J 1211 Stops At Ohakune For Some Grease & A Temp Check

J1211 is towed by DL 9446 down the North Island Main Trunk Line in New Zealand. Running as Train B73, it pauses at Ohakune, so that support crew can check the running gear & bearings of the locomotive. Later the Train B73 is seen passing through Mataroa.

KiwiRail moved the Mainline Steam Heritage Trust locomotive from long term storage in Glenbrook to the trusts' depot in Plimmerton, over a three day period. This video shows the repostioning run on it's second day, when it ran from Hamilton To Palmerston North.

J1211 was built by the North British Locomotive Company (maker’s number 24534) and was entered into NZR service in 1939. For the first half of it's NZR working life, J1211 was allocated to the North Island, working in places such as the Bay of Plenty and the Main Trunk town of Taumarunui. J1211 hauled both passenger expresses and goods trains. J1211 was transfired to the South Island in 1963 and was based out of Dunedin, and later Christchurch. The locomotive was withdrawn from service in 1971.

Saved for preservation, the locomotive was in steam for its 1974 delivery run from Christchurch to Paekākāriki. In 1985, J1211 was based at Kawakawa, working for the Bay of Islands Scenic Railway. In 1988 the locomotive was fully overhauled and returned to the main line network. The streamlining had been removed early in the locomotives career, and was returned to the locomotive in 1988. The locomotive was converted to oil-firing in 1995 and was overhauled again from 2013 onwards. The locomotive had been based at the Glenbrook Vintage Railway after the Mainline Steam Heritage Trust's Parnell depo was closed in 2015.

The KiwiRail DL class was manufactured by CRRC Dalian 中车大连机车车辆有限公司 with engines from MTU. Introduced from 2010 onwards, they are the most powerful diesel-electric locos in service in New Zealand. The class represents the first order for a Chinese-built locomotive from a western country. The 9000 series allocation was chosen for this class of locomotive as the number 9 represents longevity and good luck in Chinese culture. On the Day of the is video, Sunday 13th July 2025, there are 73 of the class in existence, with four or five of the ealiest class members now laid up at Hutt Workshops.

The Ohakune Station was opened in 1908, and is serviced by KiwiRails 'Northern Explorer' passenger express. As you can see, there is a cafe inside!