DXB 5051 leads 5108 over Waiteti Viaduct south of Te Kuiti with train 225 from Auckland to Wellington. The DX locomotives were introduced from 1972 to serve on the North Island Main Trunk however their appearance on this line today is uncommon with the vast majority of the class having migrated to the South Island and duties on the NIMT largely in the hands of the outgoing EF electric locos and new DL imports from China.
Trains on 3' 6" (1.067m) track from Whangarei to Bluff with virtually heritage rebuilt EMD and GE locomotives still the mainstay power. The network was privatized in 1990's and operated by Toll until 2008 when state owned KiwiRail was established.