All aboard Wellington's first electric train!

On 2 July 1938, the electrified rail line between Wellington and Johnsonville was officially opened

The DM/D electric train replaced steam locomotives on the railway line which began operating since 1880s

The new train painted Royal Blue with the crest of New Zealand Railways at the top featured on the opening-day brochure

The 2-car train was built in England by the English Elecric Company as a prototype for assembling trains in NZ

The 2-car unit had a passenger carriage with an electric motor (DM class) & a trailer without a motor (D class)

The carriage could seat 56 passengers and the trailer seat 72 passengers

Cutting of the ribbon during the ceremony at Wellington Railway Station of the electrification of the Johnsonville Line

Electrification opening day, Johnsonville Railway Station

The new electric train at the Khandallah Railway Station with DM carriage car (with motor) & its D trailer car

A view of No. 1 tunnel on the Tawa Flat Deviation where steel supports being erected to carry electrical lines, 1935

(Evening Post, Vol CXX, Issue 13, p. 7, 15 July 1935)

On 19 June 1937, the Wellington-Tawa deviation to Palmerston North was completed

On 19 June 1937, the new Wellington Railway Station was also officially opened

ED '101' was to be built & shipped as a prototype for more trains to be assembled at NZR's Hutt workshop

Image: The train being inspected by the High Commissioner, Mr W Jordan, at Preston, Lancashire on 13 Dec 1937

Another photo of the train being inspected by the High Commissioner, appeared in the Evening Post, 7 Jan 1938

After ED '101' was painted it became known at "The Sergeant" because of the 3 stripes on each side

The train's skirting along the wheels was removed later in NZ

Exterior cab & maker's plate

Maker's plate: English Electric Hawthorn Leslie

Cab interior

Front view of cab

View of coupling and cowcatcher

View of the hand-rails, jumpers & couplers between an electric train's two coaches

(Telescopic hand-rails, control flexible jumpers, heater flexible jumpers, hose-couplings for brake & automatic coupler)

The drive wheels

Wheel arrangement was 1-Do-2 under the UIC classification system, & incorporated a quill drive to the driving wheels

Electric train's 2-car unit (motorised carriage & trailer without a motor) was tested on Wellington - Johnsonville line

DM carriage car weighed 43.5 tonnes, 19.2 metres long, max. speed of 97kph, & 447kW power output

The steam locomotives (top left) continued to operate whilst the electric trains (top right & lower) were tested

The electric train was either run as a 2-car or 3-car set with the carriage car having the traction (electric) motor

2 July 1938: Official launch day of electric train service was featured on the cover of The Weekly News

Six DM-D two-car units began operating

Speeches & cutting of the ribbon during the ceremony at Wellington Railway Station

Another view of the electrification opening day, Johnsonville Railway Station

A view of part of the Wellington-Johnsonville railway with Ngaio in the middle & Khandalla to the left, 1938

Two new stations were built between Ngaio and Khandallah: Awarua Street & Simla Crescent

Views seen when travelling on the electric train between Wellington & Johnsonville

NZR assembled 7 of the trains at its Hutt Workshops & 2 at its Addington Workshops

The 2 at the Addington Workshops were intended for the Otira-Arthur's Pass & were later reclocated north

15 May 1939: The 1st of the NZ-assembled electric locomotives was tested for the first time on the Johnsonville line

During 1939, planning was underway to electrify the line from Paekākāriki by mid-1940

Image: One of the new trains to be used on the newly electrified Paekākāriki line (NZ Railways Magazine, 1 Dec 1939)

1940: First electric train to reach Paekākāriki after electricification of line extended to there in 1940

13 Sept 1940: An electric train over a bridge in the Ngahauranga Gorge

ED '108' electric locomotive (built at the Hutt Railway Workshop) photographed at Paekākāriki, c.1940s

In 1942, 3 motor cars & 2 trailers were ordered & delivered in 1946 following the end of the WWII

(Image: Electric train on Wellington-Paekākāriki line with the motorised DM carriage car & D trailer cars, 1940)

in 1946, additional cars & trailer units were ordered as the other Wellington suburban lines were to be electrified

(Image: Ed '102' locomotive between Pukerua Bay & Paekākāriki, 1940s)

By 1948, the original livery of Royal Blue was replaced by Midland Red

1950s:

National Film Unit (1954): Pictorial Parade 28: Electric train (27 secs)

When the wheels of the ED class train were found to be harsh on the tracks, speed restrictions were introduced

After the introduction of the EW class trains in 1952, they replaced the ED trains on the Johnsonville line

Image: Collision between a car & an electric train unit at Thorndon, Wellington, 1955

Image: Electric train unit derailment in Wellington, 1957

Image: Passengers from a derailed electric train unit in Wellington, 1957

Image: Passengers from a derailed electric train unit in Wellington walking alongside the track, 1957

1970s:

Image: Electric train on the Hutt Valley railway line at Woburn, Feb 1973

Image: Electric train on the Wellington-Paekākāriki line, Feb 1974

Image: Electric train crossing the Paremata Rail Bridge, 1975