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Story: Railways

Railways playing cards

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Railways playing cards

These playing cards, featuring the Northerner overnight express and the Silver Fern daylight railcar, were put out by New Zealand Railways in the 1970s as part of a publicity drive. NZR set up its advertising branch in 1915, adding the railways design studios in 1920. It turned out a variety of advertising material, including posters, booklets and the New Zealand Railways Magazine, which appeared monthly from May 1926 to June 1940.

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How to cite this page

Neill Atkinson, Railways – Passenger travel, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/21403/railways-playing-cards (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Neill Atkinson, published 6 April 2010.