North Island Main Trunk

DOCUMENTARY

The construction of New Zealand’s North Island Main Trunk Line proved such a challenge that over twenty years elapsed before the north and south sections finally met in 1908.

Passing through rugged mountain country, over massive ravines and around the base of two active volcanoes, the line was forged by remarkable feats of railway engineering. One was the famous Raurimu Spiral, where the rail climbed 700 feet in seven miles and today remains in use on its original formation.

With high quality archive colour and B&W film never seen before publicly, including the Tangiwai Disaster, this is the story of a unique 425 mile stretch of railway and the people whose lives it dominated. Here are legends and stories of the railway men and women - colourful anecdotes of the Refreshment Rooms, of smuggling liquor into dry areas and tales of tragedy and humour.

The romance of a pioneering life-line which created new towns and brought development and prosperity to the entire North Island.