Tokanui Branch
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The Tokanui Branch, also known as the Seaward Bush Branch, was a railway line located in Southland, New Zealand. Construction began in 1883 and it operated until 1966.
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[edit] Construction
The line was built to access timber resources south-east of Invercargill and to open up the region to farming development, replacing an earlier tramway that had run in the area in the 1870s. Funds for construction were made available in 1882 despite the economic depression of the 1880s, and work commenced in March 1883. The first section opened by 2 July 1886 to Waimatua and one and a half years later, the line was opened to Mokotua on 16 January 1888. The next extension, into the lower Mataura area, was ten kilometres long and not constructed immediately as there was some debate over whether the Wyndham Branch should be extended south from Glenham instead. Ultimately, the Wyndham Branch proposal was rejected and the line beyond Mokotua to Gorge Road was opened on 1 March 1895, and when a bridge over the Mataura River was completed, a further eleven kilometre extension to Waimahaka was opened on 18 June 1899. A connection with the Catlins River Branch was proposed and a further thirteen kilometres was added to the branch when it opened to Tokanui on 20 December 1911, making it 54.42 kilometres in total length. Although a connection with the Catlins River Branch appears logical on a map, the rugged country beyond Tokanui discouraged further extension, and the 'promise' to connect the two branches may have merely been an electoral ploy. A ten kilometre route to Marinui was surveyed, but no further work was done and Tokanui remained the line's terminus.
Thirteen stations were established on the line even though none served any actual towns, and an engine shed with turntable was initially established at Waimahaka. This was also the first station on the line to actually have an enclosed goods shed. With the completion of the line to Tokanui, the locomotive depot was moved from Waimahaka to the terminus.
[edit] Stations
The following stations were located on the Tokanui Branch (in brackets is the distance in kilometres from the start of the branch):
- Appleby (3 km)
- Seaward Bush Township (5 km)
- Tisbury (7 km)
- Waimatua (11 km)
- Timpany's (17 km)
- Mokotua (20 km)
- Oteramika (24 km)
- Ashers (26 km)
- Bush Siding (28 km)
- Gorge Road (30 km)
- Titiroa (36 km)
- Waimahaka (41 km)
- Te Peka (44 km)
- Pukewao (51 km)
- Tokanui (54 km)
[edit] Operation
The Tokanui Branch was largely served by "mixed" trains that carried both passengers and freight. Upon opening, the first section to Waimatua was served by just two mixed trains from Invercargill per week, but when the line was opened to Waimahaka, services changed to a daily mixed train that ran from the terminus to Invercargill and back. These trains were changed to run from Tokanui when it was reached by the line. Initially, timber was the major traffic carried on the branch, but as farming areas developed, the main traffic became agricultural lime and fertiliser in and produce of the farms out. The line was losing money by 1930 but no alterations were made to the schedule until 1951, when the mixed service was cut to just once weekly, and mainly operated for the benefit of families employed by the Railways Department. The daily freight continued to run on the other days of the week, just sans passenger wagon. Losses continued, and the line's economic position was not helped by the improvement of roads in the area. On 1 June 1960, the passenger service was cancelled for good, and the freight train was changed to run when required, which typically meant between three and five times a week. The demand for the line was now insufficient to justify its existence, and it was initially to close on 31 January 1966, but was given an extra two months of life to allow local farmers to rail in lime under subsidies from the government. The final train operated on 5 April 1966, when A 178 removed all the remaining wagons from the Tokanui yard. The closure directly caused the loss in lime traffic from the Browns Branch that led to its demise in 1968.
[edit] The branch today
Through the southern suburbs of Invercargill, the former line cuts diagonally across the grid pattern of the streets and creates a green belt of parks and playgrounds through the city. Embankments, cuttings, and evidence of level crossings used by the railway can be found at various points along its length, though due to the passage of time, remnants diminish or are wholly destroyed, either by natural conditions or in the name of development. At the site of the yard in Waimahaka, the old goods shed has been refurbished, and the station platform and loading bank are also still visible. Another one of the branch's goods sheds survives, this time in dilapidated condition in Tokanui, where it is owned by a transport company who have used the former yard area for their own business.
[edit] References
- 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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