Great video Marty. That looked like "DB' Wilson at the controls, I bludged a ride with him years ago on the bankers heading back to Otira. Thanks for the vid, Greg, Arrowtown.
Hi Marty, I have no idea how or why TH-cam put this video in my feed but what an interesting watch it is and really makes one appreciate the amazing engineering achievement that tunnel is especially in the absence of todays fancy tunnel boring machines. I’ve done that route a couple of time with my dad ( he was in his 80’s) on the tranz alpine but of course you never get that forward facing view. Cheers Chris.
With the fans running, you have a 30km/h headwind. You are, therefore, running in fresh air. 🤗 However if the fans fail.....😱. That’s a whole different story that includes gas masks and flashlights. 😳
This video shows a shot of the most important person in all of these videos....The engine drivers!....great to see. These guys are the best. great drivers for sure!
This is an excellent and really amazing video. I have always wondered what the driver sees and what it is like in the tunnel. Many many years ago me mother was a District Nurse based in Otaria and she often told me about her experiences and especially being taken through the tunnel by train and even occasionally by a jigger. Thank you for a great video🙂
Great video mate, when I was a kid in the 1940's & 1950's we used to go from Christchurch to Stillwater in the old steam days and every time you went through a tunnel the carriages would fill up with soot and black smoke, awesome days!! My grandfather worked in the Addington workshops and his brother was General Manager for NZR.
Wow! Fantastic video! We are looking visiting New Zealand next year by cruise ship. We have to decide between seeing the trams in Christchurch or this train ride during our stop in Akaroa. Looks like a beautiful run, so the choice will be a tough one! :)
I lived in Otira in the age od Steam for 3-4 years, when we left we went up through the tunnel on a 6 man jigger, Dads car had been taken up to Arthur's on a train. Dad worked for NZR as a Train Control Operator
@@MartyJM01 back in the 70;s I had a mate that went there to earn how to operate the electric loco''s so he could go to wellington to drive the passenger trains there
How many trips did your camera/cameras make through the tunnel. A variety of loco combinations can be seen in the track side shots and lighting differences when entering the tunnel. Anthony
Hey Anthony. This took about three years to do and the front camera footage is made up out 7 different trips plus all of the b-roll footage is from different trips as well. There was 5 different video cameras used in making of this and all of the on board footage apart from the in cab stuff is GoPro, mainly due to if it falls off it is not going to damage or de-rail anything.. safety first :-)
Hi, this was good to watch, I noticed the coach on the platform, I did the trip in 2014, the passengers were transferred to coaches to avoid the tunnel because the regular locomotives fitted with the correct equipment to run through the tunnel weren't available due to a problem with Chinese locomotives on North Island.
@@MartyJM01 Hi, I did the trip again in 2019, on that occasion passengers remained on the train. I have just finished editing the video, should be available on TH-cam in a couple of weeks. The Midland line fascinates me, I visit it whenever I get the opportunity.
What’s more likely is there’s a cruise vessel in at Lyttelton. The tourists come up to The Pass by train, then back to CHCH by coach. Stopping at various vineyards on the way. That way they see the more spectacular scenery, get wined and dined and back to the ship in time for sailing.
Great video Marty. Any chance you would be happy for a few shots from this video to be used in a Rail Safety video for a New Zealand not for profit education programme with NZTA and KiwiRail? We would credit you.
My Foster Father was Alan Hunt, I used to catch the Tranz Alpine to and fro school in the holidays it was cheaper than Me catching the bus Know the journey well
Great video! Curious as to why the tunnel is shut off at the Western end once the train has entered the tunnel? I would have thought that leaving it open would allow air movement through the tunnel (created by the train moving through), ventilating the tunnel 🤔
There are large fans in the building and closing the door at the Western end allows the fans to draw all the fumes through the tunnel with fresh air entering from the eastern portal.
In fact the train will stall if the doors fail to close AND the fans fail to start. The locos end up in a bubble of their own exhausts, over heating and eventually shutting down. The ‘fog’ you see in the tunnel shot after the doors close is the direct result of the temporary lowering of air pressure as the fans start. Hope this helps.
Really enjoyed this, but the standout for me is the sound! What setup did you use? You've picked up all the detail of that awesome FDL sound but haven't had it overload or distort!
Hey mate. I had a sennheizer MK66 mic duct-taped to the roof behind the cab of the DX with a wind killing cover on it. It fed down into a Zoom recorder duct-taped onto the front of the loco and did that for each trip I did. Collated all of the recordings and put the soundtrack together. Glad you enjoyed it.
@@MartyJM01 Thanks man, really appreciate it. Sound is one of the best parts of any railway video and not many people get it right! I'm not much of a videographer (more stills) but I've always liked the idea of getting a bit of footage with good sound on the heritage stuff I play with!
Whats the mist or fog like stuff in the tunnel? Is it so deep those sections are warm enough to create fog? One of my great uncles was part of the team that dug this tunnel.
As the doors close behind the train is causes the air to compress in front of the train and it is the moisture condensing out of the air. As the fans kick in the pressure is reduced but if there is are a few times when it comes out again then disappears.
Sorry Marty, it’s the pressure ‘drop’ that causes the moisture to come out of suspension. This occurs as the air pushed ahead of the train is abruptly stopped, stretched (greatly lowering its pressure), and sucked back towards the fans. If the air, being drawn in from Arthurs Pass, is close to the dew point, this too will fog up with minor alterations to the train’s speed. Coming and going in blocks. 👍
Tunnel is 8.5 kilometres (5.3 mi). The gradient is mainly 1 in 33,.As a nipper I lived in Otira 3-4 years and when we left went up through the tunnel on a 6 man jigger. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otira_Tunnel
Just out of interest, the Otira tunnel, which is 8.5km long, rises 250m over its length (1 in 33). Like the Cascade Tunnel in the USA, the Otira tunnel was once electrified until the ventilation problem was mitigated.
Which explains the sliding door that closes behind the climbing train. There are enormous (800kW?) fans that then pull the air past the train to avoid suffocating the locos.
After a time of awe and wonder, @ 2:30 the locos changed ;). Then, @ 22:25, the green ones reappeared. Curiosity reigns - is this a 'stitched' video (a query, not critical comment)?
The cameras went through the tunnel on several runs. That's why we see the Corncob and Bumblebee engines at the end, but the kiwirail colors at the start
Hey Chhatrapal. The track with in NZ is 3' 6" (1.06m) there is 4300 km of railway line in New Zealand and this line from Christchurch to Greymouth is about 250km.
Fans pull the air down hill away from Arthurs Pass. The only time exhaust gasses get in front of the locos is when the fans fail and the train stalls due to the engines overheating and shutting down. Things then get very murky, very quickly.
The fog is the air being compressed and the water vapour starts to condense and come out. Happens when the fans first start up and in a couple of places when the pressure comes out of balance.
The ontrack video is made up from 7 different takes. For different reasons I extracted the best runs from each take and then covered the join with a b-roll exterior shot.
![fellow fellow - พรุ่งนี้ไม่มีใครรู้ feat. INK WARUNTORN [OFFICIAL MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QP6JyjYx_W0/mqdefault.jpg)
Great video Marty. That looked like "DB' Wilson at the controls, I bludged a ride with him years ago on the bankers heading back to Otira. Thanks for the vid, Greg, Arrowtown.
Hey Greg. That was Mike K at the controls. There may have been an outside shot that had DB driving though. Thanks. Marty
Hi Marty, I have no idea how or why TH-cam put this video in my feed but what an interesting watch it is and really makes one appreciate the amazing engineering achievement that tunnel is especially in the absence of todays fancy tunnel boring machines. I’ve done that route a couple of time with my dad ( he was in his 80’s) on the tranz alpine but of course you never get that forward facing view. Cheers Chris.
I'm sure the driver would be pleased to get out into the fresh air after being in that tunnel!!!!!
With the fans running, you have a 30km/h headwind. You are, therefore, running in fresh air. 🤗
However if the fans fail.....😱. That’s a whole different story that includes gas masks and flashlights. 😳
Brilliant! Thank you for the effort that must have gone into this.
You are very welcome Darren :-)
This video shows a shot of the most important person in all of these videos....The engine drivers!....great to see. These guys are the best. great drivers for sure!
This is an excellent and really amazing video. I have always wondered what the driver sees and what it is like in the tunnel. Many many years ago me mother was a District Nurse based in Otaria and she often told me about her experiences and especially being taken through the tunnel by train and even occasionally by a jigger. Thank you for a great video🙂
Finally full tunnel vid with throbbing engine sounds, need more like this under load engine noise, Love it
The light at the end of the tunnel is a longway off you do get tunnel vision watching this a great video thanks
O melhor som de locomotiva do you tube.Parabéns!
Obrigado Luis.
wow, 100 years ago on this day, 20/07/2018 the two ends met. Thanks Marty.
Well done mate nice work good old west coast love it
Great video mate, when I was a kid in the 1940's & 1950's we used to go from Christchurch to Stillwater in the old steam days and every time you went through a tunnel the carriages would fill up with soot and black smoke, awesome days!! My grandfather worked in the Addington workshops and his brother was General Manager for NZR.
You lived in the best times Dennis, Otira was alive back then, a ghost town now.
That purr from the DX's are amazing!
I know, I greatly miss having them in Wellington.
Wow! Fantastic video! We are looking visiting New Zealand next year by cruise ship. We have to decide between seeing the trams in Christchurch or this train ride during our stop in Akaroa. Looks like a beautiful run, so the choice will be a tough one! :)
Extra Good! I did a cab ride from Springfield to A.P. in 1997 in a DFT on the tranz Alpine, but didn't get to see this section of course. OzRon
Excellent video Marty👍👍😎😎
wow, now i understand what a thousand yard stair is with tunnel vision.. never forget this video
just awesome thank you for this brill posting i realy enjoyed it
Going through the tunnel and mist is like the Dr who opening sequence
Video beautiful, congratulations :-)
That is amazing. Fantastic things exist. 👍👍👍 Joe
I lived in Otira in the age od Steam for 3-4 years, when we left we went up through the tunnel on a 6 man jigger, Dads car had been taken up to Arthur's on a train. Dad worked for NZR as a Train Control Operator
Cool, must of been a great place back then.
Sir nice video.
Why was the gate closed at entrance of the tunnel
That looks like the best job in the world.
Believe it or not drivers used to be sent there as punishment..
@@MartyJM01 back in the 70;s I had a mate that went there to earn how to operate the electric loco''s so he could go to wellington to drive the passenger trains there
MartyJM01 Why is it a punishment?
Cracking video, thanks for posting.
I
I enjoy your work too
How many trips did your camera/cameras make through the tunnel. A variety of loco combinations can be seen in the track side shots and lighting differences when entering the tunnel.
Anthony
Hey Anthony. This took about three years to do and the front camera footage is made up out 7 different trips plus all of the b-roll footage is from different trips as well. There was 5 different video cameras used in making of this and all of the on board footage apart from the in cab stuff is GoPro, mainly due to if it falls off it is not going to damage or de-rail anything.. safety first :-)
Hi, this was good to watch, I noticed the coach on the platform, I did the trip in 2014, the passengers were transferred to coaches to avoid the tunnel because the regular locomotives fitted with the correct equipment to run through the tunnel weren't available due to a problem with Chinese locomotives on North Island.
Hey Tim, from memory yes, that was the case. They didn't want anyone in the tunnel due to safety fears of fire. They all go straight through now.
@@MartyJM01 Hi, I did the trip again in 2019, on that occasion passengers remained on the train. I have just finished editing the video, should be available on TH-cam in a couple of weeks. The Midland line fascinates me, I visit it whenever I get the opportunity.
@@Timsvideochannel1 Yeah, it's a great bit of the country. Look forward to seeing it.
What’s more likely is there’s a cruise vessel in at Lyttelton. The tourists come up to The Pass by train, then back to CHCH by coach. Stopping at various vineyards on the way.
That way they see the more spectacular scenery, get wined and dined and back to the ship in time for sailing.
@@DB-thats-me That sounds like a great way to introduce cruise tourists to the best of New Zealand.
Very well filmed and edited!
This is the best vid of a kiwirail coal train I've ever seen really enjoyed going for a ride. Thank you so much Marty jmo1
No worries mate. Glad you enjoyed it.
Fantastic video thanks.
Great noise in the tunnel, but on balance I think removing the electrification was a backwards step.
Great video
Great video Marty. Any chance you would be happy for a few shots from this video to be used in a Rail Safety video for a New Zealand not for profit education programme with NZTA and KiwiRail? We would credit you.
My Foster Father was Alan Hunt, I used to catch the Tranz Alpine to and fro school in the holidays it was cheaper than Me catching the bus Know the journey well
was on it when it derailed too lol
Alan made the coolest miniature buildings
Too awesome my man.
Great video! Curious as to why the tunnel is shut off at the Western end once the train has entered the tunnel? I would have thought that leaving it open would allow air movement through the tunnel (created by the train moving through), ventilating the tunnel 🤔
There are large fans in the building and closing the door at the Western end allows the fans to draw all the fumes through the tunnel with fresh air entering from the eastern portal.
In fact the train will stall if the doors fail to close AND the fans fail to start. The locos end up in a bubble of their own exhausts, over heating and eventually shutting down. The ‘fog’ you see in the tunnel shot after the doors close is the direct result of the temporary lowering of air pressure as the fans start. Hope this helps.
DB Thats-Me ahh it’s making sense now. Thanks for the explanation! Interesting how it works
@@DB-thats-me thanks, I wondered why there was fog at different parts of the tunnel. Was expecting none at all.
You can tell when the door slides shut
Man those DX trains are loud
Yip, they are awesome! haha
Really enjoyed this, but the standout for me is the sound! What setup did you use? You've picked up all the detail of that awesome FDL sound but haven't had it overload or distort!
Hey mate. I had a sennheizer MK66 mic duct-taped to the roof behind the cab of the DX with a wind killing cover on it. It fed down into a Zoom recorder duct-taped onto the front of the loco and did that for each trip I did. Collated all of the recordings and put the soundtrack together. Glad you enjoyed it.
@@MartyJM01 Thanks man, really appreciate it. Sound is one of the best parts of any railway video and not many people get it right! I'm not much of a videographer (more stills) but I've always liked the idea of getting a bit of footage with good sound on the heritage stuff I play with!
The really power of ge.
Yes, they can really work hard those locos.
In Kenya we have ge u26 c they really serve.
beautiful
Awesome!! Keep it up.
Whats the mist or fog like stuff in the tunnel? Is it so deep those sections are warm enough to create fog?
One of my great uncles was part of the team that dug this tunnel.
As the doors close behind the train is causes the air to compress in front of the train and it is the moisture condensing out of the air. As the fans kick in the pressure is reduced but if there is are a few times when it comes out again then disappears.
Sorry Marty, it’s the pressure ‘drop’ that causes the moisture to come out of suspension. This occurs as the air pushed ahead of the train is abruptly stopped, stretched (greatly lowering its pressure), and sucked back towards the fans.
If the air, being drawn in from Arthurs Pass, is close to the dew point, this too will fog up with minor alterations to the train’s speed. Coming and going in blocks. 👍
With fog like that at 8.00 to 9.00, a rockfall in the tuinel would be a disaster. Just im agine the pile-up of wagons and their loads.
Wouldn't be good and it can be very hard to see in there. You just have to hope all is well in front of you and there is no one in there as well...
How long is the tunnel?
Tunnel is 8.5 kilometres (5.3 mi). The gradient is mainly 1 in 33,.As a nipper I lived in Otira 3-4 years and when we left went up through the tunnel on a 6 man jigger. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otira_Tunnel
Moffat Tunnel in the United States is 6.2 Miles long
Just out of interest, the Otira tunnel, which is 8.5km long, rises 250m over its length (1 in 33). Like the Cascade Tunnel in the USA, the Otira tunnel was once electrified until the ventilation problem was mitigated.
Which explains the sliding door that closes behind the climbing train. There are enormous (800kW?) fans that then pull the air past the train to avoid suffocating the locos.
Very nice footage Marty! I like the cab shots interposed with the lineside shots from same location. Was your microphone mounted externally?
Yes it was, duck taped to the rear of the roof pointing towards the exhaust.
After a time of awe and wonder, @ 2:30 the locos changed ;). Then, @ 22:25, the green ones reappeared. Curiosity reigns - is this a 'stitched' video (a query, not critical comment)?
The cameras went through the tunnel on several runs. That's why we see the Corncob and Bumblebee engines at the end, but the kiwirail colors at the start
Amazing
Far out that’s a long tunnel👈👀😮
Ohh! 2 corncobs?
And a Bumblebee at each end
This track is meter gase, how many miles length,?
Hey Chhatrapal. The track with in NZ is 3' 6" (1.06m) there is 4300 km of railway line in New Zealand and this line from Christchurch to Greymouth is about 250km.
If you mean the tunnel, 5miles. 8.5km
The three lights leading to a point in the tunnel, has anyone else seen Dr Who ?
Awesome, is that mist/fog in the tunnel?
Diesel exhaust being fan forced towards the Arthurs Pass end I believe
Fans pull the air down hill away from Arthurs Pass. The only time exhaust gasses get in front of the locos is when the fans fail and the train stalls due to the engines overheating and shutting down. Things then get very murky, very quickly.
The fog is the air being compressed and the water vapour starts to condense and come out. Happens when the fans first start up and in a couple of places when the pressure comes out of balance.
What software do you use to upload your videos?
Upload to youtube or edit?
MartyJM01 Upload to TH-cam.
MartyJM01 Actually and how you put all the clips together
15 minutes of tunnel great
Scenic wonderland! 🤪
Wicked as normal
Thanks mate :-)
The hole in the hill 🎵
The drivers used to call it "The rat hole"
five locomotives with v12 engines that's a lot of power 60 cylinders I wonder how much diesel is used on those Trip's.
18,000 hp on the hoof there.
bit late to the party, a litre a second i believe for all locos,
Can you add the same movie, but without any edit?
The ontrack video is made up from 7 different takes. For different reasons I extracted the best runs from each take and then covered the join with a b-roll exterior shot.
Notching
How long is the tunnel?
Hey Richard. It is 8.3km long.