Last week, while accommodating guests, the comment was made that a day outing or activity be undertaken. Naturally I had my guests best interests at heart and suggested that a scenic jaunt to Arthur's Pass would be a good move. There was unanimous agreement. The fact that there was likely to be an opportunity to snap several trains along the way was merely a coincidence, honestly! Thus, last Thursday, this happened: (apologies if the photos are a bit large for dial-up users)

Late morning we came across (quite by accident) DC 4473 and an unidentified sister arriving at Cass with a west bound freight. Immediately after this photo my camera decided it was actually a toaster, so I missed identifying and shooting the second DC.

This is a fairly simple question that I have been pondering for a week or so now:

I have seen photos of Da's and Db's (and EE Df's, too, I think...) - North Island locomotives - in Dunedin for overhaul at Hillside. I'm guessing that they ran south from Picton down the SIMT. So What I'm wondering is, did any Dx locomotives ever run in the South Island before they were transferred south after the NIMT electrification, either to Hillside for overhaul, or for other reasons?

Cheers,

G-J