TRAINS - EPISODE 2

I don't remember when I first boarded a train but I do remember the first time that I rode on a tram.

Wellington used to have a great tram service that ran all over the city, even up the hills to Brooklyn and Karori. I started my schooling at St Joseph's Primary, the buildings of which were later taken over by St Patrick's College and I moved to St Anne's Primary in Newtown. My first tram trip that I remember was boarding the tram at the corner of John Street and Adelaide Road with my mother on the way to St Joseph's. I was 5 years old.
After a few trips with my mother I then progressed to travel on the tram with my sister and brother who also went to St Joseph's. Later. When I went to St Anne's at about 6 and a half I travelled on my own on the tram - something that in today's snowflake generations would be unheard of.

As a 5 year old, boarding a tram was fairly daunting. It was a big metal monster with steps high off the ground. There were usually some adults or older students to help though if I was struggling.

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I said that I couldn't remember my first train ride but the earliest I remember is the train from Lyttelton to Ashburton after sailing from Wellington on the TEV Maori.

TEV Maori

In the late 1950s and early 1960s our family and many of our relatives travelled to the South Island on the TEV Maori. Fortunately, by the time that the ill-fated TEV Wahine was in service we had switched to flying (DC3s). I mentioned the Maori leaving Wellington in a previous post HERE

Every trip was exciting and friends and family used to throw streamers

The train from Lyttelton to Ashburton was pulled by a JA- Class steam engine and fairly barrelled along.

I remember the sounds and smells and the rocking motion - all exciting for a kid of about seven. We would be met at Ashburton by some relatives and driven to Eiffelton mid-Canterbury where the grandparents lived or, stayed in Hinds,  Ashburton or on a farm depending on which lot we were visiting at the time. I enjoyed the train ride so much that I was all set to head back the other way and didn't want to get off.

It was likely this experience with spectacular daytime views of the Canterbury Plains and the Southern Alps or the nighttime excitement of the rushing lights and mournful train whistle that started my love of trains. I do know that I've always looked for train travel as my first option whenever possible and have had many enjoyable trips over the years - some of which I will share in further episodes.

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS - ARLO GUTHRIE