It ran from 1886 until its replacement by the Picton Express in 1945 and its route followed both the Main North Line and the Waiau Branch.
Initially envisaged as part of the main route north to Marlborough, an express passenger train began operating between the two towns.
It was the most important passenger train in the northern Canterbury region and it received modern rolling stock and steam locomotives, such as the UB class of 1899.
The New Zealand Railways Road Services bus operations were actively encouraged, resulting in a stark decline in passenger demand on the Waipara-Culverden-Waiau route on what was now the Waiau Branch.
[4] The service to Parnassus continued to operate until the Main North Line was completed in full from Christchurch to Picton in December 1945.