Glen Afton Branch

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Glen Afton Branch
Overview
Status	Closed
Termini	Huntly Glen Afton
Operation
Opening	1911
Closed	1977
Owner	New Zealand Railways Corporation
Operator(s)	New Zealand Railways Department
Character	Rural
Rolling stock	None
Technical
Line length	7.5 km (4.7 mi)
No. of tracks	Single
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)

The Glen Afton Branch was a branch railway line of 7.5 km in the Waikato Region of New Zealand, built to serve coal mines in the Awaroa district west of Huntly at Rotowaro, Pukemiro and Glen Afton. Rotowaro is Māori for "coal lake".

The first 5 km was authorised in 1910, and required a road-rail bridge over the Waikato River, with an extension which carried the railway over the main highway. The bridge, constructed from 1911 to October 1914, had 10 spans of Australian hardwood (8 of 30.5m and 2 of 12.2m) on steel and reinforced concrete piers. In November 1959 a separate road bridge was opened.

The first 5 km of track opened about 1911. The 2.5 km extension from Rotowaro to Pukemiro and Glen Afton was built between 1915 and 1924, although a further proposed extension beyond Glen Afton did not proceed. The hill section from Rotowaro to Glen Afton was difficult to construct, with a large “summit” cutting just before Glen Afton. Grades on the hill section were up to 1 in 50, with 150m radius curves.

There were several short private lines to mines at Rotowaro, Pukemiro and Glen Afton. The branch line was dieselised in 1966-67. Passenger trains, mainly for miners, ran to 23 June 1972. The mines ran out of coal, and goods traffic west of Rotowaro ceased about 1975. From 1977 the section to Rotowaro, Pukemiro and Glen Afton was handed over to the Bush Tramway Club who operate over about 5 km of former NZR line, though the last 2.5 km to Glen Afton is no longer usable.

References

Churchman, Geoffrey B., and Hurst, Tony; The Railways of New Zealand: A Journey Through History p104 (1990, HarperCollins, Auckland) ISBN 1-86950-015-6

New Zealand railway lines

Main lines

North Island	East Coast Main Trunk North Island Main Trunk (inc. Kapiti Line)

South Island	Main North Line and Main South Line (inc. Lyttelton 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 Donnellys Crossing Glen Afton Kinleith Kumeu–Riverhead Manukau Mount Maunganui Murupara Newmarket Okaihau Onehunga Onerahi Opua Rotorua Taneatua Thames Waiuku and Mission Bush

Lower North Island	Ahuriri Castlecliff Foxton Gracefield Greytown Johnsonville Melling Mount Egmont Moutohora Ngatapa Opunake Raetihi Taonui Te Aro Waitara Wanganui

Upper South Island	Blackball and Roa Cape Foulwind Conns Creek Eyreton Fairlie Ferrymead Little River 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

Dun Mountain Railway
Dunedin Peninsula and Ocean Beach Railway
Glen Massey Branch
Hutt Park Railway
Kaitangata Line
New Zealand Midland Railway Company
Riccarton Racecourse Siding
Sanson Tramway
Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company (Wellington–Manawatu Line)
Whakatane Board Mills Line

Significant proposals

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