In 1969 small WW class locomotive 480 ran a rail tour the length of the Midland Line from Greymouth to Christchurch, then up the Main North Line from Christchurch to Picton, before crossing the Cook Strait and up the North Island Main Trunk from Wellington to Auckland. The response from the public was phenomenal, with most vantage points packed with people, either on foot or in cars, who had come out to see the train travel north. The journey was also the subject of a National Film Unit film "The Ride of 480". The 1920s locomotive was special to the Society because whilst based in the Auckland (until about 1964), the engine had been used on many Society excursions around the Auckland area and was a favourite with many of the members who also worked on NZR at the time. The whole project was repeated the following year when sister WW class locomotive 644 ran the same journey from Greymouth to Auckland over the same timeframe. 1970s In 1972, JA locomotive "Diana" was brought to Auckland via the Wairarapa and Taranaki regions with sister locomotive J 1236. On the last leg of the trip from Auckland to the Glenbrook Vintage Railway, the train was fully booked and all vantage points along the route were also filled with people. It would turn out that this would be the last steam train to carry passengers out of Auckland City until 1985. In 1976, due to a shortage of available carriages, NZR announced it would no longer make carriages available to organisations for charter work. The Society responded to the situation by assisting the formation of the National Federation of Rail Societies (later renamed Federation of Rail Organisations of New Zealand), a national body to look after the interests of all rail heritage organisations in New Zealand. The Federation successfully negotiated for private (non motive power) rolling stock to operate on the national rail network. In 1978, an excursion from Auckland to Tauranga through the recently opened Kaimai Tunnel, operated with three Society carriages and one carriage hired from Steam Incorporated. 1980s In 1981 and 1986, the Society operated steam-hauled trains with Glenbrook Vintage Railway's Mallet locomotive and WW 480 along Quay Street in Auckland as part of tourism promotions. These lines, which served Port of Auckland wharves, were removed in the late 1980s and the trains were the last to carry passengers