Fairlie Branch
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The Fairlie Branch (also known as the Eversley Branch) was a branch line railway in southern Canterbury that formed part of New Zealand's national railway network. Construction began in 1874, and at its fullest extent, it terminated just beyond Fairlie in Eversley. Its closure came in 1968, but a portion remains open in Pleasant Point as the Pleasant Point Museum and Railway.
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[edit] Construction
Proposed in the early 1870s, a branch line from Timaru to Pleasant Point was approved in December 1872 by the local government and a construction contract let in the following March. After a railway act approving the line was passed later in 1873, construction could commence, and it did so on 18 February 1874. The branch left the Main South Line at Washdyke, now a northern suburb of Timaru, and headed northwest towards Pleasant Point. Construction of this 14.4 kilometres of railway proceeded without any notable difficulties, opening for service on 24 December 1875 - though trains had been able to run to Pleasant Point as early as two months previously.
An extension followed swiftly, with the 27 kilometre long addition to Albury opened on 21 January 1877. Another twelve kilometres followed in a few years when the line was opened to Winscombe on 24 August 1883, and after less than half a year, the final portion of the line was opened, to the locale of Eversley, just beyond Fairlie. This gave the line a full length of 58.3 kilometres.
There were proposals to extend the branch even further to Burkes Pass, and 27 kilometres of formation was made to varying standards of completion, but ultimately no rails were laid and the line's furthest terminus remained Eversley.
[edit] Stations
The following stations were located on the Fairlie Branch (in brackets is the distance from Washdyke):
- Levels (6 km)
- Waitawa (10 km)
- Pleasant Point (14 km)
- Sutherlands (22 km)
- Cave (30 km)
- Ma Waro (35 km)
- Albury (41 km)
- Tengawai (42 km)
- Cricklewood (48 km)
- Winscombe (53 km)
- Fairlie (57 km)
- Eversley (58 km)
[edit] Operation
The line's reason for existence was to open up farmland in the region behind Timaru and promote rural development. When opened to Pleasant Point, two trains ran each way a day, but when Fairlie was reached, the line's timetable was adjusted to the pattern typical of many rural New Zealand branch lines, with a single "mixed" train carrying both passengers and freight running each way per day. Special freight trains ran as necessary, especially to collect livestock from Pleasant Point. For a period, the line also had its own dedicated passenger train, nicknamed the "Fairlie Flyer", but it perhaps did not live up to its fast-sounding name; by the late 1920s, it was quicker to travel by car between Fairlie and Timaru, which resulted in a decline of traffic that led to the train's cancellation in 1930. From this time, passengers were solely catered for by the daily mixed train.
The line had also started making a loss around this period, and on 1 April 1934, the short section from Fairlie to Eversley was closed. It had always been operated as an extension of the Fairlie yard and its existence had become redundant. The rest of the line entered into a slow demise, with passenger services cut to thrice weekly in 1953; the mixed train operated Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with solely freight carried on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Intense competition from road posed problems for the line, and what traffic it did retain was mainly due to government subsidies. Despite this, by 1966, the livestock traffic that had been the line's primary cargo was all but non-existent and the decision was soon made to close the line. The date of closure was 2 March 1968 and the occasion was marked by a special return of the Fairlie Flyer, attracting large crowds of locals.
[edit] The branch today
Remnants of closed railway lines diminish and disappear as a result of natural and human activity, but some relics from the Fairlie Branch's operating days still exist, most notably the 2.5 kilometres of restored trackage still in use by the Pleasant Point Museum and Railway. For much of the line's length from Timaru to Fairlie, the formation can be seen making its way through the rolling countryside, and abutments and piles still stand at the site of some bridges. One bridge itself still stands, near Winscombe. Loading banks still exist at the site of Levels, Waitawa, Sutherlands, and Cave stations. Levels also still possesses its goods shed and Waitawa has the remnants of a platform, and water vat foundations remain in Levels and Tengawai. Beyond Eversley, the formation that was constructed but never used can even still be seen.
[edit] Resources
- Churchman, Geoffrey B., and Hurst, Tony; The Railways Of New Zealand: A Journey Through History, HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand), 1991 reprint
- Leitch, David, and Scott, Brian; Exploring New Zealand's Ghost Railways, Grantham House, 1998 revised edition
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