The Midland Line is a 3ft 6in gauge railway that traverses the rugged and beautiful Southern Alps on New Zealand’s South Island. The line was born in the 1870s from the desire to reach farmland to the west, a desire than soon expanded and called for the east and west coast to be linked. The unforgiving terrain and intermittent funding forced construction to be slow, and it wouldn’t be until 1923 that a train made its first trip from end to end.

NZTS Workshops have brought the Midland Line to life in Train Simulator, recreating the challenging 90km section between Aickens and Springfield, including the 8.5 km long, 1:33 gradient Otria Tunnel which burrows through the Arthur’s Pass mountain range.

Set in 1968, the Midland Line represents an era when all the steam age infrastructure and facilities in place, but services were hauled by diesel and electric traction, one of each are included.

The ‘Eo’ Bo-Bo electric locomotives of 1923, which were built by English Electric and served for over 4 decades, were the workhorses of the challenging Arthur’s Pass and seen here in their final year of operation before retirement. Joining them are the ‘Dj’ Bo-Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotives from Mitsubishi, brand new as of 1968 replacing ageing steam power. A wide selection of rolling stock is also included for freight and passenger operations.