New Zealand Railway History: Coast to Coast - Railways poetically promotes the Trans-Alpine route before the Train-Alpine Express

Coast to Coast A scenic rail adventure

The alpine route of the pioneers

Across the plains to Springfield - a quiet introduction to adventure

Enter the 'Giant's Backyard'

Christchurch-Greymouth route map

A new world of contrast

Otira - gateway to Westland

History unfolds before your eyes

In 1983, the Railways Corporation published this leaflet to promote the Christchurch-Greymouth Express, and it used the dramatic, almost poetic style than many of the promotional leaflets had at the time. It contrasts with the more functional shorter promotional leaflet seen below, in colour, published the following year.

The 1983 leaflet contains multiple references and a few images of the railway experience at the time, which consisted of Ac Class converted 88-seat Fiat railcars hauled by DJ class locomotive. Describing the train as "the coaches of the Greymouth train show few outward signs of wear from the journey for which they are now veterans...". "Inside a carpeted floor welcomes the traveller to reclining, well-padded seats which offer comfort and quiet relaxation for the four-hour fifty-five minute journey" ,with an image of the Ac cars at Christchurch's previous railway station (Moorhouse Avenue).

The whole leaflet is worth a read for imagery such as "A small dog dashes up to the yard fence bordering the railway line, ears flapping, loudly barking his daily, unanswered challenge to the train".

Besides describing scenery, it clearly separates the journey into segments from Christchurch to Springfield, Springfield to Otira and Otira to Greymouth.

It has a drawn depiction of the now long closed Springfield refreshment rooms (closed once the TranzAlpine was introduced with on-board buffet). It notes "Wise travellers stock up with canned drinks and edibles here... the next refreshment stop is at Otira, two hours away... and there's some hard climbing ahead". Not that the passengers are having to make much effort!

It notably depicts the architecture of tiny Craigieburn station, and the larger Arthur's Pass reminiscent of a Swiss alpine design. Beyond Cass it notes "pas the remains of old tank locomotives, red with rust, half-buried in the shingle at the trackside. Relics of the age of steam, they continue to serve the railway providing bulwarks against the erosion of valley walls".

The Otira Tunnel is described (now a century old), along with a "timely refreshment stop at Otira station" to the West Coast greenery. Curiously it depicts Stillwater Junction station saying "passengers for Westport change here" although there had been no passenger rail service to Westport at the time (or since 1967), but it may have been meaning coach service.

The second leaflet is not without its charm, with colour imagery, and an edited version of the description in the above leaflet. Both indicate a time when there was some effort given to romanticise a trip which today is much more wildly popular internationally, and operated by a modern air-conditioned train with buffet service, but which at the time was seen as having that sort of potential. It's remarkable to think that at the time of these leaflets the train service was seen as having poor patronage and was uneconomic, and was largely retained because of the precariousness of SH73 over Arthur's Pass as a route for road coaches. Most of its patronage were locals travelling between the West Coast and Canterbury. The transformation into the TranzAlpine Express was a success simply not foreseen by Railways Corporation management at the time.