Rollin Rollin Rollin, Rollin Rollin Rollin RAILFREIGHT!!!!!

Found that old ad on YouTube and in the Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision's archives
totally don't have it as a ringtone lol. At least you know who's phones ringin!

Pity the rail industry doesn't operate like this any more.

Anyhoo, since some of you are probably here from my YouTube uploaded rail videos, I have planned to visit Upper Hutt this coming Friday (Tripod and camera with me, of course).

Thought it was time to get some different scenery, as Tawa is getting a slight bit stale.

Of course I will have a Day Rover or whatever Metlink call them now (I think they're still called that). So hopefully with that I can get some shots at multiple stations! Pity the Ganz sets don't run anymore. Would be awesome footage from the front of the train!
With that said, I may have sent an email to metlink regarding cab rides... (Cab+Camera=interesting footage)
[EDIT] I've been informed by Metlink that due to "safety and driver distraction" cab rides are a no-go. Kiwirail on the other hand only says nope if there are tunnels, because of Pike river.

Whilst I haven't been given an answer yet, at least I get a response about the 'ticket' from someone within 24 hours, unlike KiwiRail's useless online form...
I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR A RESPONSE FOR TEN MONTHS NOW YA HEAR ME KIWIRAIL?! AND THAT WAS JUST THE FIRST BLOODY FORM I FILLED. GOT ANOTHER TWO MORE WAITING FROM APRIL AND SEPTEMBER... UNHAPPY IS HOW I WOULD NICELY PUT IT... Trust me you don't want to know what I would REALLY want to write...

It gave me an error when I tried it yesterday. Maybe they've blocked me! XD

Rant over *breaths deeply and calmly* 

 So, thanks for viewing what is more a rant than whats to come and I hope you enjoy it when it comes out!

[WIP] Trainz HVL: Ava Station

Not much done with Ava station really. Just extended the line a bit. the line will be replaced once I have more accurate info on the curvatures?

The great wall of Woburn reminds me of what needs to go

Trainz HVL as of 20/09/2017

Track currently up to Naenae but nothing else. Currently focusing on Waterloo and Woburn down to Ava

Hutt Workshops from the fence - 15/07/2017

[EDIT]: Looks like someone from KiwRail either saw me on CCTV (HI!!!!) or saw these photos and decided to put up a fence on the bridge. They'll probably claim Health & Safety and that "it's private land" or "that's trespassing, you could die". Being completely honest here and with all due respect to KiwiRail, but the unions probably wouldn't let jack shit run on that rail. The last time the gracefield line operated was in 2002 and sure, since then it's probably been used to store a few things whilst some stuff was taken out of the workshops, but other than that, it's run down and the only H&S risk to people is rust :D

After finishing up filming trains (Just EMU units really, don't know when the freight comes), I decided on-route back home to stop and check out KiwiRail's Hutt Workshops.

So these are some of the images taken on a quiet Sunday evening, behind the fence of course!

Note: I didn't plan to visit here after filming. If I had I would have brought my actual camera, rather than the action cam I use to film trains.

What I would do just to hop in a Ganz one last time and appreciate the front view, and hop in a DC just to hear that 12-645 engine... obviously it would have to be legal, I don't really want to have to deal with the courts :)

Total Annihilation Gaming

Below is video evidence of admin abusing his powers:
(I did not record this footage)

That video was posted on Total Annihilation Gaming's forum. Within approx 30 minutes it was removed and replaced with this:

"Video removed, This was an old incident, already dealt with. There is no need to revive it for ones own personal vendetta."

The server owner also posted this:

My thoughts on: EF class withdrawl

Photo: Cody Coper (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

This is a tricky one for me. On one hand I can see why they did it and it makes sense. But on the other it is a backwards step.

I qoute from Lloyd Burr: "The state-owned rail company has chosen Chinese-built diesel engines to replace its antiquated EF locomotives which have run between Hamilton and Palmerston North since 1988."

30 year old locomotives should not be in the state that they are in. Hell, even the EM/ET class "Ganz Mavag" EMU's which entered service between 1982-83 are still in reasonable condition.
Although with that said, the EM class and EF Class are very different animals.

The reason behind the reduced lifespan of these locomotives surely would have to have been the privatisation that happened with the sale of New Zealand Rail in the 90's. Tranz Rail has put off maintenance of the entire network and the quality of the locomotives, rolling stock, stations and track had degraded to such a low level that even today Kiwirail is still spending lots in order to bring the network back into shape.

It's never a good sign that Tranz Rail was nominated and took out not one, not two, but THREE Roger Awards For The Worst Transnational Corporation Operating in New Zealand.

I quote from the Roger awards of 2000 and 2002 (F.Y.I. Tranz Rail was nominated and took out the awards in 1997, 2000 and 2002)