The Connoisseur car

The Connoisseur cars were special railway carriages that were used in the consist of a number of passenger trains in New Zealand.

In 1987, a private tourist firm, Globetrotter Tours New Zealand Ltd leased a New Zealand Railways Corporation single lavatory first class NZR 56-foot carriage, utilised on the South Island Main Trunk Main South Line's Southerner express passenger trains for private use as a luxury tourist alternative to the rail services then offered by InterCity Rail.

Originally, the car was named the Connoisseur's Express car, and the aim was to attract more wealthy patrons back to rail travel in the South Island. It offered a higher level of service, including public address announcements about key iconic features of both railway and route, pre-packaged meals and refreshments brought to your seat, complimentary newspaper, and a "cabin attendant". It seated 45 passengers in a type of seat designed by staff from Christchurch's Addington Workshops. Unfortunately, in its initial guise, the service proved unpopular; passengers complained about the carriage's condition, age, riding quality, the standard one-way fare being more expensive than the ordinary InterCity return between Christchurch and Picton and lateness of the services it was towed behind.

From Monday, January 19, 1987, the car was hauled behind the-then Picton Express later Coastal Pacific. Later, the service was opened up to the Greymouth or West Coast Expresses on Sunday, March 1, that same year. Later, the Main South Line of the SIMT was included in the itinerary. The car continued to alternate between the Midland Line, Main North Line, and Main South Line, but was later limited to the Picton and Greymouth runs, and finally the Greymouth return service only.

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