Full houses on steam train trips

Steam train WA165, pictured here during a cruise ship visit in summer, had two full runs on Saturday and Sunday over Easter to Muriwai and back. Photo / Murray Robertson

By Murray Robertson

The toot toot from the whistle of Steam train WA165 punctuated the air over Gisborne city several times at the weekend as more than 300 people went for ride to Muriwai and back.

They came from all over the place, including some from the UK and the US.

“We ran two excursions to Muriwai, one on Saturday and the other Sunday and both were full, with about 320 passengers in total,” said train spokesman Geoff Joyce.

“We can’t take many more than that, so we were thrilled with the way the weekend went.”

Ada Burgess and her mother, Sarah, were among those who enjoyed the train trip to Muriwai at the weekend on a beautiful Gisborne day.

“There were people on board from all over the place, including the US and the United Kingdom,” he said.

“It was a good mix of passengers.”

The steam train will run again this Saturday to Muriwai, departing at 1pm.