Waihi Goldfields Railway - 4K POV cam

[@MichaelMossmanNZ]

Thank you @geoffmackley for another great vid. I was able to follow along in Google Maps (on a second monitor) and gee, the rail takes a meandering course through the farmland, not always following the road. Based on the info in your very good Description section, I guess the rail was there long before the state highway =)

[@PaulSmith-eb2eg]

Had one trip on the old line, Apata to Paeroa when temp LA at Tauranga, just before the line closed. (Learning the Road, on paper..). All subsequent runs as LE went via the new tunnel. Thanks for a bit of refreshing.

[@alanb9337]

Paeroa to Waihi rail line. 1898 - NZ Government position that they see little urgency in constructing the rail line. 1899 - NZ Government minister hears private companies have offered to construct Paeroa to Waihi railway as they foresee some revenue potential . NZ Government gets involved in progressing rail line construction./Excerpt 1966 Encyclopaedia of NZ. The legacy of 'small and as cheap as possible' tunnels from the days of the “Vogel Railways” has seriously handicapped New Zealand railway operations. In 1955 a start was made with the lowering of the track in certain small-bore tunnels on the North Island Main Trunk line, thus permitting the operation of American-built diesel locomotives./ The Pokeno to Paeroa Rail line was curtailed in 1939./ 'Karangahake Tunnel' was listed at 1 in 50 which is less than the Otira's 1 in 33. The Athenree Gorge rail section's land was used by the modernised road. (as seen on 1970s topo maps)

[@bwk4528]

Given all the work done on Pokeno-Paeroa in the 1930s it would have made more sense to have picked that up in the 1960s instead of what eventually become the Kaimai Deviation.

[@peterfinucane8122]

Was this filmed from one of the DBR locomotives?. Great to see these being used. I see 2 more stored at Taumarunui yard as well.