Tuatapere Branch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Tuatapere Branch, including the Orawia Branch, was a branch line railway in Southland, New Zealand. Although, on a map, the Tuatapere and Orawia Branches look like a single line, they were considered separate lines in operational terms. The first section opened to Riverton in 1879 and reached Tuatapere three decades later. An extension from Tuatapere to Orawia operated from 1925 until 1970. In 1976, the Tuatapere Branch was abbreviated to Riverton and was known as the Riverton Branch until 1978, when it too closed. The first portion of the line is now part of the Wairio Branch.
Contents |
[edit] Construction
The desire to open up regions west of Invercargill prompted construction of this line, with developers hoping to discover plentiful minerals and resources, and encourage more substantial settlement in the area. The first section of the line was built from Makarewa on the Kingston Branch to Riverton via Thornbury, the Wairio Branch junction, and opened on 9 June 1879. Over the next six years, the line was opened in stages to Orepuki: Colac on 25 July 1881, Roundhill on 24 September 1883, and Orepuki on 5 May 1885. This remained the terminus for almost two decades, but lost this status on 1 October 1903 when the line was extended to Waihoaka. Exactly six years later, the line was opened to what would technically be its furthest terminus, Tuatapere, on 1 October 1909.
There was some dispute over where to commence a railway to the settlement of Orawia. One of the two main proposals was to extend the Tuatapere line, and the other was to build a branch from Waikouro on the Wairio Branch. Ultimately, the Tuatapere proposal was accepted, and although construction was postponed due to World War I, work had recommenced by October 1919 and the Public Works Department was operating trains by mid-September 1924. The line was handed over to the New Zealand Railways Department and officially opened on 20 October 1925.
[edit] Operation
Despite whatever logic may suggest, the line was run as two separate branches from Tuatapere: the Tuatapere Branch itself from Invercargill, and the Orawia Branch onwards from Tuatapere. During the days of steam motive power, most services on the branches were operated from a depot established in Tuatapere. Trains were typically "mixed" services, meaning that they carried both passengers and freight. Daily, one such train would operate from Tuatapere to Invercargill and return, while another would do the opposite and run Invercargill to Tuatapere and return. Orawia was served by a thrice weekly service from Tuatapere that ran on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Along the line, a lucrative logging industry was established and many bush tramways were built to provide easy cartage of logs from where they were chopped to the railway line. A timber mill was established to process the logs in Tuatapere and it provided much traffic for the railway. In the early days of the line, before reaching Tuatapere, oil shale was a prominent source of freight from Orepuki. The railway was also indispensable in helping to develop the Waiau River valley and its settlements.
Passenger services on the Orawia Branch did not last even a decade. By 1932, passengers were no longer catered for and goods trains were run only twice weekly. Passengers could travel on the rest of the line until the early 1950s, and around this time, freight services were decreased, with the removal of the daily Invercargill to Tuatapere and return service. However, this was partially offset by the fact a Monday to Friday freight ran from the Wairio Branch junction at Thornbury to Tuatapere. The Orawia Branch looked as if it could be closed at any time until a cement works was constructed in the town in 1956. It provided sufficient traffic to justify the Orawia Branch's existence.
Traffic declined during the 1960s, and when steam motive power was replaced by DJ class diesel-electrics in June 1968, the Tuatapere locomotive depot was closed and services changed to operate out of Invercargill thrice weekly, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. That same year, the cement works in Orawia closed in May, and the Orawia Branch had little chance of long-term survival. Its closure came on 1 October 1970. Most of the rest of the line was not to last much longer. By the mid-1970s, only 4,500 tonnes of traffic was railed west of Riverton yearly and the line was cut back to Riverton on 30 July 1976. There were expectations that forestry developments would create sufficient traffic from Riverton, but these failed to eventuate and the line was closed on 15 January 1978. The short section from Makarewa and Thornbury now became a part of the Wairio Branch.
[edit] The branch today
Nature and human activity typically cause the deterioration and destruction of what's left of closed railways, but some notable relics remain of the Tuatapere and Orawia Branches. The most significant of these was the causeway and truss bridge that crossed the mouth of the Jacob River estuary in Riverton, and although it stood into the 21st century, it has now been removed, with one truss preserved by a local museum. Another bridge along the line exists, this time a wooden viaduct near Tuatapere. In Tuatapere itself, the station and yard area is well preserved by the local Jewish community, with the goods shed, station building, and water tank all still standing in good condition. The Orawia Branch's formation is distinct for much of its length, and located at the terminus is the goods shed, with the ruins of the old cement works nearby. The formation of the Tuatapere Branch is also pretty clear in most places, and in Wakatapu, some discarded rails and sleepers are located at the old yard site, while a loading bank is in Ruahine and station buildings still stand in Longwood and Orepuki, albeit relocated.
[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
| New Zealand Railway Lines |
|
Main lines
North Island:
South Island:
Main North Line and Main South Line, known together as the South Island Main Trunk
Secondary lines
North Island:
Marton - New Plymouth Line • North Auckland Line • Palmerston North - Gisborne Line • Stratford - Okahukura Line • Wairarapa Line (inc. Hutt Valley Line)
South Island:
Midland Line • Nelson Section • Otago Central Railway • Stillwater - Westport Line • Waimea Plains Railway
Branch lines
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
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
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
Significant proposals
Canterbury Interior Main Line • Nelson Railway Proposals • Taupo Railway Proposals • Wainuiomata Railway Proposals |
