Rewanui Branch
Rewanui Branch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other name(s) | Point Elizabeth Branch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Status | Closed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | West Coast, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termini | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stations | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Type | Heavy Rail | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
System | New Zealand Government Railways (NZGR) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator(s) | New Zealand Railways Department | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Commenced | 1889 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 21 January 1914 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Closed | 19 August 1985 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line length | 13.07 km (8.12 mi) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of tracks | Single | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Character | Rural | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Rewanui Branch, sometimes referred to as the Rewanui Incline
Construction
In 1889, the Cobden Railway and Mining Company and Point Elizabeth Coal Company in conjunction began construction of the line, with the original terminus situated in
Good coal deposits had been discovered in the
Operation
Passenger services
Rewanui was inaccessible by road, thus a considerable number of passenger trains operated by the standards of New Zealand branch lines. Although primarily for miners, the trains became minor local tourist attractions in the later years of the line due to the scenic nature of the route.[1] During holiday periods at the mine, special tourist trains were operated, while during regular operations, tourists typically caught the early afternoon service. A number of the regular services acquired nicknames:[5]
- 6:35am Greymouth to Rewanui: "Miner's Train".
- 7:35am Rewanui to Greymouth: "Fanny Train", as it was primarily used by the wives of miners in Rewanui and Dunollie to travel to their own jobs in Greymouth.
- Early afternoon service to Greymouth: The "wet-timer", as miners working in wet parts of the mine had shorter shifts and used this train.
- Sunday to Thursday mixed train that reached Rewanui at 11:30pm: the "Paddy Webb" or "Bob Semple", after the miners who became New Zealand Labour Party government ministers and first organised the service to benefit those miners whose shift began or ended at midnight.
In addition, a bicycle track was located alongside the line for miners working shifts without convenient train service.
Freight services
Freight traffic was almost exclusively coal. It came from the state-owned Liverpool Mine, for which the line was expressly built, as well as from a number of nearby privately owned mines.[5]
Motive power
Motive power had to be specially modified to work on the Rewanui Branch past Dunollie. In the
In June 1969,
One quirk of the line's motive power was a Land Rover converted to run on rails. It was based in Rewanui from May 1960 and functioned as an ambulance. Previously, miners who were injured had to travel down the Incline in a specially modified "gravity powered" wagon.[5]
Fell Vans
Special fell brake vans were used on the Rewanui Incline between Dunollie and Rewanui. Six vans were built with three being allocated for use on the Rewanui incline and the other three on the Roa Incline. They were similar in design to the vans used on the Rimutaka Incline, over the Wairarapa Ranges, but had no duckets, and instead, had windows at either end. The chassis and brake gear, however, remained the same. With the closure of the Rimutaka Incline in 1955, surplus vans were transferred to Greymouth for use on the Rewanui and Roa Inclines.
Closure
In the early 1980s, the Liverpool Mine was becoming an increasingly uneconomic mine to run. The line thus came to an abrupt end when the decision was taken to close the mine in 1984. That year, in October, the line was ruled unfit for passenger service, and all scheduled services – both passenger and freight – were cancelled on 5 November 1984. Occasional freight services continued to operate until May 1985, when the last train departed Rewanui with a load of coal from a nearby private mine. The line was formally closed on 19 August 1985 from the junction with the Rapahoe Branch, which absorbed the six kilometres to Greymouth and remains in use. Trains run when required to Rapahoe.[7]
Today
The Runanga-Rewanui line is one of the most accessible closed railway lines in New Zealand, as the former railway route has been converted into a road to Rewanui.[8] However, due to operations by the Spring Creek Mine, the road is inaccessible to vehicles. It is possible to walk or cycle to Rewanui. A local committee exists to preserve the Rewanui area as a historic site, but a landslide in 1988 killed the caretaker and destroyed bridges and some buildings.[5] Many remnants have been long destroyed but the coal loading bin, some L and Q class wagons, two-foot gauge coal tubs and the engineer's workshop survive. A plaque has been placed on a stone at the summit as a memorial.
References
Footnotes
Citations
- ^ a b c d Leitch & Scott 1995, p. 59.
- ^ a b c d Churchman & Hurst 2001, p. 193.
- ^ David Leitch, Steam, Steel and Splendour (Auckland: HarperCollins, 1994), 116.
- ^ Leitch, Steam, Steel and Splendour, 112.
- ^ a b c d e Churchman & Hurst 2001, p. 196.
- ^ Leitch, Steam, Steel and Splendour, 112-3
- ^ New Zealand Train Timetable Guide Archived 10 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 21 June 2007, last update of guide on 7 June 2007.
- ^ Leitch & Scott 1995, p. 58.
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.
- Leitch, David; Scott, Brian (1995). Exploring New Zealand's Ghost Railways (1998 ed.). Wellington: Grantham House. ISBN 1-86934-048-5.
- Hermann, Bruce J; South Island Branch Lines pp 18,19 (1997, New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society, Wellington) ISBN 0-908573-70-7
- Mulligan, Barbara (2000). New Zealand Rail Trails: A Guide to 42 Ghost Lines. Wellington: Grantham House Publishing. pp. 88, 89. ISBN 978-1-86934-126-8.