Waimate & Waimate Gorge Branches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other name(s) | Waihao Downs Branch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Status | Closed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owner | Railways Department | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | Canterbury, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termini |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stations | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Type | Heavy Rail | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
System | New Zealand Government Railways (NZGR) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Services | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator(s) | Railways Department | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 19 March 1877 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Extended to Waihao Forks | 2 February 1883 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Extended to Waihao Downs | 24 April 1883 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Closed beyond Waimate | 12 November 1953 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Closed | 31 March 1966 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line length | 7.42 km (Waimate Branch) 13.32 km (Waimate Gorge Branch) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of tracks | Single | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Character | Rural | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Waimate Branch was a branch line railway built in southern Canterbury, New Zealand to link the Main South Line with the town of Waimate, the centre of the surrounding rural area. It opened in 1877 and operated until 1966; for some of this time, it included an extension to Waihao Downs that was known as the Waimate Gorge Branch or Waihao Downs Branch. When the line closed, Waimate received the dubious distinction of being New Zealand's first major town to lose its railway line. [1]
Located roughly halfway between Timaru and Oamaru, Waimate is the major market and service town for the surrounding district, but when the Main South Line between Christchurch and Dunedin was constructed, it was built some 7 km to the east of the township so that it could follow a direct route along the coastal plain without deviating. Both government and residents agreed that a link from the main line village of Studholme to Waimate was necessary. [2] In 1876, tenders were called for the line and the winning offer, George Pratt's of £4,831, was accepted on 10 March 1876. [3] Construction was not difficult and the branch opened on 19 March 1877. The first train was hauled by an A class tank locomotive and had three carriages plus a guard's van. [4]
Two proposals for an extension were made, of which only one eventuated. The plan which did not eventuate was to link Waimate to either Duntroon or Livingstone. One of the proposals for the Otago Central Railway was to build a line from Oamaru to Naseby, and in 1877 an invitation was extended to the Waimate County Council to partake in a plan to connect Waimate to the Oamaru-Naseby line in either Duntroon or Livingstone and thus establish a through route from Central Otago to Canterbury. [5] A deputation representing the advocates of the Oamaru-Naseby line made a presentation before the Waimate County Council on 12 July 1877, but the Council did not view the proposal as desirable. [6] The Oamaru-Naseby proposal itself failed to come to fruition, with Duntroon ultimately served by the Kurow Branch and Livingstone located near the terminus of the Tokarahi Branch.
The other extension proposal was for a line into the hinterland behind Waimate, and this one was successful. Local residents established the Waimate Railway Company in late 1878 to construct an extension from Waimate to the Waihao Valley, and work commenced after W. J. Black's tender for construction of the first section was accepted on 16 April 1882. [7] The initial 11.27 km were built quickly, with the line opened to Waihao Forks on 2 February 1883. Another 2.05 km of trackage to Waihao Downs followed, and this was opened on 24 April 1883, with a small locomotive depot established at the Waihao Downs station. On 1 April 1885, in accordance with the terms of the 1878 District Railways Act under which the Waimate Gorge Branch had been built, the government agreed to take control of the line. [4] There was local pressure to extend the line further and some formation was constructed in 1914 with the goal of continuing the railway to Waihaorunga. World War I brought construction to a halt as resources were diverted elsewhere and work did not resume after the war ended. By 1924, the government had decided that extending rural branch lines was not profitable and thus permanently put an end to any plans to build beyond Waihao Downs. [1]
The only station on the Waimate Branch was the terminus, located 7.42 km from the Main South Line junction in Studholme.
The following stations were located on the Waimate Gorge Branch (in brackets is the distance in kilometres from Waimate):
From the opening of the Waimate Branch, a shuttle service operated between Waimate and the mainline at Studholme, while a daily mixed train ran between Waihao Downs and Waimate. Motive power on the Waimate Gorge Branch was provided by FA class tank locomotives for many years, primarily by FA 10, FA 41, and FA 251. Due to Waimate's status as the central town of the surrounding region, it attracted inbound freight from over 160 km away, and most outbound traffic went to Timaru or Oamaru and the wharves located in those two centres. Waimate is known for its berry gardens, and at the height of the season in 1898, an average of five wagons of strawberries were railed out of Waimate daily. [9] Passenger traffic on the line ceased and was replaced by buses on 9 February 1931, and around this time, the locomotive depot in Waihao Downs was closed and the Waimate Gorge Branch's regular daily mixed train was replaced by a goods service when required. Passenger trains did not become wholly absent from the Waimate Branch, as picnic trains still ran on occasions. [4]
Traffic surged during World War II, in part due to petrol restrictions, but it slipped again with the coming of peace in 1945. New freight handling techniques and changes in coastal shipping patterns served to further lower the traffic on the branch, and with running costs mounting and deferred maintenance becoming more and more necessary, the government took the step of closing the Waihao Downs section on 11 December 1953 and then the entire line on 31 March 1966. [4] All previous branch closures had been of lines serving rural areas and small townships, so Waimate became New Zealand's first major town to lose its railway connection if one excludes the 1955 closure of the isolated Nelson Section (although it served only small settlements, it began in Nelson and was the only railway to serve the city).
The remains of old railways typically perish with time due to both natural influences and human development, and the Waimate Branch is no exception. There are no readily obvious remnants of the line in the town of Waimate, though the formation between Waimate and the junction with the Main South Line can be clearly seen. Along the route of the Waimate Gorge Branch out of Waimate, the line's formation including a cutting, a bridge abutment, and some brick culverts can be located, and for about 5 km, a walkway follows the route of the line beside the Waihao River. [10] At Waihao Forks, the old station still sits on a hillside with a carriage nearby, and at Waihao Downs, the loading bank and goods shed both exist in relatively good condition, though the goods shed has been added to on one side. Continuing past Waihao Downs, some of the formation created for the never-built extension is still visible. [4]
The Waikaka Branch was a branch line railway of the Main South Line that ran through agricultural and gold-mining country in Southland, New Zealand. It was constructed in 1907 and 1908, and was operated by the New Zealand Railways Department until its closure in 1962.
The Tapanui Branch was a railway line located near the border of the regions of Southland and Otago, New Zealand. Although the name suggests that it terminated in Tapanui, its furthest terminus was actually in Edievale. Construction of the line began in 1878 with the first section opened in 1880, and it operated until 1978, when it was destroyed by flooding from the Pomahaka River.
The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Invercargill via Dunedin. It is one of the most important railway lines in New Zealand and was one of the first to be built, with construction commencing in the 1860s. At Christchurch, it connects with the Main North Line to Picton, the other part of the South Island Main Trunk.
The Moeraki Branch was one of the most short-lived railway lines in New Zealand. It left the Main South Line between Oamaru and Dunedin and served Port Moeraki between 1877 and 1879.
The Tokanui Branch, also known as the Seaward Bush Branch, was a branch line railway located in Southland, New Zealand. It diverged from the Bluff Branch south of the main railway station in Invercargill and ran for 54 kilometres in a southeasterly direction. Construction began in 1883 and it operated until 1966.
The Outram Branch was a branch line railway near Dunedin, Otago, that operated from 1877 to 1953 and formed part of New Zealand's national rail network.
The Ngapara and Tokarahi Branches were two connected railway branch lines in northern Otago, New Zealand, part of the national rail network. The Ngapara Branch opened in 1877 and almost all of it closed in 1959; the remaining few kilometres, called the Waiareka Industrial Line, were removed in 1997. The Tokarahi Branch branched off the Ngapara Branch. It operated from 1887 until 1930 and was originally known as the Livingstone Branch, though it never progressed beyond Tokarahi to Livingstone. In early 2008 there is a proposal to reinstate the first 4.5 km of the Ngapara Branch.
The NZR RM class Clayton steam rail motor was a unique railcar that was operated by New Zealand Railways (NZR) for New Zealand's national rail network and one of only two steam railcars to operate in New Zealand - the other being 1925's RM class Sentinel-Cammell.
The NZR RM class Edison battery-electric railcar was a railcar that ran in Canterbury, New Zealand for eight years. It was built for New Zealand Railways (NZR) as a prototype for battery-electric railcars. While the railcar, classified "RM 6", was considered the first successful railcar in New Zealand, it was later destroyed in a fire, and battery-electric traction for railcars was not developed further in New Zealand. Two other classes of battery-electric locomotives were introduced about the same time as RM 6, the E class of 1922 and the EB class of 1925.
The Otago Central Railway (OCR) or in later years Otago Central Branch Railway, now often referred to as the Taieri Gorge Railway, was a secondary railway line in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand.
Ngapara is a locality in the north Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located in a rural setting 25 km inland from Oamaru. The name of Ngapara is derived from the Māori word for the "tables" or plateaus of limestone in the area.
The Kurow Branch was part of New Zealand's national rail network. In the North Otago region of the South Island, it was built in the 1870s to open up the land behind Oamaru for development, and closed in 1983.
The Roxburgh Branch was a branch line railway built in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island that formed part of the country's national rail network. Originally known as the Lawrence Branch, it was one of the longest construction projects in New Zealand railway history, beginning in the 1870s and not finished until 1928. The full line was closed in 1968.
Hakataramea, spelt Hakateramea in some older sources, is a rural village located in the southern Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is in the Waimate District and sits on the north bank of the Waitaki River at its confluence with the Hakataramea River.
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.
Studholme is a locality in southern Canterbury in New Zealand's South Island. It is named after Michael Studholme, a pioneer European settler who arrived in the area in 1854.
The Waihao River is a natural watercourse in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows into the Wainono Lagoon near Studholme.
Waimate Creek is a natural watercourse in the southern Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Its original Māori name was Te Waimatemate, which means "slowly moving waters".
Waimate is a town in Canterbury, New Zealand and the seat of Waimate District. It is situated just inland from the eastern coast of the South Island. The town is reached via a short detour west when travelling on State Highway One, the main North/South road. Waimate is 45.7 km south of Timaru, Canterbury's second city, 20 km north of the Waitaki River, which forms the border between Canterbury and the Otago province to the south and 47.5 km north of Oamaru, the main town of the Waitaki District.