A railway like no other

During travels in new zealand I had a few experienced which really changed the way I see things and life in general, this was one of them.

It was on my round trip in the North Island which to be honest, the only thing I actually knew about was hobbiton because you know, lord of the rings. But this one really made me think and evaluate my own life.

It's a train ride

Simple right? I mean it wasn't the most exciting train ride. It went about what felt like 5 miles per hour, the wooden seats wern't exactly comfy and the views (in terms of new zealand) wern't exactly mind blowing.

So why post about a small, not so thrilling railway?

Because of the guy that built it, Barry Brickell he was a famous potter and painter but wanted to do more. So what did he do? He built a frickin railway! The Driving Creek Railway. With the help of some mates of course.

That's right, someone built a real railway as a hobby with no destination in mind what so ever, just a great view from the top...

The track is steep 1 in 14 maximum (whatever that means) and leads up to a lookout point 173 meters above sea level.

He simply built it because...well he could.

What you have to understand is, he didn't pick a "good spot" either. It's dense forest with uneven ground, steep hills and covered in vegetation. Much of which he helped plant to bring back the area's natural glory.

I mean, where the hell would you start?

It's a very odd train journy, the driver will get out to change the signals or simply get out and then get back in the train at the other end. Why? Well because of the lack of space and cliff drops, there's simply not enough room to make some of the turns so instead the train simply goes back the way it came then onto a siding.

At one point he built the railway off the edge of a cliff, just so there was enough room for the rest of the carriages. It's quite scary.

Here we are at the huge drop

This may not seem scary but you have to remember, this was all hand built made out of wood by a guy and a few mates who'd simply get drunk after a day of extending the line. Some of the railway walls are built from left over bottles of booze.

One really impressive part of the railway is a double decker bridge. This is exactly as it sounds, a railway running over a lower part of the same railway.

Image Source

That's right he built this too. Thats not all the railway has lots of things such as 3 tunnels, 5 viaducts and bridges, a water mill and about 3 or 4 stations.

As you make your way to the top, you reach the final stop. "The Eyefull Tower" haha. A pun from the rral Eifel Tower but this one is all about the view, hence the pun.

This stop is by far the most impressive of all the stations.

Image source

Image source

Sadly Brickell passed away in 2016 but his legacy is certainly not forgotten. R.I.P

There's even talks of building a zipwire down from the top instead of taking the train!

If you want to experience the driving creek railway for yourself it's situated near the town of Coromandel North East region of the North Island - New Zealand.

It's something you may not enjoy at the time if your a bit of a thrill seeker like me, but the experience has far more value then simply just a ride.

It's a life lesson and shows anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

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