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Goldfields Railway
Encyclopedia
The Goldfields Railway is a heritage railway that operates between Waihi
and Waikino
in the Bay of Plenty
region of New Zealand
's North Island
. It operates over a section of track that was part of the East Coast Main Trunk Railway until the Kaimai Tunnel
deviation made it redundant in 1978. The Goldfields Railway was formed in 1980 as the Goldfields Steam Train Society to retain a portion of the old main line and switched to its current name in the mid-nineties.
as the Waihi Branch
from Paeroa
on the Thames Branch
to provide rail access to the significant mining activity that was then taking place in the Waihi area. It was not intended to be a main line, but after extensive surveys and a few false starts, it became part of the East Coast Main Trunk to Tauranga
, Te Puke
, and ultimately Taneatua
in 1928. This route was circuitous, thus making it less appealing than more direct road routes, but traffic nonetheless grew as Tauranga's port increased in importance and the Karangahake Gorge route lacked sufficient capacity. Accordingly, a new route was required and the direct Kaimai Tunnel deviation was built, opening on 12 September 1978. The Karangahake Gorge route was closed and dismantled in the 1980s, except for the 6 kilometres between Waihi and Waikino, which the Goldfields Railway saved.
and the Rail Heritage Trust. The line to Waikino is 6 km long and includes a few bridges, including the only private railway bridge over a state highway
in New Zealand. In Waikino, the station is not the original one built on the site; it was formerly Paeroa's station and was transferred to Waikino in 1990, just before the mothballing and eventual closure of the railway through Paeroa to Thames
in 1991. The station is now used as a cafe and to link the railway with a walkway through the Karangahake Gorge and other local attractions.
s used in private industry or for shunting
on the national network. The locomotives include:
These locomotives are augmented by a collection of velocipedes and motor trolleys that are primarily used for track inspection and maintenance.
The railway has also been visited by steam locomotives owned by others. During Easter
2006, as part of celebrations to mark over 100 years of the railway in Waihi, Y 542 owned by the Museum of Transport and Technology
was brought to operate trips on the Goldfields Railway.
consists of both passenger carriages and freight wagons. The three passenger carriages are the focus of preservation efforts and date from 1911, 1913, and 1931. They are augmented by an open passenger carriage built in 1993 and attached to a chassis dating from 1911 and a guard's van. The society's diverse freight wagons are currently awaiting restoration. The collection of rolling stock is completed by a railway crane
built in 1937.
Waihi
Waihi is a town in Hauraki District in the North Island of New Zealand, especially notable for its history as a gold mine town. It had a population of 4,503 at the 2006 census....
and Waikino
Waikino
Waikino is a small town situated in the North Island of New Zealand nestled in the Southern end of a gorge alongside the Ohinemuri River, between Waihi and the Karangahake Gorge. The Waikino district lies at the base of the ecologically sensitive Coromandel Peninsula with its vast tracts of lush...
in the Bay of Plenty
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...
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 North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
. It operates over a section of track that was part of the East Coast Main Trunk Railway until the Kaimai Tunnel
Kaimai Tunnel
The Kaimai Tunnel is a railway tunnel through the Kaimai Range in the North Island of New Zealand. Since it was opened in 1978, it has held the title of longest tunnel in New Zealand, assuming this distinction from the previous title holder, the Rimutaka Tunnel...
deviation made it redundant in 1978. The Goldfields Railway was formed in 1980 as the Goldfields Steam Train Society to retain a portion of the old main line and switched to its current name in the mid-nineties.
History of the line
The route currently used by the Goldfields Railway was originally built through the Karangahake GorgeKarangahake Gorge
The Karangahake Gorge lies between the Coromandel and Kaimai ranges, at the southern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. A sharply winding canyon, it was formed by the Ohinemuri River. State Highway 2 passes through this gorge between the towns of Paeroa, Waikino and Waihi...
as the Waihi Branch
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...
from Paeroa
Paeroa
Paeroa is a small town in New Zealand, in the northern Waikato region of the Thames Valley. Located at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou and Ohinemuri Rivers, 20 kilometres from the coast at the Firth of Thames...
on the Thames Branch
Thames Branch
The Thames Branch railway line connected Thames, New Zealand, with Hamilton and was originally part of the East Coast Main Trunk Railway. Part of the line between Morrinsville and Waitoa remains open and is in use as the Waitoa Industrial Line, connecting to the Fonterra Dairy Factory at...
to provide rail access to the significant mining activity that was then taking place in the Waihi area. It was not intended to be a main line, but after extensive surveys and a few false starts, it became part of the East Coast Main Trunk to Tauranga
Tauranga
Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...
, Te Puke
Te Puke
Te Puke is a town located 28 kilometres southeast of Tauranga in the Western Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. It is particularly famous for the cultivation of kiwifruit...
, and ultimately Taneatua
Taneatua
Taneatua is a small town in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is officially defined as a "populated area less than a town". The 2001 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings found its population to be 750, a 14.7% decline since the previous census in 1996...
in 1928. This route was circuitous, thus making it less appealing than more direct road routes, but traffic nonetheless grew as Tauranga's port increased in importance and the Karangahake Gorge route lacked sufficient capacity. Accordingly, a new route was required and the direct Kaimai Tunnel deviation was built, opening on 12 September 1978. The Karangahake Gorge route was closed and dismantled in the 1980s, except for the 6 kilometres between Waihi and Waikino, which the Goldfields Railway saved.
The preserved line
In Waihi, much of the infrastructure of the station and yard remains intact and preserved; although some freight-related structures such as the livestock yards are gone, the goods shed, six railway houses, and small ancillary buildings remain, and the main station buildings are protected and recognised by the New Zealand Historic Places TrustNew Zealand Historic Places Trust
The New Zealand Historic Places Trust is a non-profit trust that advocates for the protection of ancestral sites and heritage buildings in New Zealand...
and the Rail Heritage Trust. The line to Waikino is 6 km long and includes a few bridges, including the only private railway bridge over a state highway
New Zealand State Highway network
The New Zealand State Highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands are State Highways...
in New Zealand. In Waikino, the station is not the original one built on the site; it was formerly Paeroa's station and was transferred to Waikino in 1990, just before the mothballing and eventual closure of the railway through Paeroa to Thames
Thames, New Zealand
Thames is a town at the southwestern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the Firth of Thames close to the mouth of the Waihou River. The town is the seat of the Thames-Coromandel District Council....
in 1991. The station is now used as a cafe and to link the railway with a walkway through the Karangahake Gorge and other local attractions.
Locomotives
The Goldfields Railway possesses a variety of locomotives, primarily small diesel locomotiveDiesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
s used in private industry or for shunting
Shunt (railway operations)
Shunting, in railway operations, involves the process of sorting items of rolling stock into complete train sets or consists. The United States terminology is "switching"....
on the national network. The locomotives include:
- Baguley-DrewryDrewry Car Co.Drewry Car Co, strictly speaking, was a railway locomotive and railcar sales organisation for most of its life. Only at the start and the end of its life did it build its own products, relying on sub-contractors for the rest of its time...
0-6-00-6-0Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...
diesel locomotive, built 1968 - Barclay-Price 0-6-0 diesel locomotive, built as a steam locomotiveSteam locomotiveA 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...
in 1947, converted to diesel in 1972 - FA 250 0-6-20-6-2Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...
T steam locomotive, built 1892, under restoration and leased to the Waitara Railway Preservation SocietyWaitara Railway Preservation SocietyThe Waitara Railway Preservation Society is a society established in 1999 to operate a heritage railway over the former Waitara Branch Railway that operated between Lepperton and Waitara in the New Plymouth District of New Zealand's North Island... - PeckettPeckett and SonsPeckett and Sons was a locomotive manufacturer at the Atlas Works in St. George, Bristol, England.-Fox, Walker and Company:The company began trading in 1864 at the Atlas Engine Works, St. George, Bristol, as Fox, Walker and Company, building four and six-coupled saddle tank engines for industrial use...
0-4-20-4-2Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-2 represents the wheel arrangement with no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...
T steam locomotive, built 1938 - PriceA & G PriceA & G Price Limited is an engineering firm and locomotive manufacturer in Thames, New Zealand, established in 1868. In 2004 a precision formed yacht keel division was formed to make the Maximus canting keel...
0-4-00-4-0Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0 represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven...
petrol locomotive, built 1944 - TR classNZR TR classThe NZR TR class is a class of diesel shunting locomotives built by many different manufacturers. Many of these locomotives have been withdrawn, but some are still in service. The first locomotives of this class were built by the Drewry Car Co in 1936, and had 52 kW or 90 kW petrol engines...
diesel locomotive, built 1948 - TR class diesel locomotive, also built 1948 but with different cab design
These locomotives are augmented by a collection of velocipedes and motor trolleys that are primarily used for track inspection and maintenance.
The railway has also been visited by steam locomotives owned by others. During Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
2006, as part of celebrations to mark over 100 years of the railway in Waihi, Y 542 owned by the Museum of Transport and Technology
Museum of Transport and Technology
The Museum of Transport and Technology is a museum located in Western Springs, Auckland, New Zealand. It is located close to the Western Springs Stadium, Auckland Zoo and the Western Springs Park. The museum has large collections of civilian and military aircraft and other land transport vehicles...
was brought to operate trips on the Goldfields Railway.
Rolling stock
The Goldfields Railway's collection of rolling stockRolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
consists of both passenger carriages and freight wagons. The three passenger carriages are the focus of preservation efforts and date from 1911, 1913, and 1931. They are augmented by an open passenger carriage built in 1993 and attached to a chassis dating from 1911 and a guard's van. The society's diverse freight wagons are currently awaiting restoration. The collection of rolling stock is completed by a railway crane
Crane (railroad)
A railroad crane, is a type of crane used on a railroad for one of three primary uses: freight handling in goods yards, permanent way maintenance, and accident recovery work...
built in 1937.