| Port Chalmers Branch | |
|---|---|
DSG shunting locomotive pulling freight towards Port Chalmers in 2008 |
|
| Overview | |
| Type | Urban rail |
| Status | Open |
| Termini | Sawyers Bay |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1873 |
| Closed | 1979 (for passenger trains) |
| Owner | ONTRACK |
| Operator(s) | KiwiRail |
| Character | Urban |
| Technical | |
| No. of tracks | Single |
| Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) |
The Port Chalmers Branch was the first railway line built in Otago, New Zealand, and linked the region's major city of Dunedin with the port in Port Chalmers.[1] The line is still operational today.
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Built by the Dunedin and Port Chalmers Railway Company Limited, the line was approved by and constructed under the auspices of the Otago Provincial Council, not the national government. However, it was built to the recently adopted national gauge of 1067 mm (3 feet 6 inches), and it was the first line in the country with that gauge to open, on 1 January 1873.[1] The line was formally opened by Sir George Bowen, former Governor-General of New Zealand, on a farewell trip prior to his transfer to Victoria.[2] The first locomotive to run on the line - and the first 1067 mm gauge locomotive to operate in New Zealand - was the E class Josephine, a double Fairlie steam locomotive.[3] whose local popularity ensured she was retained beyond her retirement from service on the railways in 1917 and is preserved today in the Otago Settlers Museum in Dunedin.[4]
Much of the Port Chalmers line is now part of the Main South Line from Christchurch to Dunedin. When the first section of the main line, from Dunedin to Waitati, opened in December 1877 a junction was established at Sawyers Bay.[5] The section from Dunedin to Sawyers Bay became part of the Main South Line, while the remaining two kilometres to Port Chalmers became the Port Chalmers Branch. In 1880 the line was vested in the newly established New Zealand Railways Department, and the private company dissolved.
Suburban passenger services were run from Dunedin on the line for over 100 years, but ceased at the end of 1979.[1] These were usually locomotive-hauled carriage trains, but infrequently, RM class Vulcan railcars were used too. Occasional passenger services are still operated by the Taieri Gorge Railway to meet cruise ships and carry tourists through the scenic Taieri Gorge on the preserved portion of the Otago Central Railway.
The main reason for the line's existence is freight to and from the port, and as the shipping industry has changed, so has the traffic on the line. It has evolved from nineteenth century imports of supplies and exports of produce from rural Otago's farms and businesses into today's long-distance containerised freight. The line remains an important link in New Zealand's transport infrastructure and trains are operated by KiwiRail. The Taieri Gorge Railway recently sought a contract to haul logs from a location in the Taieri Gorge to Port Chalmers, but insufficient subsidies meant the venture would not have been cost efficient.[6]
Motive power has often been provided by shunting locomotives rather than larger main line engines. At the start of the twentieth century, small tank locomotives such as members of the FA class were used.[7] However, in the 1960s, as diesel locomotives replaced steam locomotives on the main lines, large engines such as members of the AB class operated the suburban trains to Port Chalmers.[8]