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They travel by trains and automobiles – not often by plane! – but some will arrive in finer style. Providing vintage train travel to the National Agricultural Fieldays was a natural fit, Glenbrook Vintage Railway (GVR) chair Glenn Deed says.
GVR has run such services but not for a number of years.
“It’s not in and of itself a completely new concept, but it is popular,” Deed confirms. “It’s an opportunity to make life easier for locals going to Fieldays and, essentially, form a bit of a partnership with organisers by bringing punters down for the day.”
Due to its popularity, Fieldays can result in slow progress on the Southern Motorway – GVR’s service is intended to avoid this while making the journey part of the overall experience almost as much as the destination.
“There’s food and refreshments on the train, passengers can have a cup of tea or coffee, a wine or beer on the way. They can put their feet up and enjoy the scenery from our carriages or open-air balcony while travelling on an iconic diesel engine.”
GVR’s famed steam engine won’t be pulling the train, but the diesel engines are grand old dames themselves and heritage coaches provide insight into a time when rail was king.
“Our diesels date back to the 1960s, they’re vintage engines – they’re an important part of our aim to preserve New Zealand’s railway heritage.”
The service includes admission to Fieldays where passengers will have five hours to explore. They may then return directly to Auckland or continue to ride the rails to Taumarunui, home of the Taumarunui Railway Station Museum and a popular destination for rail enthusiasts.
Fieldays runs June 10–13 at the Mystery Creek Events Centre south of Hamilton. GVR’s train will make tracks on ‘super Saturday’ (June 13) – the last day of the event usually includes the finals of many of its competitions.
While it definitely won’t be a case of standing room only, tickets are selling at least as fast as his trains travel, Deed says, so it pays to book as soon as possible or risk missing the boat… so to speak.
For more information, visit gvr.org.nz.
