Wellington–Manawatu Line

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The Wellington and Manawatu Line is an unofficial name for the section of

North Island Main Trunk Railway between Wellington and Palmerston North. Originally a government project, the line (initially known as the West Coast Railway) was constructed by the private Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company
and bought by the government in December 1908.

Proposals

Proposals for a railway line on the west coast of the North Island predated proposals for a railway line from Wellington to the

Public Works Department
conducted a number of surveys a concluded there were three possible routes:

The final option was settled on, as the first two required significant tunnelling, then not feasible (Wellington had a population of just 22,000 in 1878).[1]

See also: Haywards–Plimmerton Line, Wairarapa Line, and Hutt Valley Line

Construction

The government of

Sir John Hall elected in its place. Hall had the line removed from the Public Works Estimates and then created a Royal Commission to review the government's public works programme, with a view to reducing government expenditure. The Commission reviewed the Wellington - Manawatu line in March 1880, and concluded that work should be abandoned.[2]

In response, John Plimmer, considered the "father of Wellington", proposed the formation of a private company to build and operate the line. The Wellington Chamber of Commerce supported the move, and the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company was formed in May 1881. That year the government passed the Railway Construction and Land Act, which allowed joint stock companies to build and run private railways, so long as they were built to the government's specified gauge and connected with a government line. The company signed a contract to construct the line in 1882, acquiring the land on which the line was to be built and materials used in the abandoned section of the line. Only one change was made to the Public Works surveys - the line was to connect with the government's line at Longburn, instead of Foxton, leaving the Palmerston North - Foxton Line a branch line.

The company immediately let contracts for construction from Wellington to

Manawatu River
section, which included the Manawatu River bridge, the longest on the line. Higginson had a special wharf built on the Manawatu River near the bridge site, to allow steamers to offload construction materials for the bridge. In August the Wadestown - Crofton section contract was let, with the construction of two tunnels. The next contract let was for Johnsonville to Porirua, including the Belmont Viaduct, the highest on the line. The formation reached Paremata by mid-January 1885, with rails being laid over this section six months later.

The rails from Paremata reached Pukerua Bay in 1885; the No 12 or Pukerua contract.

The next section, the No 13 Contract from Pukerua Bay to Paekākāriki, was the most difficult; see

Otaihanga.[4]
The first revenue-earning train, a stock train from Longburn to Johnsonville with 355 sheep and 60 head of cattle, was on 30 October.

The section was officially opened on 3 November 1886, when the last spike was driven at a public ceremony by the Governor of New Zealand, Sir William Jervois.[5] A public timetable was introduced on 1 December 1886.[6]

List of Railway Contracts

The following contracts were let by the WMR for construction of the line in 1882-85; The northern section supervised by James Fulton comprised (from North to South):[7]

  • No 7 Contract Palmerston (actually to Longburn, and including the Manawatu River Bridge) let to the Wilkie Brothers
  • No 11 Contract Palmerston let to the Wilkie Brothers
  • No 13 Contract Manawatu let to the Wilkie Brothers
  • No 14 Contract Manawatu let to Seymour of Auckland (on 25 March 1884)
  • No 16 Contract Otaki let to P Campbell & Co of Dunedin
  • No 17 Contract Waikanae (Nos 17, 18 were not called until 14 July 1885)
  • No 18 Contract Waikanae

The southern section supervised by Arthur Fultoncomprised (from North to South):[8]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Cassells 1994, p. 11.
  2. ^ Cassells (1994), p. 17.
  3. ^ Cassells (1994), p. 21.
  4. ^ Cassells (1994), p. 44.
  5. ^ Churchman & Hurst 2001, p. 165.
  6. ^ "The Last Link (proposed timetables)". Papers Past. 29 October 1886.
  7. ^ Cassells 1994, pp. 31–32.
  8. ^ Cassells 1994, pp. 28–31.
  9. ^ "West Coast Railway". Manawatu Standard in Papers Past. 1883.
  10. ^ "West Coast Railway". Manawatu Times in Papers Past. 1883.

Bibliography

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