With the deterioration of the yellow Northerner stock, carriages to replace these had to be found by sourcing from the rest of the NZR 56-foot carriage fleet.
The change in service was marked, with a refurbished modular FM van turned power-luggage van with handbrake end-mounted 11 kW petrol generator, and three carriages, one from the Endeavour Express and later Southerner Express converted into a servery car seating 31 in reupholstered Addington Workshops-produced seats, in bays of four with two pairs of seats each facing into a table, arranged alcove-style, with windows over double the size of the old ones, enabling better views of the alpine scenery, reupholstered seats and carpet, and a buffet counter service, to replace refreshment stops at railway station cafeterias at Springfield and Otira.
The original intention had been to replace each pair of windows with one larger window, but the final solution was to cut out the side of the carriages and to insert a steel ladder frame to which sheets of strengthened glass were glued.
The effect, of a continuous sheet of glass the length of the carriage, was spectacular and undoubtedly was a major factor in the success of the new service.
The other two carriages were red Picton – Greymouth carriages that were refitted and repainted to the same standard but retained their smaller windows and seated 50, same seating arrangement and type as the servery car.

Reducing the service to an "out and back" format as opposed to "one each way" freed up carriages for other services, and by refurbishing existing stock it was hoped that the move would draw people to the previously poorly-performing Greymouth passenger trains.
The service proved to be popular, with patronage doubling in the first year, with 7,183 passengers in January 1988 alone.

Soon, two more Picton – Greymouth carriages were refitted similar to the servery and observation car, so the two small-window carriages could be slotted into the Southerner consists.
These new "big window" carriages each sat 51, same seating arrangement and type as the servery car.
In the early 1990s, the first generation TranzAlpine panorama carriages had a new pressure ventilation system installed, similar to the Bay Express and the observation carriage introduced to this train in 1991.

In 1988, the train won a Tourism New Zealand Award and was voted as one of the top 10 "short" train journeys in the world.
This was the result of the work of a freelance consulting designer and writer Paul Teague, who also worked at the Christchurch Press.
His consulting was initiated by John Bennett, Canterbury and Westland Branch manager at the time.
John Bennett was soon after promoted to Intercity National Manager, perhaps as a result of the work.

The locomotives that were used on the service were either up to two or three DC class locomotives, two DF class locomotives, two DX class locomotives or a mixture of each.
With the deterioration of the yellow Northerner stock, carriages to replace these had to be found by sourcing from the rest of the NZR 56-foot carriage fleet. The change in service was marked, with a refurbished modular FM van turned power-luggage van with handbrake end-mounted 11 kW petrol generator, and three carriages, one from the Endeavour Express and later Southerner Express converted into a servery car seating 31 in reupholstered Addington Workshops-produced seats, in bays of four with two pairs of seats each facing into a table, arranged alcove-style, with windows over double the size of the old ones, enabling better views of the alpine scenery, reupholstered seats and carpet, and a buffet counter service, to replace refreshment stops at railway station cafeterias at Springfield and Otira. The original intention had been to replace each pair of windows with one larger window, but the final solution was to cut out the side of the carriages and to insert a steel ladder frame to which sheets of strengthened glass were glued. The effect, of a continuous sheet of glass the length of the carriage, was spectacular and undoubtedly was a major factor in the success of the new service. The other two carriages were red Picton – Greymouth carriages that were refitted and repainted to the same standard but retained their smaller windows and seated 50, same seating arrangement and type as the servery car.
Reducing the service to an "out and back" format as opposed to "one each way" freed up carriages for other services, and by refurbishing existing stock it was hoped that the move would draw people to the previously poorly-performing Greymouth passenger trains. The service proved to be popular, with patronage doubling in the first year, with 7,183 passengers in January 1988 alone.
Soon, two more Picton – Greymouth carriages were refitted similar to the servery and observation car, so the two small-window carriages could be slotted into the Southerner consists. These new "big window" carriages each sat 51, same seating arrangement and type as the servery car. In the early 1990s, the first generation TranzAlpine panorama carriages had a new pressure ventilation system installed, similar to the Bay Express and the observation carriage introduced to this train in 1991.
In 1988, the train won a Tourism New Zealand Award and was voted as one of the top 10 "short" train journeys in the world. This was the result of the work of a freelance consulting designer and writer Paul Teague, who also worked at the Christchurch Press. His consulting was initiated by John Bennett, Canterbury and Westland Branch manager at the time. John Bennett was soon after promoted to Intercity National Manager, perhaps as a result of the work.
The locomotives that were used on the service were either up to two or three DC class locomotives, two DF class locomotives, two DX class locomotives or a mixture of each.
TranzAlpine