It operated three days a week and had fewer stops than the expresses, which continued to operate on all other days. The 1949-1956 South Island Limited really was a 'limited' with only five intermediate stops to Dunedin and 10 to Invercargill with stops at Ashburton, Timaru, Studholme, Oamaru, Palmerston, Dunedin, Milton, Balclutha, Clinton and Gore on the way to Invercargill. In its very early days, it was occasionally operated by AB class engines, but the more powerful J and JA locomotives quickly became the usual motive power, and they were famous for hauling long strings of the familiar red cars at higher average speeds, achieving a travel time between Christchurch and Dunedin of 7 hours and 9 minutes, and completing the entire journey to Invercargill in 11 hours 20 minutes. In the immediate post-war years and until 1956, the general aim of two daylight expresses daily in both directions on the SIMT continued with the "South Island Limited" being supplemented on the peak demand days of Mon, Wed, Fri by a second stopping express, trains 160/175, which also provided an early morning departure from Dunedin, at 8.45am in the 1935 and 1952 timetables on the Dunedin express to Christchurch and southbound following the 'Limited' out of Christchurch at midday in the 1920s and 30s and postwar at 9.00am south to arrive at Dunedin at 5.25pm, two hours later than the "South Island Limited". However, train 160 and 175 continued to run as a relief holiday express until 1966 and these services were reincarnated as pure mail and express freight trains from 1970 to 1985 on essentially the same 1949 timetable, leaving Christchurch (Middleton) and Dunedin at 9.00am for arrival at 5.00pm, but stopping only at Timaru and Oamaru for half an hour for shunting. Cut off for the first night express freight would be 6.30pm and the train would not leave Moorehouse station until 7:00pm. The original consist of the "South Island Limited" was three first and four second class carriages providing 330 seats overall with a capacity of over 500 in the school holidays. By the late 1960s, the holiday-peak traffic had eroded and the usual consist for most of the year was two first and two second class smoker and non-smoker carriages providing 176 seats. The main traffic for the "South Island Limited" was as a long-distance service to connect with the inter-island Union Steamship Company "Steamer Express" ferry at Lyttelton and to carry mail, with up to six ZP class wagons for maximum revenue.