In mid-August 2008 the heaviest snowfalls since 1974 hit the famed Arthurs Pass route across New Zealand's Southern Alps. The highway across the mountains was closed for two days and while the parallel Midland Railway remained open, significant snow drifts buried several crossing loops and forced KiwiRail to run several 'ploughing' light engine movements during 14, 15 and 16 August. This caused severe delays to coal and freight trains along the route, exemplified here by an eastbound freight train passing a wintry Jacksons, having departed Greymouth (around 60-90 minutes to the west) almost 24 hours earlier on 15 August. Led by locomotives DC4587 and DFT7132, the train only got as far as Jacksons Siding on the western side of the pass before the weather and a number of trains queued ahead of it saw it stabled for the night. Otira 'bank' engines DXC5212, DXC5241 and DXC5419 were sent the following afternoon to assist the train up to Otira and then up through the 8.5 kilometre tunnel to Arthurs Pass. From there the DC and DFT would continue across the pass to reach Middleton Yard in Christchurch before midnight.
DXC5212-DXC5241-DXC5419-DC4587-DFT7132-Jacksons
Trains on 3' 6" (1.067m) track from Whangarei to Bluff with virtually heritage rebuilt EMD and GE locomotives still the mainstay power. The network was privatized in 1990's and operated by Toll until 2008 when state owned KiwiRail was established.
