Waiau Branch
Encyclopedia
The Waiau Branch was a branch line
railway in the northern Canterbury
region of New Zealand
's South Island
. Known as the Great Northern Railway for its first few decades of life, the Waiau Branch was seen as part of a main line north but was ultimately superseded by a coastal route. Opened in stages from 1882 to 1919, the line closed in 1978 but a portion has been retained as the Weka Pass Railway
.
, Nelson
, and Marlborough
. A number of these plans involved lines that would have in some way incorporated the route of what became the Waiau Branch, and when it was built, it was seen as an integral part of the Main North Line.
Despite an 1879 report favouring a coastal route via Kaikoura
as the line north, the inland route was initially chosen and construction work soon began. Its junction with the Main North Line (though not realised by anyone at the time as it was intended to be the main line itself) would be in Waipara
, and the section to Waikari
was opened on 6 April 1882. Another report in 1883 also favoured the coastal route, but construction of the Waiau route proceeded and the section to Medbury
opened on 15 September 1884, with Culverden
reached on 8 February 1886.
Construction halted once Culverden was reached, and it became the northern terminus for the main line along the east coast of the South Island. One notable proposal at this time involved extending the line via Hanmer Springs
to Tophouse
, and then building two routes from there, one to Nelson and one down the Wairau River
valley to Blenheim
. Another proposal involved building a line across the Southern Alps
to Reefton, and accessing Nelson and Marlborough via a line through the Buller Gorge
. The Reefton route remained a possibility for access to the West Coast until the Otira Tunnel
was built, and the route to Nelson and Blenheim via Tophouse remained under consideration until the 1930s.
Despite many proposals, the railhead remained in Culverden for a number of decades. In 1902, the Culverden - Waiau Railway Extension League was formed, and it created enough pressure to encourage a new survey of a route from Culverden to Waiau in 1908. It wasn't until 10 June 1914, however, that work on this extension finally began, and despite delays, work continued through World War I
, with the line opened to Waiau on 15 December 1919. It was then proposed that the line could be extended to Kaikoura and then through to Marlborough, and some formation
was built, but this work ultimately ground to a halt and the line's terminus remained in Waiau. The line effectively became a branch of the Main North Line when approval was given to extend the Parnassus
Branch up the coast as the main line; this was completed in 1945.
began not long after the line was opened and was the most important train in northern Canterbury at the time. The express was supplemented by multiple mixed train
s that carried both goods and passengers and ran to a slower schedule. In 1919, a goods train was added to the schedule and the passenger train between Christchurch and Culverden operated twice daily; these services operated beyond Culverden to Waiau only thrice weekly. Trains sometimes had to be banked through Weka Pass
, requiring an engine shed in Waikari
, and locomotive depots
were established in Waipara, Culverden, and Waiau.
In 1907, the New Zealand Railways Department
under the Railways Road Services
Branch, introduced a bus connection from Culverden to the popular tourist location of Hanmer Springs, and by the 1920s, the policy of the New Zealand Railways Department was to actively encourage the bus services, which had been expanded. This led the passenger numbers on the line to decline from 20,000 in 1914 to just 3,000 yearly when passenger services were entirely cancelled on 29 January 1939.
Freight, however, remained strong on the line. Extensive timber
resources in the area led to a significant quantity of traffic, and the annual Molesworth Station
muster required additional trains to transport the large amount of livestock
, with these special services operating well into the 1960s despite the widespread demise of the transportation of livestock throughout the country. The branch was dieselised in 1968, and at this stage, despite the relaxation of laws and removal of subsidies that had benefited rail, it was still necessary to run two trains daily. In July 1975, a major storm severely damaged pine growth in the Balmoral State Forest, and the resulting timber that had to be transported resulted in a surge for the line. Multiple trains were required to run daily, sometimes hauled by two locomotives, and this traffic lasted for two years. When it finally ceased in late 1977, the line suddenly became uneconomic. No other traffic existed that was sufficient to justify the line's continued existence, and closure occurred on 15 January 1978.
and preserve the first 13 km of the branch line. The rest of the track to Waiau has now been removed, though this was not completed until 1991, and a number of remnants remain on the abandoned route. Much of the line's formation is still visible, and a part of it has been used as a walkway in Waikari, though it does not connect with the Weka Pass Railway's terminus in the town. A few station shelters and goods shed
s have been relocated for use on farms near the line's former route, and other relics such as loading banks, station platforms, and pieces of rail can be found at the site of some old stations.
Branch line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...
railway in the northern Canterbury
Canterbury, New Zealand
The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. Its main city, Christchurch, hosts the main office of the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Regional Council - called Environment Canterbury - and the University of Canterbury.-...
region of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
. Known as the Great Northern Railway for its first few decades of life, the Waiau Branch was seen as part of a main line north but was ultimately superseded by a coastal route. Opened in stages from 1882 to 1919, the line closed in 1978 but a portion has been retained as the Weka Pass Railway
Weka Pass Railway
The Weka Pass Railway is a New Zealand heritage railway based in Waipara, North Canterbury. It is operated on a 12 km length of the former Waiau Branch railway between Waipara and Waikari. The railway is operated by an incorporated society whose members come from all walks of life and are largely...
.
Construction
During the 1870s, significant debates motivated by regional interests took place regarding the most desirable route for a railway from Canterbury to the West CoastWest Coast, New Zealand
The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is made up of three districts: Buller, Grey and Westland...
, Nelson
Nelson, New Zealand
Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....
, and Marlborough
Marlborough, New Zealand
Marlborough is one of the regions of New Zealand, located in the northeast of the South Island. Marlborough is a unitary authority, both a region and a district, and its council is located at Blenheim. Marlborough is known for its dry climate, the picturesque Marlborough Sounds, and sauvignon blanc...
. A number of these plans involved lines that would have in some way incorporated the route of what became the Waiau Branch, and when it was built, it was seen as an integral part of the Main North Line.
Despite an 1879 report favouring a coastal route via Kaikoura
Kaikoura
Kaikoura is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 1 180 km north of Christchurch.Kaikoura became the first local authority to reach the Green Globe tourism certification standard....
as the line north, the inland route was initially chosen and construction work soon began. Its junction with the Main North Line (though not realised by anyone at the time as it was intended to be the main line itself) would be in Waipara
Waipara
Waipara is a small town in north Canterbury, on the banks of the Waipara River.It is at the junction of State Highways 1 and 7 60 kilometres north of Christchurch...
, and the section to Waikari
Waikari
Waikari is a small town in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located on State Highway 7 near the Weka Pass and was served by the Waiau Branch railway from 6 April 1882 until its closure on 15 January 1978...
was opened on 6 April 1882. Another report in 1883 also favoured the coastal route, but construction of the Waiau route proceeded and the section to Medbury
Medbury
Medbury is a rural locality in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located just off State Highway 7 near the Hurunui River...
opened on 15 September 1884, with Culverden
Culverden
Culverden is a small town in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. The 2006 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings had a usually-resident population of 420. This represented an increase of 7% or 27 people from the previous census in 2001.Culverden is located on State Highway...
reached on 8 February 1886.
Construction halted once Culverden was reached, and it became the northern terminus for the main line along the east coast of the South Island. One notable proposal at this time involved extending the line via Hanmer Springs
Hanmer Springs
Hanmer Springs is a small town in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located 65 kilometres southwest of Kaikoura , in the Hurunui District. The town lies on a minor road 9 kilometres north of State Highway 7, the northern route between Christchurch and the West Coast...
to Tophouse
Tophouse
Tophouse, also known as Tophouse Settlement, is a rural locality in the Tasman District of New Zealand's South Island, some 8 km northeast of Saint Arnaud. It is named after a hotel established in the 19th century to service drovers transporting their sheep between Canterbury and Marlborough...
, and then building two routes from there, one to Nelson and one down the Wairau River
Wairau River
The Wairau River is one of the longest rivers in New Zealand's South Island. It flows for 170 kilometres from the Spenser Mountains , firstly in a northwards direction and then northeast down a long, straight valley in inland Marlborough.The river's lower reaches are noted for the surrounding...
valley to Blenheim
Blenheim, New Zealand
Blenheim is the most populous town in the region of Marlborough, in the north east of the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the regional council. It has a population of The area which surrounds the town is well known as a centre of New Zealand's wine industry...
. Another proposal involved building a line across the Southern Alps
Southern Alps
The Southern Alps is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the island's western side...
to Reefton, and accessing Nelson and Marlborough via a line through the Buller Gorge
Buller Gorge
The Buller Gorge is a gorge located in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. The Buller River flows through the deep canyon between Murchison and Westport. Land Information New Zealand lists two sections for the gorge, Upper Buller Gorge and Lower Buller Gorge. State Highway 6 runs...
. The Reefton route remained a possibility for access to the West Coast until the Otira Tunnel
Otira Tunnel
The Otira Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the Midland Line in the South Island of New Zealand between Otira and Arthur's Pass. It runs under the Southern Alps from Arthur's Pass to Otira - a length of over . The gradient is mainly 1 in 33, and the Otira end of the tunnel is over lower than the...
was built, and the route to Nelson and Blenheim via Tophouse remained under consideration until the 1930s.
Despite many proposals, the railhead remained in Culverden for a number of decades. In 1902, the Culverden - Waiau Railway Extension League was formed, and it created enough pressure to encourage a new survey of a route from Culverden to Waiau in 1908. It wasn't until 10 June 1914, however, that work on this extension finally began, and despite delays, work continued through World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, with the line opened to Waiau on 15 December 1919. It was then proposed that the line could be extended to Kaikoura and then through to Marlborough, and some formation
Track bed
A track bed or trackbed is the term used to describe the groundwork onto which a railway track is laid. Trackbeds of disused railways are sometimes used for recreational paths or new light rail links....
was built, but this work ultimately ground to a halt and the line's terminus remained in Waiau. The line effectively became a branch of the Main North Line when approval was given to extend the Parnassus
Parnassus, New Zealand
Parnassus is a town located in the Canterbury region's Hurunui District on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is located on the north bank of the Waiau River and the 2001 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings gave its usually resident population as 900, a decline of 6.8% or...
Branch up the coast as the main line; this was completed in 1945.
Stations
The following stations were located on the Waiau Branch (in brackets is the distance in kilometres from Waipara):- Waikari (14.67 km)
- HawardenHawarden, New ZealandHawarden is a small town in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located near Waikari, just off State Highway 7. From 15 December 1884 until 15 January 1978, the town was served by the Waiau Branch, a branch line railway that at one stage was planned to become the Main North...
(21.43 km) - Medbury (26.75 km)
- Balmoral (34.7 km)
- Pahau (40.98 km)
- Culverden (45.95 km)
- Achray (54.34 km)
- RotherhamRotherham, New ZealandRotherham is a small village located in the Hurunui District of the Canterbury region in New Zealand's South Island. It is located between Culverden and Waiau on State Highway 70, and is near the south bank of the Waiau River, a popular location for trout and salmon fishing.On 8 February 1886, a...
(57.32 km) - Waiau (66.55 km)
Operation
As part of the main east coast line, the Waiau Branch was a busy railway by the standards of country New Zealand branch lines. The Culverden ExpressCulverden Express
The Culverden Express was a passenger train operated by the New Zealand Railways Department between Christchurch and Culverden. It ran from 1886 until its replacement by the Picton Express in 1945 and its route followed both the Main North Line and the Waiau Branch...
began not long after the line was opened and was the most important train in northern Canterbury at the time. The express was supplemented by multiple mixed train
Mixed train
A mixed train is a train that hauls both passenger and freight cars or wagons. In the early days of railways they were quite common, but by the 20th century they were largely confined to branch lines with little traffic. As the trains provided passengers with very slow service, mixed trains have...
s that carried both goods and passengers and ran to a slower schedule. In 1919, a goods train was added to the schedule and the passenger train between Christchurch and Culverden operated twice daily; these services operated beyond Culverden to Waiau only thrice weekly. Trains sometimes had to be banked through Weka Pass
Weka Pass
Weka Pass is a gorge located in the northern Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island between the towns of Waipara and Waikari.The Waipara River cut the Weka Pass by wearing down the soft limestone and mudstone in the area. Erosion has created a number of distinctive limestone formations in...
, requiring an engine shed in Waikari
Waikari
Waikari is a small town in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located on State Highway 7 near the Weka Pass and was served by the Waiau Branch railway from 6 April 1882 until its closure on 15 January 1978...
, and locomotive depots
Motive power depot
Motive power depot, usually abbreviated to MPD, is a name given to places where locomotives are stored when not being used, and also repaired and maintained. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine sheds", or, for short, just sheds. Facilities are provided for refuelling and...
were established in Waipara, Culverden, and Waiau.
In 1907, the New Zealand Railways Department
New Zealand Railways Department
The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was reformed in 1981 into the New...
under the Railways Road Services
New Zealand Railways Road Services
The New Zealand Railways Road Services was a branch of the New Zealand Railways Department and later the New Zealand Railways Corporation. It operated long-distance, tourist and suburban bus services and freight trucking and parcel services.-History:...
Branch, introduced a bus connection from Culverden to the popular tourist location of Hanmer Springs, and by the 1920s, the policy of the New Zealand Railways Department was to actively encourage the bus services, which had been expanded. This led the passenger numbers on the line to decline from 20,000 in 1914 to just 3,000 yearly when passenger services were entirely cancelled on 29 January 1939.
Freight, however, remained strong on the line. Extensive timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
resources in the area led to a significant quantity of traffic, and the annual Molesworth Station
Molesworth Station
Molesworth Station is New Zealand's largest farm, at over 1,800 km², and supports the country's biggest herd of cattle. It also hosts government science programs, such as research into bovine tuberculosis and related research into possums....
muster required additional trains to transport the large amount of livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
, with these special services operating well into the 1960s despite the widespread demise of the transportation of livestock throughout the country. The branch was dieselised in 1968, and at this stage, despite the relaxation of laws and removal of subsidies that had benefited rail, it was still necessary to run two trains daily. In July 1975, a major storm severely damaged pine growth in the Balmoral State Forest, and the resulting timber that had to be transported resulted in a surge for the line. Multiple trains were required to run daily, sometimes hauled by two locomotives, and this traffic lasted for two years. When it finally ceased in late 1977, the line suddenly became uneconomic. No other traffic existed that was sufficient to justify the line's continued existence, and closure occurred on 15 January 1978.
The branch today
A union ban led to the track of the Waiau Branch remaining in place for a number of years after the line's closure, which gave locals and railway enthusiasts enough time to form the Weka Pass RailwayWeka Pass Railway
The Weka Pass Railway is a New Zealand heritage railway based in Waipara, North Canterbury. It is operated on a 12 km length of the former Waiau Branch railway between Waipara and Waikari. The railway is operated by an incorporated society whose members come from all walks of life and are largely...
and preserve the first 13 km of the branch line. The rest of the track to Waiau has now been removed, though this was not completed until 1991, and a number of remnants remain on the abandoned route. Much of the line's formation is still visible, and a part of it has been used as a walkway in Waikari, though it does not connect with the Weka Pass Railway's terminus in the town. A few station shelters and goods shed
Goods shed
A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train.A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built alongside a track with possibly just a canopy over the door...
s have been relocated for use on farms near the line's former route, and other relics such as loading banks, station platforms, and pieces of rail can be found at the site of some old stations.