- Port Chalmers Branch
The Port Chalmers Branch was the first railway line built in
Otago ,New Zealand , and linked the region's major city ofDunedin with the port inPort Chalmers .Geoffrey B. Churchman and Tony Hurst, "The Railways of New Zealand: A Journey Through History" (Auckland: HarperCollins, 1991), 206.] The line is still operational today.Construction and early history
Built by the Dunedin and Port Chalmers Railway Company Limited, the line was approved by and constructed under the auspices of the
Otago Provincial Council , not the national government. However, it was built to the recently adopted national gauge of 1067 mm (3 feet 6 inches), and it was the first line in the country with that gauge to open, on1 January 1873 . The line was formally opened by SirGeorge Bowen , formerGovernor-General of New Zealand , on a farewell trip prior to his transfer to Victoria. [Otago Witness, 31 March 1898, [http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=OW18980331.2.193.32&e=--1897---1898--en-PubMetaOW-11----0chronological-ll "Chronological Index of the Settlement of Otago: 1873"] , accessed 13 October 2007.] The first locomotive to run on the line - and the first 1067 mm gauge locomotive to operate in New Zealand - was the E class "Josephine", a doubleFairlie steam locomotive . [Eric Heath and Bob Stott, "Classic Steam Locomotives of New Zealand" (Wellington: Grantham House, 1993), 24.] whose local popularity ensured she was retained beyond her retirement from service on the railways in 1917 and is preserved today in theOtago Settlers Museum inDunedin . [Weka Pass Railway, [http://www34.brinkster.com/wekapass/eclass/e175his.htm E 175 Josephine] , accessed 12 June 2007.]Much of the Port Chalmers line is now part of the
Main South Line fromChristchurch to Dunedin. When the first section of the main line, from Dunedin toWaitati , opened in December 1877 a junction was established at Sawyers Bay. [Churchman and Hurst, "The Railways of New Zealand", 180.] The section from Dunedin to Sawyers Bay became part of the Main South Line, while the remaining two kilometres to Port Chalmers became the Port Chalmers Branch. In 1880 the line was vested in the newly establishedNew Zealand Railways Department , and the private company dissolved.Operation
Passenger services
Suburban passenger services were run from Dunedin on the line for over 100 years, but ceased at the end of 1979. These were usually locomotive-hauled carriage trains, but infrequently, RM class Vulcan
railcar s were used too. Occasional passenger services are still operated by theTaieri Gorge Railway to meet cruise ships and carry tourists through the scenicTaieri Gorge on the preserved portion of theOtago Central Railway .Freight services
The main reason for the line's existence is freight to and from the port, and as the shipping industry has changed, so has the traffic on the line. It has evolved from nineteenth century imports of supplies and exports of produce from rural Otago's farms and businesses into today's long-distance containerised freight. The line remains an important link in New Zealand's transport infrastructure and trains are operated by Toll Rail. The Taieri Gorge Railway recently sought a contract to haul logs from a location in the Taieri Gorge to Port Chalmers, but insufficient subsidies meant the venture would not have been cost efficient. [Simon Hartley, [http://www.odt.co.nz/article.php?refid=2007,06,12,1,00102,1ca594f41f201909b4f0b5fdd100e189§=0 "Costs Rule Out Rail in the Long Run"] , "Otago Daily Times", 12 June 2007.]
Motive power
Motive power has often been provided by shunting locomotives rather than larger main line engines. At the start of the twentieth century, small
tank locomotive s such as members of the FA class were used. [Joe McNamara and Gordon Whiting, "Southland Locomotive Memories", "New Zealand Railway Observer" (April-June 1958), 59.] However, in the 1960s, asdiesel locomotive s replacedsteam locomotive s on the main lines, large engines such as members of the AB class operated the suburban trains to Port Chalmers. [David Leitch, "Steam, Steel and Splendour" (Auckland: HarperCollins, 1994), 129-30.]External links
* [http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/Gov12_06Rail-fig-Gov12_06Rail027b.html Photo of locomotive "Josephine" at Dunedin]
References
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