Night Limited

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The Night Limited was an express passenger train that operated in New Zealand between Wellington and Auckland, utilising the entire length of the North Island Main Trunk. It commenced service in 1924 and was replaced by the Silver Star in 1971 and supplemented by the Northerner Express in 1975.

1 Introduction
2 Operation
3 Replacement
4 Notes

[edit] Introduction

When the North Island Main Trunk Railway was fully opened in 1908, services between Auckland and Wellington were slow and tedious, taking two days to complete the journey. The first expresses ran in February 1909 and took approximately 18 hours from end to end. The Night Limited was introduced in 1924 to provide a quicker service. Its name stemmed from the fact it ran overnight and had limited stops. A^B class steam locomotives were employed to haul the service, and this factor combined with the reduced stops allowed the reduction in travel time to just over 14 hours.

[edit] Operation

The Night Limited's heyday was in the 1930s, when multiple extra services had to be run at the peak Christmas and Easter holiday periods to cater for the traffic volume. Accommodation on board was primarily seated, although first class sleeping cars were utilised. The sleeping cars had sixteen two-person cabins reached by a corridor along one side of the carriage.^[1] Dining cars were never used on the Night Limited as they had been withdrawn as a World War I-era economy measure and never re-introduced to the North Island during the Night Limited's time. Passengers could purchase refreshments at specific stops along the journey.

During the 1950s, demand began to significantly decline as competition from aeroplanes and the private car increased. Business travellers increasingly opted for other options, although the schedule was steadily improved to 13.5 hours each way and diesel haulage introduced in the 1960s.

Motive power in the days of steam was typically the most powerful and efficient locomotives available. A^B class locomotives were superseded by members of classes such as the J, K, and K^A. After the end of steam, diesel-electric motive power was typically provided by members of the DA class.

[edit] Replacement

Seeking to recapture some travellers, the New Zealand Railways Department began to investigate an upmarket overnight service in 1968. It was introduced in September 1971 and named the Silver Star, replacing the Night Limited. An unnamed ordinary express continued to operate nightly between Auckland and Wellington, providing transport for those unwilling or unable to pay the Silver Star's premium fare and stopping at more stations. In November 1975, this express was renovated and re-introduced as the Northerner, which outlived the Silver Star by nearly three decades.