Waikaia Branch
Encyclopedia
The Waikaia Branch, also known as the Switzers Branch, was a branch line
railway in Southland, New Zealand
. Proposed as early as the 1870s, it was not opened until 1909 and was operated by the New Zealand Railways Department
for half a century until its closure in 1959.
(then Switzers) and environs were seriously considered. These proposals were as part of the Waimea Plains Railway
to link Gore
on the Main South Line
with Lumsden
on the Kingston Branch and featured either a circuitous line that passed through Waikaia, or a direct line with a branch to Waikaia. The Waimea Plains Railway was subsequently built on the direct route, and in 1880, a royal commission of New Zealand's railway network
favoured an alternate route to the Waikaia area. It suggested that a line be built from Kelso
on the Tapanui Branch
. However, previously proposed branch from the Waimea Plains Railway was favoured, as it had been argued that it would open up a considerable area of productive farming land, and in 1884, construction commenced northwards from Riversdale
. The terrain made construction easy and ten kilometres of formation
had been made with 3.2 kilometres of track laid before economic difficulties associated with the Long Depression
brought work to a halt. At some point over the next twenty years, the track was removed to be used elsewhere. Work on the line recommenced by 1904; a combined road-rail bridge over the Mataura River
, the only work of significance required for the line, opened in May of that year. There were local fears that only the initial portion of the line would be built, but in 1905, the Undersecretary for Public Works and the distrinct engineer inspected the proposed route and felt that due to the agricultural land that would be served, it would be a mistake to terminate the line short of Waikaia township. By 1908, the 3.2 kilometres constructed in the 1880s had been fully relaid and beyond this point, construction was swift. The 22 kilometre long line opened on 1 October 1909.
Joseph Ward
, show that the Waikaia station was essentially in the middle of a field. Initially, there was some traffic generated by gold mining and dredging near Waikaia, but the line was much too late to serve the gold fields of the 19th century and it mainly carried agricultural traffic. Its role was essentially to open up the surrounding land to farming and to provide a convenient link to major centres before the development of modern road transportation.
In 1925, Ford Model T
bus equipment was used as the basis for two railcar
s, the RM class
Model T Ford railcars
. They began operating on the Waikaia Branch as well as the Wyndham Branch
in late May 1926 in an attempt to provide a more efficient passenger service at a lower operating cost. They proved to be economical by the Railways Department's fuel consumption standards of the time, able to run 100 km on 18.8 litres of fuel. However, as the railcars rode roughly and were prone to overheating, they were unpopular with passengers and thus unsuccessful. The line became freight only from 9 February 1931. By the 1950s, the region's population had dwindled to a meagre 200 and trains ran twice weekly. What traffic did exist - mainly livestock and agricultural lime
- was being transferred to the expanding road network. With no reason to justify the line's continued existence, the Waikaia Branch closed on 16 May 1959.
s such as the F class
were used to run trains from the junction in Riversdale, but in the later years, considerably larger tender locomotive
s such as the A class
were used. Apart from the 1926-31 experiment with the Model T Ford railcars, the line was always operated by steam locomotive
s; it closed before dieselisation
began in Southland to any substantial degree.
, which are preserved by local residents. A loading bank and ramp for sheep to board wagons remained in Waipounamu until being removed in the late 1990s or early 2000s to allow for other development. In Waikaia, the locomotive water tank has been preserved by the locals, and on its side, "Switzers - Estd 1909" is written in large letters. Nearby, the goods shed remained standing, with both "Switzers" and "Waikaia" visible on the ends, until it collapsed in 2005. The water tank also collapsed around this time but was restored.
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 Southland, 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...
. Proposed as early as the 1870s, it was not opened until 1909 and was operated by 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...
for half a century until its closure in 1959.
Construction
In the late 1870s, proposals for a railway line to or through WaikaiaWaikaia
Waikaia, formerly known as Switzers, is a town in the Southland Region of New Zealand's South Island. From 1909 until 1959, it was the terminus of the Waikaia Branch railway....
(then Switzers) and environs were seriously considered. These proposals were as part of the Waimea Plains Railway
Waimea Plains Railway
The Waimea Plains Railway was a secondary railway line that linked the towns of Lumsden and Gore in northern Southland, New Zealand...
to link Gore
Gore, New Zealand
Gore is a town, surrounding borough, and district in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand.-Geography:The Gore District has a land area of 1,251.62 km² and a resident population of...
on the Main South Line
Main South Line
The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railroad line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Invercargill via Dunedin...
with Lumsden
Lumsden, New Zealand
Lumsden is a town in Southland, New Zealand. Lying in a gap in the surrounding hills, it is the location of a major junction halfway along the north-south road from Queenstown to Invercargill, where it is crossed by the east-west road from Gore to Te Anau. The town had a population of 453 as of the...
on the Kingston Branch and featured either a circuitous line that passed through Waikaia, or a direct line with a branch to Waikaia. The Waimea Plains Railway was subsequently built on the direct route, and in 1880, a royal commission of New Zealand's railway network
Rail transport in New Zealand
Rail transport in New Zealand consists of a network of gauge railway lines in both the North and South Islands. Rail services are focused primarily on freight, particularly bulk freight, with limited passenger services on some lines...
favoured an alternate route to the Waikaia area. It suggested that a line be built from Kelso
Kelso, New Zealand
Kelso was a small settlement in Otago, New Zealand, located ten kilometres north of Tapanui on the Kelso River, close to its junction with the larger Pomahaka River...
on the Tapanui Branch
Tapanui Branch
The Tapanui Branch was a railway line located near the border of the regions of Southland and Otago, New Zealand. Although the name suggests that it terminated in Tapanui, its furthest terminus was actually in Edievale...
. However, previously proposed branch from the Waimea Plains Railway was favoured, as it had been argued that it would open up a considerable area of productive farming land, and in 1884, construction commenced northwards from Riversdale
Riversdale, New Zealand
Riversdale is a small town in the Southland region of New Zealand. The population of Riversdale in the 2006 Census was 393, an increase of 30 people, or 8.3%, since the 2001 Census.- Geography :...
. The terrain made construction easy and ten kilometres of 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....
had been made with 3.2 kilometres of track laid before economic difficulties associated with the Long Depression
Long Depression
The Long Depression was a worldwide economic crisis, felt most heavily in Europe and the United States, which had been experiencing strong economic growth fueled by the Second Industrial Revolution in the decade following the American Civil War. At the time, the episode was labeled the Great...
brought work to a halt. At some point over the next twenty years, the track was removed to be used elsewhere. Work on the line recommenced by 1904; a combined road-rail bridge over the Mataura River
Mataura River
The Mataura River is in the Southland Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is 190 kilometres in length.The river's headwaters are located in mountains to the south of Lake Wakatipu. From there it flows southeast towards Gore, where it turns southward...
, the only work of significance required for the line, opened in May of that year. There were local fears that only the initial portion of the line would be built, but in 1905, the Undersecretary for Public Works and the distrinct engineer inspected the proposed route and felt that due to the agricultural land that would be served, it would be a mistake to terminate the line short of Waikaia township. By 1908, the 3.2 kilometres constructed in the 1880s had been fully relaid and beyond this point, construction was swift. The 22 kilometre long line opened on 1 October 1909.
Stations
The following were stations on the Waikaia Branch, in order from the junction at Riversdale:- Waipounamu
- Plains
- Waiparu
- Freshford
- Dome
- Waikaia, originally Switzers, 22.19 km from the junction.
Operation
The Waikaia Branch was essentially a line to nowhere. Roughly 1,700 people lived in the area served by the line when it opened, and Waikaia was home to a mere 250 people. Photos of the grand opening, attended by Prime MinisterPrime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
Joseph Ward
Joseph Ward
Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, GCMG was the 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand on two occasions in the early 20th century.-Early life:...
, show that the Waikaia station was essentially in the middle of a field. Initially, there was some traffic generated by gold mining and dredging near Waikaia, but the line was much too late to serve the gold fields of the 19th century and it mainly carried agricultural traffic. Its role was essentially to open up the surrounding land to farming and to provide a convenient link to major centres before the development of modern road transportation.
In 1925, Ford Model T
Ford Model T
The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company from September 1908 to May 1927...
bus equipment was used as the basis for two railcar
Railcar
A railcar, in British English and Australian English, is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach , with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g., the Great Western...
s, the RM class
NZR RM class
The RM class is the classification used by the New Zealand Railways Department and its successors given to most railcars and railbuses that have operated on New Zealand's national rail network. As NZR and its successors has operated many diverse types of railcars, alternate names have been given...
Model T Ford railcars
NZR RM class (Model T Ford)
The NZR RM class Model T Ford railcar was a type of railcar that operated on New Zealand's national rail network. Only two were built, classified as RM 4 and RM 5, and they were experimental railcars designed in an attempt to offer improved passenger services on quiet country branch lines that...
. They began operating on the Waikaia Branch as well as the Wyndham Branch
Wyndham Branch
The Wyndham Branch, also known as the Glenham Branch, was a branch line railway in Southland, New Zealand. The first section was opened in 1882 and it operated until 1962. Although its name would imply that it terminated in Wyndham, an extension to a terminus in Glenham operated for forty years...
in late May 1926 in an attempt to provide a more efficient passenger service at a lower operating cost. They proved to be economical by the Railways Department's fuel consumption standards of the time, able to run 100 km on 18.8 litres of fuel. However, as the railcars rode roughly and were prone to overheating, they were unpopular with passengers and thus unsuccessful. The line became freight only from 9 February 1931. By the 1950s, the region's population had dwindled to a meagre 200 and trains ran twice weekly. What traffic did exist - mainly livestock and agricultural lime
Agricultural lime
Agricultural lime, also called aglime, agricultural limestone, garden lime or liming, is a soil additive made from pulverized limestone or chalk. The primary active component is calcium carbonate...
- was being transferred to the expanding road network. With no reason to justify the line's continued existence, the Waikaia Branch closed on 16 May 1959.
Motive power
In the early years of the line, small tank locomotiveTank locomotive
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. It will most likely also have some kind of bunker to hold the fuel. There are several different types of tank locomotive dependent upon...
s such as the F class
NZR F class
The NZR F class was the first important class of steam locomotive built to operate on New Zealand's railway network after the national gauge of 1067 millimetres was adopted. The first locomotives built for the new 1067 mm railways were two E class double Fairlies for the Dunedin and Port Chalmers...
were used to run trains from the junction in Riversdale, but in the later years, considerably larger tender locomotive
Tender locomotive
A tender or coal-car is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing the locomotive's fuel and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so tenders are necessary to keep the locomotive running over long distances. A locomotive...
s such as the A class
NZR A class (1906)
The A class were steam locomotives built in 1906 with a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement for New Zealand's national railway network, and described by some as the most handsome engines to run on New Zealand rails. The class should not be confused with the older and more obscure A class of 1873. They were...
were used. Apart from the 1926-31 experiment with the Model T Ford railcars, the line was always operated by steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s; it closed before dieselisation
Dieselisation
Dieselisation or dieselization is a term generally used for the increasingly common use of diesel fuel in vehicles, as opposed to gasoline or steam engines.-Water Transport:...
began in Southland to any substantial degree.
The branch today
It is not unusual for relics from closed railway lines to deteriorate and disappear over time, but remnants can be found the length of the Waikaia Branch. Much of the formation is still visible from local roads, and bridge foundations remain at a number of stream crossings. Freshford station still possesses its loading bank, sheepyard, and goods shedGoods 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...
, which are preserved by local residents. A loading bank and ramp for sheep to board wagons remained in Waipounamu until being removed in the late 1990s or early 2000s to allow for other development. In Waikaia, the locomotive water tank has been preserved by the locals, and on its side, "Switzers - Estd 1909" is written in large letters. Nearby, the goods shed remained standing, with both "Switzers" and "Waikaia" visible on the ends, until it collapsed in 2005. The water tank also collapsed around this time but was restored.