The Rotorua Express leaving that tourist city behind a K series locomotive made a fine sight on cool sunny mornings as it climbed the steep gradients of the Mamaku Range in the 1930s-1950s. Not long after this, in February 1959, the train was replaced by Fiat railcars, much less exciting, and before the end of the 1960s even they had ceased. Silver Fern railcars were used for a return of passenger services during the 1990s, but as the station had been shifted a good 2 km from the town centre by then, patronage wasn't great and they ceased in 2001. For heaps more photos like this, see the book NZ 1950s Steam in Colour.
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