Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Wellington and Manawatu Railway (WMR) was a railway between Thorndon in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, and Longburn, near Palmerston North in the Manawatu. Unlike many other early railways in New Zealand, it was privately owned.

At the time of the railway's founding, the government had already constructed a railway linking Palmerston North and Foxton, and was planning to extend its line to Wellington. However, a group of Wellington businessmen grew impatient at the government's delays, and chose to fund their own connection. The WMR was founded in 1881, and the laying of track was completed in 1886.

The WMR ran for about 134 kilometres (83 miles). From central Wellington, the line wound through the hills to Johnsonville, the current Tranz Metro Johnsonville Branch Line, generally following its route. The line then proceeded to Tawa, roughly along the line of the State Highway 1 motorway. From Tawa to Longburn the North Island Main Trunk line generally follows its route, through Porirua, Paekakariki, Paraparaumu, Otaki, and Shannon. The decision to pass through Shannon meant that the line joined the existing Palmerston-Foxton line in the middle, at Longburn, rather than at Foxton — this decision was strongly debated, but was chosen as being more direct. A number of new towns were established along the railway's route, notably Plimmerton, named after company director and 'Father of Wellington' John Plimmer, and Levin, named after William Hort Levin, a director of the company.

The company was relatively successful, and generated a considerable amount of revenue for its owners. It was relatively advanced by standards of the time, having comfortable carriages, electric lighting, and telephone communication between stations.

The WMR was bought by the government in 1908, and integrated into the New Zealand Railways Department.

[edit] Motive power

In total, the WMR operated 22 locomotives in revenue service, 20 of which were acquired by the government when it purchased the company. The company classified its locomotives by number without class distinction. When they were acquired by the government, some joined already existing classes of locomotives (N and V), while others had new class designations established for them. In the following list, the WMR number is given with the relevant NZR class in brackets.

  • No. 1 (WH class)
  • No. 2 (WH class)
  • No. 3 of 1884 (WH class)
  • No. 3 of 1904 (WJ class)
  • No. 4 (WH class)
  • No. 5 of 1884 (WH class)
  • No. 5 of 1901 (NC class)
  • No. 6 (V class)
  • No. 7 (V class)
  • No. 8 (V class)
  • No. 9 (N class)
  • No. 10 (N class)
  • No. 11 (OB class)
  • No. 12 (OB class)
  • No. 13 (OA class)
  • No. 14 (NA class)
  • No. 15 (NA class)
  • No. 16 (OC class)
  • No. 17 (BC class)
  • No. 18 (NC class)
  • No. 19 (UD class)
  • No. 20 (UD class)

(As the original Nos 3 and 5 had been sold by the WMR by the beginning of the 20th century, the numbers were free to be re-used.)

No. 10 became particularly famous when, on 20 July 1892, it hit 64.4 mph (103.6 km/h) as it pulled a test train along the level line between Levin and Shannon. At the time, this was the world speed record for a train operating on 3 foot 6 inch (1,067 mm) narrow gauge track. The locomotive was scrapped in 1928 and dumped in the Waimakariri River to help stabilise the riverbank, and its final resting place is still a mystery.

The WMR also owned other locomotives that did not work in revenue service, but were used for construction and maintenance tasks. One of these included a former member of the New Zealand Railways Department's P class of 1876. Known as Weka, it was used by the WMR from 1882 until 1898, when it passed into the ownership of the Manawatu County Council for use on its Sanson Tramway.

[edit] Survivingrelics

Despite the railway's short history and its disappearance long before the railway preservation movement became active, a number of WMR relics have managed to survive to the present day. Of the locomotives, only No. 9 (later NZR N 453) is known to exist, the remains of which were recovered in 2003 by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Trust. Sister locomotive No. 10 is believed to have been dumped complete along the Midland Line, but has yet to be discovered; and railway archaeologist Tony Batchelor believes he may have found No. 7 (later NZR V 451) in Southland, but this claim has yet to be proven. A number of rolling stock survives, including no less than 4 passenger carriages - one 43ft carriage, No. 35 (A 1113) by private interests in the Auckland region; 50ft cars No. 42 (A 1120), stored at the Bush Tramway Club at Rotowaro; No. 48 (A 1126) and No. 52 (A 1130), both owned by the NZR&LS and stored at the Silver Stream Railway, with No. 48 under active restoration. Unfortunately no bogie wagons are thought to exist, but a number of 4-wheel goods wagons survive - an L class owned by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Trust, one at the Ferrymead Railway, and 3 L class wagons owned by Steamrail Wanganui in poor condition.

Other remnants include the railway stations at Shannon, the former Te Horo station at Te Horo, the station now at the Tokomaru Steam Museum, the Forest Lakes Rail Bridge and the abutement remnants of the Belmont Viaduct near Johnsonville.

[edit] External links

New Zealand Railway Lines
Main lines
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North Island:
East Coast Main Trunk - North Island Main Trunk
South Island:
Main North Line and Main South Line, known together as the South Island Main Trunk
Secondary lines
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North Island:
Marton - New Plymouth Line - North Auckland Line - Palmerston North - Gisborne Line - Stratford - Okahukura Line - Wairarapa Line
South Island:
Midland Line - Nelson Section - Otago Central Railway - Stillwater - Westport Line - Waimea Plains Railway

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Branch lines
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Upper North Island
Cambridge - Dargaville - Donnelly's Crossing - Glen Afton - Kinleith - Kumeu-Riverhead - Mount Maunganui - Murupara - Newmarket - Okaihau - Onehunga - Onerahi - Opua - Rotorua - Taneatua - Thames - Waiuku and Mission Bush
Lower North Island
Ahuriri - Castlecliff and Wanganui - Foxton - Greytown - Johnsonville - Melling - Mount Egmont - Moutohora - Ngatapa - Opunake - Raetihi - Taonui - Te Aro - Waitara
Upper South Island
Blackball and Roa - Cape Foulwind - Conns Creek - Eyreton - Fairlie - Little River - Lyttelton - Methven - Mount Somers - Oxford - Rapahoe - Rewanui - Hokitika/Ross - Seddonville - Southbridge - Waiau - Waimate - Whitecliffs
Lower South Island
Bluff - Catlins River - Dunback and Makareao - Fernhill - Hedgehope - Kingston - Kurow - Moeraki - Mossburn - Ngapara and Tokarahi - Outram - Port Chalmers - Roxburgh - Shag Point - Tapanui - Tokanui - Tuatapere - Waikaia - Waikaka - Wairio - Walton Park - Wyndham

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Private lines
Glen Massey Branch - Dunedin Peninsula and Ocean Beach Railway - Dun Mountain Railway - Hutt Park Railway - Kaitangata Line - Sanson Tramway - Wellington and Manawatu Railway

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