On 6-8 August 2008, a century after the first train traversed the entire length of the North Island main trunk line, that historic journey was re-enacted. A modern-day Parliamentary Special train, hauled by Steam Incorporated's restored Ja 1271 locomotive (built at Hillside workshops, Dunedin, in 1956), left Wellington for Auckland on the morning of 6 August. Its first stop was at the historic rail town of Paekākāriki, where MP Winnie Laban formally opened a 100-year-old signal box that had been restored by the local rail heritage group.
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