Wairarapa Line
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The Wairarapa Line is a section of secondary railway line in the south-east of the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the Wairarapa region. The line ends at Woodville, where it connects with the Palmerston North - Gisborne Line. The Wairarapa line was at one time the only New Zealand Government Railways route out of Wellington, as the present North Island Main Trunk route along the western side of the lower North Island was owned and operated by the private Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company from its completion in 1886 until 1908. Accordingly, the Wairarapa Line was a crucial part of the national rail network for some years after its linking to other parts of the government system in 1897. Until 1955, the line included the famous Rimutaka Incline, which used the Fell mountain railway system. Due to considerable historical and present operational differences, the line is sometimes considered to be two routes linked by the Rimutaka Tunnel that replaced the Incline: the Hutt Valley Railway on the western side of the Rimutaka Range, ending at Upper Hutt, and the Wairarapa Line proper on the eastern side of the Rimutakas.
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[edit] Construction
Proposals for railed transportation out of Wellington were made as early as the start of the 1850s, barely a decade after European settlement of the area began. In 1853 and 1857, investigation of horse-hauled tramways was undertaken, but no action was taken. Robert Stokes, a member of the provincial government, proposed a railway over the Rimutakas in 1858 and finally succeeded in gaining government interest in 1863. The government established a committee to investigate proposals, and on 2 July 1866, the Wellington, Hutt Valley, And Wairarapa Railway Ordinance was passed. It authorised a railway employing either 3'6" narrow gauge or 4'8.5" standard gauge to carry 200 tonnes at speeds of 24km/h, but construction did not commence as sufficient funds were not available in the fledging New Zealand colony, nor were they successfully raised in England.
In 1870, Julius Vogel included a Wellington-Wairarapa railway in his Great Public Works policy and visited London to arrange a loan to finance the policy. On this trip, he was approached by several contracting firms and a contract that included the first section of the Wairarapa Line was awarded to Brogden & Sons. The construction of the line can be viewed in three stages: the Hutt Valley section, the route over the Rimutakas, and the line through the Wairarapa via Masterton to Woodville.
[edit] Hutt Valley section
- For more information, see Hutt Valley Line.
On 20 August 1872, construction of the Wairarapa Line began with the turning of the first sod at Pipitea Point, the site of Wellington's first railway station. Construction was delayed due to the difficulties associated with building a railway along the narrow, rocky shoreline of Wellington Harbour, and the section to Lower Hutt was not opened until 14 April 1874. Further difficulties were encountered in building the rest of the route up the Hutt Valley along the Hutt River's western bank, including the need to divert the river and reinforce its bank in places. On 1 February 1876, the line was opened to Upper Hutt.
[edit] Rimutaka section
- For more information, see Rimutaka Incline.
The Rimutaka Range posed a severe difficulty to those involved in planning and constructing the Wairarapa Line. On 1 January 1878, the Hutt line was opened to Kaitoke at the western foot of the range, and a steep but manageable route with a grade of 1 in 39-40 was found from Kaitoke up the Pakuratahi River's valley to what became the site of Summit station, 348 metres above sea level. However, from Summit down the eastern slope to Cross Creek near Featherston, a gradient of 1 in 14-16 was required. This was far too steep for regular steam locomotives to handle, and accordingly, the Fell mountain railway system was employed. This used a centre rail to which specially-designed locomotives and brake vans clung, allowing them to climb the steep slope upwards as well as control the descent. Despite the terrain, construction of this unique route was completed swiftly, with the railway opened through to Featherston on 12 October 1878.
[edit] Wairarapa section
Construction from Featherston to Masterton across the Wairarapa plains north of Lake Wairarapa was relatively easy. The decision was taken to bypass Greytown and build the line through Woodside to bridge the Waiohine River at a point far enough up the river to be considered safe; were the line built through Greytown, a bridge would have been required at a point considered unsafe by the surveyors. Accordingly, the Greytown Branch was constructed from Woodside, and Greytown was briefly the terminus of the Wairarapa Line itself, from the opening of the branch on 14 May 1880 until the bridging of the Waiohine a month later. Later in 1880, the line was opened all the way through to Masterton.
The northern Wairarapa was more rugged and isolated, and construction was accordingly slower and more difficult. Mauriceville, 20 km north of Masterton, was reached on 14 June 1886, followed by the next 6 km to Mangamahoe on 10 January 1887. The 10 km between Mangamahoe and Eketahuna included the 150 m long Wiwaka tunnel, the only tunnel between Masterton and Woodville, and the section was opened on 8 April 1889. Construction of the short 4km section to Newman was inexplicably slow, not completed until 1896. However, after this, the line was swiftly completed. Pahiatua was reached in May 1897, with this section including the Mangatainoka River bridge, the longest bridge on the line at 162 m. The town of Mangatainoka is 24 km from the bridge and the railway reached it in August 1897, and the line was finally opened to Woodville and a junction with the Palmerston North - Gisborne Line on 11 December 1897.
[edit] Deviations
Many upgrades and alterations to the Wairarapa Line have been made since it was built, but only two have dramatically altered its route.
[edit] Hutt deviation
- For more information, see Hutt Valley Railway and Melling Branch.
In 1925, construction began on what was then known as the Hutt Valley Branch, leaving the main line just north of Petone station and running east to Waterloo. This line was opened on 26 May 1927. After World War II, the Hutt Valley experienced a population boom and the railway was extended to serve the fast-growing new suburbs. It ultimately re-joined the western line before the Manor Park in 1954 and superseded the old route. On 1 March 1954, the former Hutt Valley Branch became part of the main line to the Wairarapa and the western route was truncated into the Melling Branch from Petone.
[edit] Rimutaka tunnel
- For more information, see Rimutaka Tunnel.
The Rimutaka Incline was difficult, costly, and time-consuming to operate, but as the Wairarapa Line had become a secondary route since the acquisition of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway in 1908, its replacement was not a priority. Various alternate systems and routes were debated, with a tunnel chosen in 1936. However, the economic conditions left from the Great Depression followed by the impact of World War II meant that work did not start on the tunnel until 1948. The Incline and the line up the western side of the Rimutakas were formally closed on 29 October 1955 and the tunnel opened on 3 November 1955.
[edit] Operation
[edit] Passenger services
When the full line opened in 1897, passenger services from the Hutt Valley to Wellington were augmented by NZR's first express from Wellington, the Napier Express (the WMR had operated the Wellington-Longburn portion of the New Plymouth Express). After the acquisition of the WMR, the Napier Express was re-routed to the quicker west coast route in early 1909 and the Wairarapa Mail was introduced to provide a regular service through the Wairarapa to Woodville. In 1936, RM class Wairarapa railcars were introduced; these railcars were designed to operate at speed over the Rimutaka Incline and provided a much quicker service to Wellington as well as some local Wairarapa services. They originally augmented the Wairarapa Mail but ultimately replaced it in 1948. Carriage trains only operated at peak times of the year when the railcar capacity was exceeded; in 1955, the Incline's closure meant the Wairarapa railcars were withdrawn and 88 seater railcars were introduced, boosting capacity at off-peak times. One Wairarapa railcar has survived and is currently under restoration by the Pahiatua Railcar Society. Mixed trains also operated on the Wairarapa Line until the 1950s.
Also in the 1950s, the Hutt Valley line was electrified using the 1500 V DC system already operating to Johnsonville and Paekakariki. The electrification was opened to Taita on 12 October 1953 and Upper Hutt on 24 July 1955, allowing for a more intensive suburban commuter service to Wellington. Originally operated by DM/D class electric multiple units and carriage trains hauled by electric locomotives of the ED class and EW class, the electric locomotives and many of the DM class units were phased out upon the introduction of the EM/ET class units in the early 1980s.
Proposals have been made to extend the electrification into the Wairarapa and the Rimutaka Tunnel was constructed to allow wires to be installed, but no substantial moves have been made. The railcar services survived until 1977, though carriage trains were re-instated progressively from early 1964. Until 1963, a railcar service operated on Friday evenings between Masterton and Woodville, and in December that year, the decision was taken to replace the morning railcar to Wellington with a carriage train as over 200 passengers wished to use the railcar service that had a capacity of just 176. The final railcar service was replaced by carriage trains in December 1977; some of the carriage trains from this point until the mid-1980s were made up of de-motorised former 88 seater railcars known as "grassgrubs" in New Zealand railfan jargon. The passenger services through the lowly populated northern Wairarapa lasted into the 1980s due to the poor roads in the area, but as they were improved, demand for the trains declined. The last regular passenger service on the Masterton to Palmerston North section ran on 29 July 1988. In the 1990s, the service between Masterton and Wellington was rebranded as the Wairarapa Connection and presently operates five times each way weekdays (with a sixth service in the evening on Fridays), and twice each way on Saturdays and Sundays.
[edit] Freight services
Until the acquisition of the WMR in December 1908, all of NZR's freight out of Wellington was carried on the Wellington Line. However, as soon as the western route became available, all freight that could be diverted off the Wairarapa Line was diverted, due to the difficulties created by the Rimutaka Incline. This meant that even some traffic from the northern Wairarapa was sent through the Manawatu Gorge and down the west coast to Wellington. The opening of the Rimutaka Tunnel made the line more desirable for through freight traffic, but as localised freight gave way to containerised inter-city freight in the 1980s, the significance of the Wairarapa line declined, especially on the section north of Masterton. Presently, one freight operates overnight during the week from Napier to Wellington, with a return service operating during the day from Tuesday to Friday. A second freight operates early in the morning every weekday from Wellington to Masterton, returning to Wellington in the late evening. In addition, two freight services operate from Palmerston North to Pahiatua and return on weekdays, the first in the early hours of the morning and the second in the afternoon. No freights currently operate regularly on the weekend.
[edit] Locomotives
In the late nineteenth century, the first members of the K class to operate in the North Island were transferred from the South Island to work the Napier Express. They were augmented by members of the M and N classes. In the twentieth century, typical locomotives included members of the A and AB class. The Rimutaka Incline was almost always operated by the six members of the H class built specifically for it.
When the Rimutaka Tunnel opened in November 1955, the Wairarapa Line became the first in New Zealand to be fully dieselised as steam locomotives were unable to pass through the tunnel. Initially, DE and DG class diesels were employed, and they were soon joined by the DA class. Until 1967, the Wairarapa Line was the only way DA class locomotives could access Wellington due to tunnels south of Paekakariki being too small. In the 1980s, the DG class had been fully withdrawn and the DA class in the process of withdrawal or conversion to the DC class; accordingly motive power on the Wairarapa Line changed. DBR, DC, DF (now upgraded to DFT), and occasionally DX class locomotives were introduced and continue to operate on the line today.
[edit] References
- Churchman, Geoffrey and Tony Hurst. Railways of New Zealand: A Journey Through History. Auckland: HarperCollins, 1991, pp. 151-162.
- Leitch, David and Brian Scott. Exploring New Zealand's Ghost Railways, 2nd ed. Wellington: Grantham House, 1998, pp. 39-43.
- Mahoney, J. D. Kings of the Iron Road. Palmerston North: Dominion Press, 1982, pp. 81-88.
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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)
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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
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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 |
