Operating on part of the northern section of the mothballed Palmerston North–Gisborne Line, the group was founded in 1985.

[3] As at 1 January 2021, damage to the track at Beach Loop was preventing Gisborne City Vintage Railway from operating south of Muriwai.

In December 2022, the Eastland Group announced that the Tūranganui River railway bridge, used by the train to collect cruise ship passengers from the port was no longer considered safe.

As an interim measure, a bus was arranged to take cruise ship passengers from the port to connect with the train.

[4] Later that month, the Gisborne City Vintage Railway reported that it aimed to raise $800,000 to undertake repairs and maintenance on the line to Muriwai.