Taieri Gorge Railway

When you are in Dunedin (and you should go to Dunedin), take a ride on the Taieri Gorge Railway.  The Taieri Gorge Railway is part of the old Otago Central Railway.  The Taieri Gorge Railway goes from the Dunedin Train Station, itself a famous tourist sight, to Pukerangi and on to Middlemarch.  The trip to Pukerangi is a four-hour round trip; the trip to Middlemarch is six hours.

The Otago Central Railway was built in the late 1800s and early 1900s to open central Otago to development, especially agricultural products.  Legal rules protected the railway from competition by trucks until 1961 for livestock and 1983 for general freight.  After that, the railway continued in business, hauling material for the construction of the Clyde Dam.  Once the dam was finished, the railway was shut down as uneconomic in 1990. 

The portion of the railway through Taieri Gorge, with its spectacular scenery, was turned into the Taieri Gorge Railway.  The part from Clyde to Middlemarch was made into the Otago Central Rail Trail, which I have talked about before.

The key to a good trip on the Taieri Gorge Railway is good weather.  Our first two days in Dunedin were a little dreary, so we waited and went on our last day, when the weather was good.  The trip was fantastic.  The scenery was absolutely gorgeous.  It is definitely something to do.  But instead of words, here are some of my pictures: