Opua Branch
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The Opua Branch or Otiria-Opua Industrial Line, partially still operational as the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway, is a former section of the
Construction
A tramway was opened in 1868 to carry coal from mines at Kawakawa to the Taumarere wharf at what is now known as Derrick Landing.
In 1871, some surplus rails, wagons and two steam locomotives were acquired from a railway project near Auckland and the tramway was upgraded to railway standards. It was purchased by the government in 1876, who had recently established the national gauge as 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in), and re-gauged the line in 1877.
In 1876, a settlement with a deepwater port was proposed, and in 1881 plans of a town named "Newport" were published. It became known as Opua and the railway from Kawakawa opened on 7 April 1884. The spur to Taumarere wharf was no longer necessary, as Opua's port was far superior, and it was closed.
It was some time before the isolated Kawakawa – Opua line was connected to the rest of the
In 1925, the North Auckland Line was finally completed and the Whangārei – Opua section was linked to the national network.
Stations
The following stations were on the Otiria-Opua section of the North Auckland Line, with the distance in kilometres from Otiria in brackets:[citation needed]
- Moerewa (3 km)
- Kawakawa (7 km)
- Taumarere (10 km)
- Te Akeake (15 km)[dubious ]
- Whangae Bridge (16 km)
- Opua (19 km)
Operation
In the tramway days and the first years of the line, the predominant traffic was coal from Kawakawa for export. By the late 1890s coal traffic had all but disappeared and the government initially expressed a desire to remove the line. Local indignation was such that instead of removing the line, it was connected to Whangarei and then the national network.
When the North Auckland Line was fully opened in 1925, the Opua Express passenger train operated thrice weekly from Auckland to Opua. Freight did not operate directly to Auckland; it was conveyed to and from Whangarei, with other services operating south. Some trains were mixed trains, conveying both passengers and freight.
In November 1956,
The short stretch between Otiria and Kawakawa was retained as a link to the national network, but has since been dismantled and is now used as a footpath connecting Kawakawa with Moerewa (a disused siding terminates at Moerewa). The tourist trains operated between Kawakawa and Opua until 2001, when the
See also
- North Auckland Line
- Dargaville Branch
- Donnellys Crossing Section/Branch
- Marsden Point Branch
- Ōkaihau Branch
- Onerahi Branch
References
Citations
- ^ Leadley, Frank (23 October 2018). "Kawakawa celebrates 150 years of steam - and a whole lot more". The Northland Age. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
Bibliography
- Churchman, Geoffrey B; Hurst, Tony (2001) [1990, 1991]. The Railways of New Zealand: A Journey through History (Second ed.). Transpress New Zealand. ISBN 0-908876-20-3.
- Mulligan, Barbara (2000). New Zealand Rail Trails: A Guide to 42 Ghost Lines. Wellington: Grantham House Publishing. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-86934-126-8.