Endeavour (train)
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- This article is about a New Zealand passenger train. For the New South Wales DMU of the same name, see Endeavour railcar (CityRail).
The Endeavour was a former long-distance passenger train service between Wellington and Napier (and for part of its history, Gisborne) in the North Island of New Zealand. The service was modelled around the Southerner service in the South Island and operated from 1972 until 1989.
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[edit] Introduction of the Endeavour
The Endeavour was introduced on Sunday, 6 November 1972 as a carriage train to replace a railcar service on the route between Wellington and Napier. The Fiat railcars utilised on this route were deteriorating due to age and notoriously unreliable, and the success of the Southerner inspired the creation of the Endeavour. In its first incarnation, it was hauled by a DA diesel electric locomotive and had a consist of a guard's van, and five passenger carriages and a buffet car. This was the first use of a buffet car on a train in the North Island since World War I. The Endeavour's carriages were painted in a distinctive blue livery rather than the red scheme traditional at the time, and the locomotive carried a headboard, the only instance of regular headboard use in the country at the time. The new train ran roughly to the railcar timetable, taking five and a half hours to complete its journey between Wellington and Napier. Although some railcar services supplemented the Endeavour in its early years, these all ceased by the end of 1976, with the Endeavour's service proving more popular with passengers.
The consist was made up of five 56 foot former second class cars that were all converted to 20 bunk Ambulance cars for World War Two. When peacetime resumed, the five cars were fitted out in the late 1940s and early 1950s, each with 35 first class seats to a newer design, and one car even trialled fluorescent lighting and individual overhead at-seat reading lights (which became a standard feature on the original yellow and later the "big window" Northerner. These newer seats were retained and reupholstered. Three cars seated 36, while two seated 32 to accommodate a staff compartment. The buffet car was a 56ft two-lavatory first class car, later designated a North Island Main Trunk first class car, seating 31. This car was completely rebuilt to incorporate a full-length counter with 20 associated stools alongside. One 56ft van was added to the train, also thoroughly rebuilt. A second van, similiarly fitted, was added later.
A sixth second class, later Ambulance car had been similiarly refitted with 35 first class seats to the newer 1950s design and, because of the increasing popularity of the Endeavour, was regularly added to this train to help carry extra passengers, especially in holiday times. As it was, the car was refitted for permanent service on this train, and had a staff compartment built in. It now seated 32.
[edit] New Bogies
With the success of the Korean-built bogies in use underneath the Northerner cars, the Endeavour cars were also fitted with this type of bogie. However, work on Endeavour car underframes was not as substantial as that carried out on the Northerner underframes.
[edit] Buffet Car Removed
On Saturday, August 8, 1981, the Endeavour lost it's buffet carriage.
[edit] Blue Fern
On Tuesday, 18 August 1981, one of the three Silver Fern railcars derailed near Waiouru on the North Island Main Trunk Railway and the next day, the Endeavour's entire consist was diverted to the NIMT as a substitute, known as the Blue Fern.
[edit] Extension to Gisborne
The Endeavour initially terminated in Napier with a connecting un-named service operating between Napier and Gisborne (this last operated on 30 May 1976). Initially, a reshuffle of rolling stock saw the Endeavour and the Napier-Gisborne service which connected with it, turned into a through Wellington-Gisborne express service - one from Gisborne, one from Wellington simultaneously. Red 56ft former second class passenger cars operated this service, also of 1937-1945 vintage, and some had been moderately refurbished with fluorescent strip lighting and a newer type of window, but still offering bench seats akin to local buses of the time), but the refurbishing of carriages for the Picton-Christchurch express meant that by late 1982, it was able to be operated by more comfortable AC cars - which were Drewry Car Co-built 88 seat railcars converted into un-powered passenger carriages hauled by a locomotive. These carriages were known as "Grass Grubs" due to their paint scheme. One service each way per day operated: the northbound service left Wellington at 7:45am and reached Gisborne at 6:30pm, while the southbound service left Gisborne at 9:55am, to reach Wellington at 8:40pm. As the Wellington-Gisborne express now lacked a buffet car, stops were made for refreshments in Napier and Palmerston North. Around this time, the train stopped carrying its distinctive headboard.
The Grass Grub carriages did not last long on the Wellington-Gisborne express, as they were not designed to be towed. The articulation and the chassis of the carriages was wearing out, so they were replaced.
When four of six Endeavour carriages (three cars seating 36, the fourth 32) previously used returned to the run in May, 1984, the better three of the red Gisborne-Napier-Gisborne cars were re-assigned to the Masterton commuter runs, but during busy holiday periods, these three cars saw regular duty on the Gisborne Expresses, complementing the blues.
[edit] New Route, New Seats
On Tuesday, September 11, 1984, two Southerner cars (which had been exchanged for the other two Endeavour cars), one with 50 (ex 33) seats, the other 45 (ex 29) seats and two 46 seat cars with luggage space at one end - referred to as "car-vans" due to their combined passenger and luggage-carrying role, one Mitsubishi, two Daewoo-built modular guard's vans for luggage and two 50-ft wooden box wagons for parcels traffic were added to the four Endeavour cars to form two new Gisborne Express consists. All eight cars had been progressively fitted out with a new design of seat from Addington Workshops which had proven successful on the Picton/Greymouth trains. The Endeavour cars either sat 54 without staff compartment (ex 36) or xx with staff compartment (ex 32) per car. The three modular vans replaced the two 56ft Endeavour baggage vans. The two reseated Southerner cars returned to the South Island once all four Endeavour cars and the two cars with luggage spaces received their new seats. Like the Produce Express (the name given to the former railcars turned diesel-hauled carriages used while Endeavour cars assumed duty on the NIMT) before it, steel box wagons built by Addington Workshops between 1978-1982 were towed along at the rear for parcels traffic. The buffet car did not return. As this had been a change from the red, then green carriages used since 1981, many in Hawke's Bay started referring to the Wellington-Napier express as the "Endeavour" once more, although it still lacked any of the catering services that the previous Endeavour once provided. However, the train's reliability began to decline; by this stage, the DA class had being withdrawn or converted into the DC class, so under-powered DBR class locomotives hauled the train and struggled to keep to the scheduled timetable.
On 7 March 1988, Cyclone Bola struck the east coast of the North Island, causing significant damage to the line between Napier and Gisborne. This led to the abbreviation of the Wellington-Gisborne express back to Napier, and although the track was repaired, regular passenger trains never again operated beyond Napier. Patronage on the Napier-Gisborne sector was never high, except for occasional holiday traffic (it rarely carried more than a busload), and by turning around the train at Napier, the number of carriages needed was halved as one train could do a return trip.
[edit] Re-Allocation
In 1987, a programme was initiated to upgrade all long distance passenger rail services, and the first train targeted for revamping was the Greymouth "West Coast" Expresses. An Endeavour car, with hostess compartment, was rebuilt as a servery car for the "new" TranzAlpine. A second Endeavour car became a servery car for the "new" Southerner in 1988, a third car was scrapped and two were extensively overhauled for the replacement Wellington-Napier-Wellington passenger train. The last car and the two car-vans remained on the Endeavour until the service ended.
Prior to the introduction of the Bay Express, the existing Endeavour Express car, seating 54, and car-vans, seating 46 each, had their seats reupholstered with sheepskin wool coverings in an interim attempt to provide more comfort until the "newer" cars arrived.
On Saturday, November 4, 1989, InterCity implemented a new timetable. It had been planned for the Bay Express to have been in service by this date, but because the newer cars were still being rebuilt and both Palmerston North and Napier refreshment rooms closed on the same date, the former NIMT car turned Southerner later Kiwi Lager Express buffet car was added to the Endeavour consist in the interim.
This train, with only the third modular van left available for baggage, and steel box wagons built at Addington between 1978-1982 for parcels, ran until Sunday, December 10, 1989.December 10,1989.
When the new train debuted, the 54-seat Endeavour car and one car-van joined the Wairarapa Connection, while the other car-van became an InterCity Rail spare car.
In 1991, the 54-seat Endeavour car was extensively overhauled and refurbished to become the second incarnation of The Connoisseur car.
[edit] External links
Pages from the Ormondville Rail Preservation Group on the Endeavour:
- Brief history and print articles on the Endeavour
- Endeavour brochure and timetable from March 1980
- Endeavour pictures
- The grassgrub carriages used between 1981 and 1984
[edit] Reference
- Churchman, Geoffrey B., and Hurst, Tony; The Railways Of New Zealand: A Journey Through History, HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand), 1991 reprint
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