03 MikeRail GG 03 Early 1980's

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In the early 1980's Gordon with sons Trevor and Jeff Gamonsway began making analogue video and sound recordings of trains of the New Zealand Railways over much of the network in both North and South Islands.
Nearly four decades later these videos are such a great historic record of the areas captured with sounds that I have not edited heavily as in almost every frame there so much that has changed and/or gone.
I would like to thank those NZR workers who gave help and advise in those early days of this video hobby to the Garmonsway family and myself.
This third video was filmed in July 1986 on the ECMT from Tauranga, along the Pacific coast in the Bay of Plenty, with some work at Kawerau in the south. There are a number of similar trains using a Dc on the head and Da helper behind. Also some shots of other Da yard action.
Even though those early 80's vidcams were easily over driven into sound distortion I have repaired many, sourcing from stereo recordings from my archives, converted into mono which is interwoven with the original mono to keep its authenticity and to enhance the viewing pleasure.
Most passing wagon sound is quite poor quality, that was the case with vidcams in that era owing to single track low quality recordings which resulted in a complex cacophony of harsh and muffled sound, and thats way it stays.

[@darrylbond5238]

Superb sounds. Those DAs were being thrashed! Those Garmonsway lads took some lovely still pictures too.

[@trainfixer1981]

Nice to see 345 back in NZR days.

[@bnrailfannz8262]

Da's 👍 Guardsvans👍 and clean healthy looking locos (except for the well worn Da's) . Some great loco lash-ups too👍👍

[@robross6367]

Always nice to see and hear a train on thr line

[@davidlipscombe916]

God how I loved the sound of the DA's , better than these new ones .

[@Waikatotek]

Loving these! Spent time at Pikowai every holidays since the late 70s. Exactly how I remember it. Midnight trains were quite soothing funny enough.

[@MikeRail]

Yep my sons used to stay there with one of their grandfathers in the late 70s, they where mainly Da's and the kids found the big high flat noise a bit scary as they roared by ! It was a great camp ground for fishermen as I recall..... yep the Da's would have been audible for miles on a clear still night.....

[@zanegracie39]

4012's paintwork looking rather scruffy too.