Koranui Incline

Last updated

Koranui Incline
New Zealand (location map).svg
Disc Plain red.svg
Koranui Incline
Coordinates: 41°43′18″S171°47′22″E / 41.72167°S 171.78944°E / -41.72167; 171.78944
CountryNew Zealand
Region West Coast
District Buller District

The Koranui Incline was an inclined tramway on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand that, for four years from late 1882 to the end of 1886, brought coal from a mine high on Mt Frederick down to a railway line near sea level.

Contents

It was first powered by a single engine that moved the whole 3.6 kilometre (2.2 mile) length of ropeway, but was later modified into a series of five self-acting inclines.

History

The Koranui Incline was located in the Waimangaroa valley on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It ran from the Koranui Coal Mining Company’s mine on the southern slopes of Mt Frederick and descended to the north bank of the Waimangaroa River – with a total fall of 700 metres (2,300 ft) and a length of 3.6 kilometres (2.2 miles). A bridge across the river connected the incline to the Conns Creek branch railway that followed the south bank of the river to the main Westport to Seddonville line. [1]

The more famous Denniston Incline, on the other side of the river and further up the valley from the Koranui Incline, was smaller, with a fall of 518 metres (1,700 ft) and a length of 1.67 kilometres (1.04 miles). [2]

The survey for the incline was completed by John Rochfort by 19 October 1877, [3] construction began in 1879, and the incline opened in November 1882. [4]

As originally built, the incline was divided into four stages (of 644, 1207, 1182 and 634 metres in length [5] ) and the ropes that worked each one were connected at the stage breaks by means of double drums. This allowed one engine to keep the whole length of 3.6 kilometres working. The drum diameters were so proportioned that the sets of trucks would arrive at the stage breaks simultaneously despite the incline stages being of unequal lengths. [6] Trucks holding about 1.5 tons of coal each were chained together in sets of six, and two sets were operated on each portion of the incline – eight sets in all. [7] The track gauge was two feet (0.61 m).

However, the incline did not work well. In 1884, the company chairman reported to shareholders that "one of the greatest difficulties that had had to be overcome in working the mine had been the task of finding a competent mechanical engineer to work the incline." A new engineer, Henry Hughes, was engaged at the end of 1883 and the whole system remodelled. [8] George Binns, an Inspector of Mines, had suggested in 1883 that an ordinary endless rope system would be better than the system then being tried for lowering coal on the incline. Mr Hughes adopted this idea and altered the system into five self-acting inclines, each with an endless rope. In 1884, George Binns reported that the new inclines worked very well, but noted it was necessary to stop each incline every time a tub (truck) passed the incline terminus, causing considerable delays. He expected this would soon be resolved. [9]

The incline now worked better, and mine production also improved, but profitability did not. [10] The Koranui Coal Mining Company was bought by one of the main shareholders (Mr Robert Williams) in August 1884, [11] who sold it to the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand on 1 August 1885. [12] It was then bought by the Westport Coal Company in about February 1887, [13] which operated the nearby Denniston Incline. The reason for this is probably that the first 1.6 kilometres (1 mile) of the 2.7 kilometre (1.7 mile) Conns Creek branch railway line (which connected the bottom of the Denniston Incline with the Westport to Seddonville railway) was owned by the Koranui Coal Mining Company. [14]

Work at the Koranui mine ceased at the beginning of 1887 as the means of bringing the coal down the lengthy incline was too costly. [15] The Westport Coal Company expressed hope in March 1887 that further extensive alterations to the incline would allow operations to resume, [16] but by May 1887 the incline had been dismantled. [17]

The Koranui mine and incline were worked intermittently [18] during the incline’s four years of operation, with the overall level of activity indicated by the amount of coal produced: 1882, 196 tons; 1883, 3300 tons; 1884, 5989 tons; 1885, 30,539 tons; and 1886, 44,170 tons. [19] [20] [21] [22] [23]

The incline today

Traces of the former route of the Koranui Incline can be seen today from a lookout on the road to Denniston, on the opposite side of the valley. [24]

There is some potential for the Koranui coalfield to be mined in the future. A 2007 assessment concluded: "The Koranui area contains about 1 million tonnes of coking coal that appears open ended to the east. Low stripping ratios make this coal attractive but access to the coal deposit will be difficult." [25]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rimutaka Incline</span>

The Rimutaka Incline was a 3-mile-long (4.8 km), 3 ft 6 in gauge railway line on an average grade of 1-in-15 using the Fell system between Summit and Cross Creek stations on the Wairarapa side of the original Wairarapa Line in the Wairarapa district of New Zealand. The term "Rimutaka Incline" is sometimes used incorrectly to refer to other parts or all of the closed and deviated section of the Wairarapa Line between Upper Hutt and Speedy's Crossing, near Featherston. The incline formation is now part of the Remutaka Rail Trail.

Denniston is a small settlement, 15 kilometres east of Westport, on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the Denniston Plateau, 600 metres (2,000 ft) above sea level in the Papahaua Ranges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cable railway</span> Railway that uses a cable, rope or chain to haul trains

A cable railway is a railway that uses a cable, rope or chain to haul trains. It is a specific type of cable transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waimangaroa</span> Town on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand

Waimangaroa is a small town located on the West Coast of New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NZR E class (1906)</span>

The New Zealand E class locomotive comprised a single Mallet steam locomotive operated by New Zealand Railways (NZR) from 1906 until 1917. Classified as E 66 and nicknamed Pearson's Dream after its designer, it was an experimental Mallet locomotive designed to work on the Rimutaka Incline. The "E" classification was previously used by the Double Fairlie E class of 1872-75, but the classification was free as they had all been withdrawn by the time E 66 entered service. After the withdrawal of E 66, "E" was again re-used on the battery-electric E class of 1922. It was the only Mallet locomotive to operate for the NZR

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackball Branch</span>

The Blackball Branch was a branch line railway of New Zealand's national rail network on the West Coast of the South Island and worked from the 1900s to 1966. It included the Roa Branch, also known as the Roa Incline. Roa was sometimes known as Paparoa.

The Papahaua Range is a mountain range on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island east of the town of Westport. It is a geological continuation of the Paparoa Range that is south of the Buller River and it runs north from the Buller Gorge to the Mōkihinui River. At its north end, it meets the Glasgow Range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millerton, New Zealand</span> Place in West Coast, New Zealand

Millerton is a small settlement in the northwestern South Island of New Zealand in the West Coast region. It is in the Papahaua Ranges, around 33 kilometres by road north of Westport, via SH67 from Westport to Karamea.

The Rewanui Branch, sometimes referred to as the Rewanui Incline and known as the Point Elizabeth Branch in its early years, was a branch line railway located in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. It branched from the Midland Line near its western terminus in Greymouth and ran up to Rewanui in the Paparoa Ranges. The branch closed in 1985 but the first six kilometres to Runanga remain in operation as part of the Rapahoe Branch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seddonville Branch</span>

The Seddonville Branch, later truncated as the Ngākawau Branch, is a branch line railway in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. Construction began in 1874 and it reached its terminus at the Mokihinui Mine just beyond Seddonville in 1895. In 1981 it was closed past Ngākawau and effectively became an extension of the Stillwater–Westport Line, since formalised as the Stillwater–Ngākawau Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cross Creek railway station</span> Defunct railway station in New Zealand

Cross Creek railway station was the base of operations for the Rimutaka Incline, a Fell railway over the Rimutaka Ranges, and part of the original Wairarapa Line between Upper Hutt and Featherston in the Wellington region of New Zealand's North Island. The station was between Pigeon Bush and Summit stations on the Wairarapa Line. The station was bypassed when the Rimutaka Tunnel was opened.

The Conns Creek Branch was a 2.7 kilometre branch line railway in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. It diverged from the Seddonville Branch at Waimangaroa and followed the southern bank of the Waimangaroa River to the line's terminus at Conns Creek at the foot of the Denniston Incline. The line operated from 1877 until 1967 and existed for the sole purpose of conveying coal from mines to the port of Westport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kinleith Branch</span>

The Kinleith Branch railway line is located in the Waikato region of New Zealand. The line was constructed by the Thames Valley and Rotorua Railway Company, Taupo Totara Timber Company and rebuilt by the Public Works Department primarily to serve the Kinleith Mill in 1952. It is 65 kilometres (40 mi) in length.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thames Branch</span>

The Thames Branch railway line connected Thames, New Zealand, with Hamilton and was originally part of the East Coast Main Trunk railway. Part of the line between Morrinsville and Waitoa remains open and is in use as the Waitoa Branch line, connecting to the Fonterra Dairy Factory at Waitoa.

NZR W<sup>H</sup> class

The NZR WH class was a class of three steam locomotives built by Manning Wardle in 1884 for service on New Zealand's private Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company (WMR). They did not acquire their WH classification until 1908 when WMR was nationalised and incorporated into the New Zealand Government Railways (NZR). A total of five locomotives were purchased by the WMR but two had been sold by the time NZR took over the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glen Afton Branch</span> Branch railway line in Waikato, New Zealand

The Glen Afton Branch was a branch railway line of 7.9 km in the Waikato in New Zealand, built to serve coal mines in the Awaroa district west of Huntly at Rotowaro, Pukemiro and Glen Afton. Rotowaro is Māori for "coal lake".

The Glen Massey Line was a private railway of 10.6 km near Ngāruawāhia in the Waikato region of New Zealand, built to serve coal mines, and, from 1935, run by the New Zealand Railways Department. The line had grades of 1 in 40, sharp curves - sharpest 6 ch and 40 of less than 10 ch - and 22 bridges, including a 91.5-metre-long and 18.3-metre-high timber trestle bridge over Firewood Creek halfway between Ngāruawāhia and Glen Massey and a 70-foot-long (21 m) bridge, adapted in 1917 to take sheep, on 52 ft (16 m) piles over the Waipā River, as well as the railway, after collapse of the road bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otorohanga railway station</span> Railway station in New Zealand

Otorohanga railway station serves the town of Ōtorohanga, on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand. The current station dates from 1924.

The Rockies Incline was an inclined tramway on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand that for ten years from 1925 to 1935 brought coal from the Westport Main Coal Company’s mine on the Millerton-Stockton plateau down to the Westport to Seddonville railway line near sea level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charming Creek Tramway</span>

The Charming Creek Tramway was a 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) long private bush tramway at Ngakawau in Buller District on the West Coast in New Zealand. It was used from 1903 or 1905 to 1958.

References

  1. ↑ Prebble, Bill (2008). Denniston's Incline: Coal from the Clouds. New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society Incorporated. pp. 14–20. ISBN   978-0-908573-84-4.
  2. ↑ Prebble, Bill (2008). Denniston's Incline: Coal from the Clouds. New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society Incorporated. pp. 21–22. ISBN   978-0-908573-84-4.
  3. ↑ Prebble, Bill (2008). Denniston's Incline: Coal from the Clouds. New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society Incorporated. p. 18. ISBN   978-0-908573-84-4.
  4. ↑ Grey River Argus Volume XXVI, Issue 4433, 7 November 1882, p. 2.
  5. ↑ Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives 1883 H-11. Report on Control and Inspection of Mines p. 9.
  6. ↑ Otago Daily Times Issue 6350, 19 June 1882, p. 4.
  7. ↑ Otago Daily Times Issue 6350, 19 June 1882, p. 4.
  8. ↑ Evening Post Volume XXVII, Issue 76, 29 March 1884, p. 2.
  9. ↑ Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives 1884 Session I, C-05. Report on Control and Inspection of Mines. p. 9.
  10. ↑ Evening Post Volume XXVIII, Issue 7, 8 July 1884, p. 2.
  11. ↑ Daily Telegraph 6 August 1884, p. 3.
  12. ↑ Grey River Argus Volume XXXI, Issue 5226, 26 June 1885, p. 2.
  13. ↑ Grey River Argus Volume XXXIV, Issue 5830, 26 February 1887, p. 4.
  14. ↑ Prebble, Bill (2008). Denniston's Incline: Coal from the Clouds. New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society Incorporated. pp. 16–20. ISBN   978-0-908573-84-4.
  15. ↑ New Zealand Tablet Volume XIV, Issue 48, 25 March 1887, p. 9.
  16. ↑ New Zealand Tablet Volume XIV, Issue 48, 25 March 1887, p. 9.
  17. ↑ Grey River Argus Volume XXXV, Issue 5909, 31 May 1887, p. 2.
  18. ↑ Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives 1884 Session I, C-05. Report on Control and Inspection of Mines. p. 10.
  19. ↑ Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives 1883 H-11. Report on Control and Inspection of Mines p. 24.
  20. ↑ Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives 1884 Session I, C-05. Report on Control and Inspection of Mines. p. 28.
  21. ↑ Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives 1885 Session I, C-04. Report on Control and Inspection of Mines. p. 13.
  22. ↑ Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives 1886 Session I, C-04c. Annual Reports of the Inspectors on Inspection of Mines. pp. 3 and 16.
  23. ↑ Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives 1887 Session I, C-03. Annual Report of the Inspectors on Inspection of Mines. p. 14.
  24. ↑ Prebble, Bill (2008). Denniston's Incline: Coal from the Clouds. New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society Incorporated. p. 18. ISBN   978-0-908573-84-4.
  25. ↑ Gunn, Peter (2007). Kenham Coking Coal Potential of the Buller Coal Field. Ministry of Economic Development New Zealand. Coal Report Series CR3181. p. 9. Retrieved June 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.