New Zealand Railways at Night - Bill Prebble

New Zealand Railways At Night seeks to redress a void in our written history, covering the night railway as experienced in the period from the mid-1920s through to 1982 when the Government railway was corporatised, a period when many New Zealanders’ chose the railway as their principal form of transport. This was a time when most of the night travel was endured sitting upright on firm non-reclinable seats. Refreshment room stops caused a minor disruption in the darkened carriage as some travellers unable to sleep sought comfort in food, or simply stretched their legs on the platform, while others more fortunate slumbered on…

It is occasions like that which images in the book evoke memories of. Converse to the night railway view by the travelling public, featured also is the night railway endured by the railway shift worker, exposing a life at work after dark. Images “in the dark” create a sense of mystique, as it is sometimes not just what is highlighted in the images, but equally what lurks in the darkened background.

Considered by many as an “art book”, with 239 photographs, the majority presented full-size, this book is a visual treat.

Hard cover