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Story: Railways

Electric train

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Electric train

Ten English Electric ED locomotives were bought for use on the Wellington–Paekākāriki section of the North Island main trunk line – a stretch of line that was electrified by 1940. The first locomotive was built in Britain in 1937 as a prototype. Nine others were assembled at the Hutt and Addington workshops between 1938 and 1940.

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Reference: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1938, D-2

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Neill Atkinson, Railways – Passenger travel, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/21405/electric-train (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Neill Atkinson, published 6 April 2010.