Derek Cross

Anyone interested in the history of New Zealand Railways, especially in the fascinating transitional period when diesel power first began to appear will enjoy this book. It fulfils the almost insatiable desire for colour illustrations which can evoke this period that often only exists in black and white. Railway photographers were some of the first to invest in colour film, and Derek Cross was one of the leading figures during his time living in New Zealand.
The general atmosphere of the shots is interesting - beautiful bucolic scenes with advertising billboards advertising "Greys is Great" (tobacco), new VW Beetle's parked outside the local store, afternoon sun casting shadows over Frog Rock in the Weka Pass, a pristine white church in Pleasant Point. Although the photos are generally scenic the trains are the focus, and being in colour they really "take you there". Look over the yard at Mandeville in Southland as an A class Pacific with emergency valve exhausting begins to chuff out of the station after dropping a couple of wagons near the Ford Zephyr. An Austin A40 heads past the Shaw Savill and Albion warehouse at Bluff as an A and Wf (on its way from Invercargill shed for a spell shunting at the port) pass with a long train. A mighty pair of Ka's barks loudly as it passes semaphore signals heading into Waiouru with the snowy backdrop of Mount Ruapehu in the distance.
There are a couple of drawbacks. The quality of the colour reproductions is not as good as previous colour volumes (e.g. Steam Steel & Splendour), and a number of the captions contain errors. That said, I think any rail enthusiast will enjoy dipping into this all colour book with its glossy paper and hardback binding.… (mere)