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Story: Transport – overview

Travelling by steam train

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Travelling by steam train

Well into the 20th century, the fastest, most comfortable way to travel was by steam train. The relative luxury of train travel is evoked in this late-1930s photograph of a first-class carriage.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: ANZ AAVK W3493 C106

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

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How to cite this page

James Watson, Transport – overview – Steam transport, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/24986/travelling-by-steam-train (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by James Watson, published 10 June 2013.