:28 - Driver in black car to the left is so dicing with DEATH - the signals are working meaning all vehicles must STOP at the crossing/s. The driver in the car refuses to OBEY the law and crosses through the railway line with the train merely 80 meters away. This type of driving is precisely why Kiwis are reputed to be some of the WORST drivers in the world. INSANE piece of driving. Thank you so much to vid uploader Mark Seconi I really appreciate your work.

[@MarkSeconi]

On the journey that day, we had four cars drive across the tracks in front of the train. Footage of the other three were not included in this video because they were missed by me or they were a distance away and the footage was shaky. A car did not wait for us at Woodville. The driver asked me if I managed to get it on video and you can hear me say 'No' at 3:16 approaching the crossing. At Otane we had two cars dart across the tracks in rapid succession over the crossing involved in the 1993 tragedy that killed Five people.

[@Blackscorpion1963]

@@MarkSeconi We just don't learn in this country. Gosh the train driver has more paper work than an accountant to fill in...ridiculous!

[@thecelticprince4949]

@@MarkSeconi NZ drivers are pretty tame in comparison to Brazilian drivers, New Zealand might have the occasional suicide jockey. In Brazil their a dime for a dozen. Cars, trucks, motorcycles and pedestrians, throwing themselves at trains. And each other. And with trains that are over a Hundred wagons long it takes em forever to stop.

[@geebee2276]

Simply awesome! Very enjoyable and well edited. Thanks for sharing.

[@MarkSeconi]

Thankyou!

[@loganseales682]

I've always wanted to see a good old NZR cab vid that isn't the the camera fixed to the front window, great work! Love to see this kinda stuff as a teen wanting to be a train engineer for Kiwi Rail after leaving school!

[@MarkSeconi]

Thankyou. you now how it goes, you get your video cards onto the computer and wham; there is way too much footage that has been recorded, and much of it is mundane. The hardest part was choosing what to keep in; I did not want to post the whole lot, hence the 8 second clips in this video which I hoped would keep the viewer interested. There was a radio playing music in the cab, so I have kept those songs, and overlaid them on some clips to help with the videos' flow. It was pure luck that 'Dreamweaver' by Gary Wright was playing as the train was weaving through those curves. The song was recorded in 1972, when this loco class was first being introduced. Also, a Tom Petty song appeared, just a few months before his death.I do enjoy watching cabride videos from around the world made in different styles. For me, the people side of trains make for interesting videoing.

[@peterscandlyn]

That was a decent vid Mark. Thanks for posting.

[@plonka73]

Very good love watching videos of the north island

[@MarkSeconi]

Thankyou!

[@anthony851]

The Galant GTO @ 14:35 has made cameo appearances on many videos of the Napier area. Anthony

[@MarkSeconi]

Yes!

[@HotForgeChaos]

What a classic old car!

[@robtrow6041]

Great video buddy and love the music to

[@MarkSeconi]

thankyou. I'm glad you liked the video.

[@MervynPartin]

I am intrigued- at 4:10, the signal aspect was green with a train clearly approaching from the other direction on the single line ahead, and did not change to red until the driver left the loco and used the trackside phone(?). Is there some safety protocol here that I am unaware of? Please enlighten me. Like your video, by the way.

[@MarkSeconi]

Hi Thankyou. I think that signal is a 'Points Indicator' and does not give the driver jurisdiction to pass it. The light in the video indicates the turnout is set for the main. The trains in the video are ruled by track warrants on that section; its cheap to do, as all you need is a pen and a radio telephone. The signals at that loop are independent of the national train control centre. At 11:05 (Hastings) you can see the train passing into the signalled section and a short time later the driver says good bye to the train control officer and proceeds onto Napier following the signals

[@MervynPartin]

Thanks for your reply. Now I understand it a bit better. I don't get to NZ very often, but I love the country and Napier was a great place to visit. Best wishes for Christmas

[@Jamie-Tane-media]

This signal is not displaying green, It is displaying purple. That signal is a points indicator, And purple means the points are set for that track.

[@MervynPartin]

Thank you for that. The colours are not always clear on KZbin videos, especially on bright lights and in this case, it did appear to me as green(ish). I had not seen purple used on signals before, except in France in the 1960s during a school trip.

[@Jamie-Tane-media]

Martin Turner The "points indicator" Is displaying purple, NOT green!!! You can check out the track warrent regulations here if you can't take my word for it: www.valleysignals.org.nz/regulations/generictwcregs.html#n9

[@cgtower8860]

Train driving to classic rock. Genesis, Tom Petty, Eagles, REM, Pink Floyd fantastic...only thing missing was Rush.

[@MarkSeconi]

Hi. Yes, the music was great. Interestingly, the youtube editor would not accept some of the songs for infringement reasons, even though they had been recorded in a locomotive cab from an ordinary radio and with a layer of noise from the 2240 kW engine present in the audio! So I had to 'dumb down' the quality of the music in places. For continuities sake, the audio has been overlaid upon some scenes, you might be able to tell.

[@robincoleman1350]

Unfortunately Rush isn't well known in NZ.

[@dx5051]

nice video!

[@MarkSeconi]

Thankyou dx5051. Your sister 5074 was very accommodating and hard working. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYTFkKyAbJdgaZY gives the trackside view

[@ollychap1985]

Can you explain what the chain device is for at the end of the video please.we don’t have any thing like that in the uk

[@Zuiderzee-Lives]

In case you haven’t found your answer somewhere else, good sir, that would be a ratchet type handbrake. They were an option on most US-built locomotives and rolling stock in early to middle years of the 20th century, but were eventually phased out in favor of the more traditional wheel type handbrake. They work perfectly well so even when they were no long available most locomotives and rolling stock fitted with a ratchet handbrake back then still have them even after rebuild programmes.

[@tigertiger1699]

Great vid, pity about the music.., the Dx have a beautiful rumble of their own...👍

[@canihavesome2591]

Cool vid watched from UK - couple of questions if I may...that line freight only? ...are the majority of lines between cities single track? Got rellies in Palmy and Fielding....

[@MarkSeconi]

Yes, the majority of NZ's rail network is single tracked. The Palmerston North to Gisborne line is freight only, and trains don't currently operate in the Gisborne section. This video is on the Palmerston North to Napier section which lost its passenger services in 2001. Passenger services are most likely to never return as the road network in this region adequately handles passenger needs.Under our National Party government (2008 -2017), this line was put under a 'managed decline' policy and trains were slowed to a maximum speed of 70km/hr. Passenger excursion charters are still permitted.

[@krisfonteyn8616]

Awesome vid Mark. As a belgian train conductor instructor I really enjoyed your video. I find it very interesting about the way the NZ signaling works and how many communication happens between conductor and control centre. Do you also know how the brake levers works, or maybe know the type of brake lever?

[@MarkSeconi]

Thankyou very much for the feed back. I am really happy to have had you enjoy this video. I wish I could spend more time with this video subject

[@micklatham8494]

DXBs have the Westinghouse 26L brake equipment.

[@LyfovRyan51]

What had happened to allow two trains to meet on a single track please?

[@sw6188]

Ok, here goes: That section of the line is under track warrant control. The train controller will issue track warrants to both trains with special clauses. Pay attention from 2:00 onwards. The train controller (lady) is giving the driver a track warrant over the radio and if you pause at 2:15 and read what he has written down, you will see: Clause 3: "Proceed from Woodville to Makotuku" Clause 5: "Enter the main at Makotuku to cross with 651". "to cross with" means there's going to be a train coming towards you that you need to stop for to allow it (or your train) to enter the loop for passing and in this case 651 is the train number. Makotuku is where the two trains are stopped at 4:10. The drivers know the line and know to stop short of the points indicators. The signal you can see at 4:10 is one, and it is showing purple (believe it or not) indicating that the points are set for the main line. There will be another points indicator facing the oncoming train. Driver of the train gets out and uses a key to operate the points allowing the oncoming train to enter the loop. Driver then requests a new track warrant (the previous one only got him from Woodville to Makotuku) at 4:55 allowing him to proceed and the driver of the other train will also get a new track warrant in the same fashion. I hope this helps. 👍

[@vernonsaayman9741]

Noise in the cab,?

[@sw6188]

Which noise? There are a few. 🤣

[@JamesEllison69]

15:14: they use toyota corollas to get around the yard?

[@emira30]

No, not really. This car is from a rental pool of vehicles. The rail assistant on the ground chose it to firstly carry out his tasks before leaving it parked beside the loco depot with the keys left in the ignition. It became the car that the Loco Engineer drove back to Palmerston North where he could clock off his shift.

[@cahyoh.harimurti8554]

1067mm gauge?

[@MarkSeconi]

Yes indeed 1067mm or 3'6".

[@aeroboof]

Hey Mark Seconi, Great video and I have a question to ask. How did you get a cab ride? Do you work for KiwiRail or did you know the engineer? Well thanks for sharing this with us. I'm actually going railfanning at the Napier Yard today. Bye

[@MarkSeconi]

No, I am not a rail employee. Yes, I am mates with the Loco Engineer. The catalyst for this train ride was that in July 2017, the issuing of loco cab passes was to be discontinued on tunnelled routes to people that have not undergone tunnel compliant safety training. Members of the public have been restricted from cabrides through the Kaimai, Otira and Rimutaka tunnels since about the year 2000, and now that restriction would be widened to include all New Zealand railway tunnels. So a few weeks before the new rule came into effect, the loco engineer in the video contacted his circle of friends and offered one last chance to apply for a cab pass on this line. It came about with short notice and everybody was busy except myself who managed to get a shift off work for the experience.

[@89.8kiwifm9]

I was fortunate to get a ride through the Kaimai Tunnel around 2002, in a high rail truck. My (late) friend was signals tech in the Waikato area and took me through at short notice. An experience I will never forget. Great vid, thank you for this - it's a treat to watch ANY rail stuff here in NZ!

[@SWATforce1]

So drivers are allowed to give friends and family rides in the cab provided they don’t go through a tunnel? I had a cab ride as a kid fron Wanganui City to East Town. It’s a childhood dream to be sitting in that drivers seat some day

[@alexrobertson9294]

Ok so what would one do for tunnel compliant training ? Just curious as to what that is

[@jameshowitt2463]

Great vid..but it is painfully slow through the gorge isn't. ..!

[@MarkSeconi]

yes its 10km/hr through these tunnels for some classes of loco like the Dx in the video. Then its 25km/hr through the Gorge. The line there after to Napier has been restricted to 70km/hr in recent years

[@jameshowitt2463]

@@MarkSeconi Track Warrant Control should be consigned to history as well...

[@sw6188]

@@jameshowitt2463 There are many sections of line in the country that are very remote and getting signal control into the area would be difficult if not impossible. In these locations, TWC works just fine.

[@ThroneOfBhaal]

Got anymore of these cab type ones? :D So hard to find stuff like this from home :)

[@MarkSeconi]

hi. no sorry, no more videos like this. One of these days, I may ask if I can gain another cab ride along a different line. incidentally, I won't be allowed through a tunnel. So my choices a limited on most routes

[@ThroneOfBhaal]

@@MarkSeconi Why not through tunnels? NZ has a few of those :P

[@MarkSeconi]

@@ThroneOfBhaal Would you believe on the very next day after the video was filmed, a rule was brought into force, that only tunnel qualified team members are allowed in a locomotive cab in a tunnel. It was one of the incentives to take that ride that day. People in the locomotive cab have to be trained in tunnel evacuation procedures and respirator usage.

[@351clevelandmodifiedmotor4]

where's the toilet?

[@DWtrainsNZ]

There isn't one. You have to get permission from train control to stop if you really need to go.

[@351clevelandmodifiedmotor4]

@@DWtrainsNZ dam the seats must be very smelly lol

[@sw6188]

@@351clevelandmodifiedmotor4 🤣🤣 Our engineers are masters of knowing when to go.

[@jameshowitt2463]

Now there has been a change of Government one wonders if this line's fortunes are brighter?

[@MarkSeconi]

I've thought that too; For a start they could lift the maximum speed limit up to 80km/hr. This would be done after all the long-term faults have been eliminated. There probably won't be a need for passenger services on this line, so there won't be a need to maintain it for 100km/hr traffic.

[@chrisstaylor8377]

Why do NZ trains allways look dirty

[@johntully3008]

A

[@Athenesucksass]

these DX Engines will soon be replaced by Chinese made junk I heard?...

[@ethant4531]

Already have. All DXs transferred to the South Island