I’m fidgeting with excitement as I stand on the platform of the Dunedin Railway Station – I can’t remember the last time I was on a train, but it must have been years. It’s such a pity there aren’t more services – it’s such an elegant way to travel and you get to see bits of the country you otherwise wouldn’t. That is very much the case today – the train I’m impatiently waiting for is headed into one of Otago’s most dramatic landscapes – the Taieri Gorge.
Being a landscape fanatic, I have always heard the Gorge is amazing, but the road goes nowhere near it and it’s not the easiest terrain to walk over I would imagine. Far better to take the world-famous Taieri Gorge Railway and do it in style. My mate Dene’s parents are in town and they’ve got a free ticket, so it would be rude not to go…another reason I’m so hyperactive is it’s the first sunny weekend for about three months – cabin fever has well and truly set in and I’m itching to get out and take some photos…
Actually there’s plenty to see before the trip even starts; the train departs from Dunedin’s grand Railway Station - in my humble blogger’s opinion one of the most beautiful buildings in the country. But don’t just take my word for it – it’s been ranked among the world’s “200 must-see places” by a leading travel guide.
According to DK Eyewitness Travel, the Dunedin Railway Station is up there with the Coliseum in Rome and India’s Taj Mahal as one of the wonders of the world.
The station is the guide’s only New Zealand listing and is lauded as one of the best examples of railway architecture in the Southern Hemisphere. Impressive – I’m not totally convinced that it’s one of the 200 most amazing things in the world, but it is a gorgeous building, and certainly worth a bit more examination.
It was designed by George Alexander Troup (1863-1941) who went all out with his imagination and created an almost fairy-tale rail station that wouldn’t look out of place in a Harry Potter movie. Troup’s style is described as “Edwardian Baroque” by one source I found, and “Flemish” by another and don’t ask me what the difference is – but one look at the building and you’ll see where “Gingerbread George” got his nick-name from.
The distinctive light and dark pattern is from a classic style that appears in lots of Dunedin’s grand old buildings – for anyone who really likes their rocks, the dark one is local basalt, capped with famous creamy Oamaru limestone. But old Gingerbread didn’t just use the best of local materials in his masterpiece – he brought in the best from all over the world. A row of pillars along the front of the façade are pink Scottish granite from Aberdeen, and the roof is covered in terracotta tiles from France.
Inside the main booking hall are more luxurious materials – the floor is made of 750,000 ceramic tiles made by famous English ceramics makers Minton, best seen from the balcony above which itself decorated in Royal Doulton porcelain. Nice!
The station’s main platform is the country’s longest, a kilometre in length which certainly cuts down on crowding. Dene and his parents have got the tickets, and it’s time to stop geeking out about the station, and start geeking out about trains instead.
Now don’t worry – I’m not going to start quoting locomotive serial numbers or track gauges – I’m not that much of a geek – all I care about the train is that the engine bit stays attached to the comfortable passenger bit, and that they don’t run out of pies or beer in the dining car before I get there.
I grab myself a window seat and try to sit still…people are still filing on and the trip is obviously a must-do for international visitors as there are people of all shapes and sizes on board. Looking around, I notice the carriages are nicely retro and have an amazing ceiling – I ask the conductor and he tells me it’s pressed tin – another classy touch.
Somewhere up the front, the locomotive shudders and shakes and with a jaunty blast of the whistle the train pulls slowly away from the platform – we’re in business!
to be continued….
