Tapanui Branch
Tapanui Branch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other name(s) | Kelso Branch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Status | Closed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owner | Heavy Rail | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
System | New Zealand Government Railways (NZGR) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator(s) | Railways Department | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 1880 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Extended to Heriot | 1884 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Extended to Edievale | 1905 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Closed beyond Heriot | 1968 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Closed | 1978 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line length | 42.3 km (26.3 mi) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of tracks | Single | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Character | Rural | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Tapanui Branch was a railway line located near the border of the regions of
Construction
In the second half of the 19th century, farmers in the region desired a railway connection to enhance the value of their land and provide easier access to markets, and received support from interests in
An extension of 7.11 kilometres from Kelso to Heriot was opened on 1 April 1884. The local newspaper, the Tapanui Courier, believed that only a short tunnel and some clay cuttings in the Dunrobin Hills stood in the way of extending the railway line to the Clutha River and then on to Roxburgh. In 1900, the government chose to extend the railway from Heriot to Edievale pending a final decision on the route to Roxburgh, and this ten kilometre extension was opened on 18 February 1905, bringing the branch's total length to 42.3 kilometres. Edievale proved to be the final terminus when the line from Milton via Lawrence was extended to Roxburgh instead.
Stations
The following stations were located on the Tapanui Branch (in brackets is the distance in kilometres from the junction in Waipahi):
- Conical Hill (7 km)
- Pomahaka (13 km)
- Glenkenich (17 km)
- Tapanui (21 km)
- Kelso (25 km)
- Heriot (32 km)
- Edievale (42 km)
Operation
In the early days, a
Catastrophe hit the line in mid-October 1978. Extremely severe flooding along the Pomahaka River demolished bridges and washed out the trackage in many places, and costly repairs would not have been economic. Formal closure was confirmed two months later in December.
Before its closure in 1962, the Waikaka Branch ran in a valley parallel to that occupied by the Tapanui Branch, and trivia associated with operation of the lines is that locomotive crews in one valley claimed they were sometimes able to see smoke from a steam engine operating in the other valley.
Today
Relics of this branch survive today, though as time progresses, remnants of old railways deteriorate and in some cases disappear entirely, so what was previously evident may no longer exist. Bridges sans rails are believed to still exist in the early stages of the line, notably including a truss bridge across the Pomahaka River. The Tapanui railway station and yard were never in Tapanui township; they were situated approximately 2 km away in a field adjacent to the Station Rd level crossing. The Tapanui railway yard precinct remains obvious, as are the stands of macrocarpa trees that once defined its limits, although the station building is gone. The hump in Station Rd that was the level crossing and an old commercial building beside the level crossing also remain. Flooding almost entirely destroyed Kelso and it is now abandoned, though the railway's second goods shed still exists. On lower ground is the ruins of the town's former service station, with sombre viewing created by flood levels marked on the doors.
There was "still plenty to see" in the 1990s, and "the flood markings alone are sobering".[2] The large Heriot goods shed is understood to have been removed in the late 1990s.[3]
References
Citations
- ^ Leitch & Scott 1995, p. 106.
- ^ Leitch & Scott 1995, p. 107.
- ^ Leitch & Scott 1995, p. 108.
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 p 34 (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. 170–174. ISBN 978-1-86934-126-8.
External links
- "Tapanui Branch Railway (Contract)". AJHR, 1878 on Papers Past. 1878.