Glen Afton Branch

Glen Afton Branch then Rotowaro 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 7.97 km (4.95 mi)
No. of tracks Single
Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)

The Glen Afton Branch was a branch railway line of 7.9 km (originally 14.1 km) in the Waikato in 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".

Known as the Glen Afton Branch to about 1974, then as the Rotowaro Branch to 3 November 1988, then as the Rotowaro Industrial Line.

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. The nearby Wilton Collieries Co complained that they too did not have public money put into building their line and river bridge.[1] 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 (7.5 chain) radius curves.

There were several short private lines to mines at Rotowaro, Pukemiro and Glen Afton. The branch line was dieselised in 1966, with a special NZRLS excursion train on 12 March 1966 to mark the change, hauled by two BB class steam locos. Passenger trains, mainly for miners, ran to 23 June 1972, apart from a special train for railway enthusiasts on 16 December 1972 hauled by a DI class diesel loco. The Rotowaro to Glen Afton section west of Rotowaro was closed from 5 March 1973, as the mines had run out of coal. The line was shortened from 14.10 km to 7.97 km.

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. The section to Rotowaro was renamed from Rotowaro Industrial Line to Rotowaro Branch in 2011.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "A Waikato railway". Evening Post, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 72, 21 September 1912, Page 3
  2. ↑ "Rotowaro Branch". Land Information New Zealand. Retrieved October 2014.