Moutohora Branch
Encyclopedia
The Moutohora Branch was a branch line
railway that formed part of New Zealand
's national rail network
in Poverty Bay
in the North island
of New Zealand
. The branch ran for 78 km approximately North-West from Gisborne
into the rugged and steep Raukumara Range
to the terminus at Moutohora. Construction started in 1900, and the line was opened to Moutohora in November 1917.
Built to the New Zealand standard gauge the branch was intended to become part of the proposed East Coast Main Trunk Railway running from Napier
to Hamilton
by way of Gisborne, Opotiki
, Tauranga
and the eastern Waikato
. This comprehensive scheme never came to pass, and the branch was closed in March 1959.
The branch had four names during its lifetime. Initially it was authorised as a Gisborne to Rotorua line, and labelled as such in the Public Works
Statement until 1910. From then, while isolated from the rest of the NZR system, it was known as the ‘Gisborne section’ of the NZR. Once Gisborne was linked to the rest of the NZR network in 1942 the line became the ‘Motuhora Branch’, to be re-named the ‘Moutohora Branch’ in 1952, when the New Zealand Geographic Board
decided on this spelling for the line’s terminal locality. This article uses the final terminology and spelling throughout.
to the outside world by rail was made in 1886, but nothing eventuated at that time. In April 1897 the East Coast Railway League was established to press for the development of rail connections, and in 1899 the Government announced that Gisborne was to be connected to Auckland
by a line of rail.
Work on the line started in early 1900. On 14 January the then Minister for Railways
, the Joseph Ward
, turned the first sod
.
The first 20 km of the line ran across coastal plains with few obstacles, and the line was opened to Kaitaratahi on 10 November 1902.
Once past this point the line required large river bridging works, four tunnel
s, heavy earthworks
and the construction of two large viaducts 18 and 30 metres high. Much of the line was built on steep grades of up to 1 in 30, and many tight curves were required. Despite all earthworks being carried out by pick and shovel, and although hindered at times by floods, washouts and landslips and (in the later stages) a wartime shortage of materials progress continued at a slow but steady pace, and the line was opened to Moutohora at 78.5 km by 26 November 1917.
However once at Moutohora, even though over the main divide, there was no easy way for the railway to link up with the rest of the NZR network, as a definitive line for a connection to the Bay of Plenty had never been identified. By 1920 13 separate surveys had sought a practical route, but the expensive nature of the works required to provide a descent to the Bay of Plenty always deterred politicians from authorising any further extension of the line. With the passing of time it became clear that Gisborne would be connected to the rest of the NZR system via Napier
.
. The line had heavy traffic in its early years and consistently showed an operating profit. In the 12 months between April 1903 and March 1904, when only about 21 km of line were open, the approximately 6,500 people in the district made 47,706 single or return passenger journeys, and 4,464 tonnes of freight were carried.
In 1919-1920, with the full length of the line in operation, over 30,000 tonnes of freight were carried. Road metal from a quarry at Moutohora accounted for 16,400 tonnes of the 1919-1920 total, and continued to be a major component of all freight traffic in following years. Much of the rest of the 1919-1920 freight was timber cut from the extensive forests to which the line provided access. In the same year over 113,000 passenger journeys were recorded, the passenger traffic being sufficient to support a privately-leased refreshment room at Te Karaka station. Apart from occasional passenger excursion trains all trains were mixed, carrying both passengers and freight.
By 1930 most of the economically accessible timber had been cut out and sawmills along the line began closing down. Road metal and livestock continued to provide reasonably large tonnages, but with the onset of the depression both passenger and freight operations fell away, with only a small fraction of the district's primary produce being exported.
Even when economic conditions improved rail traffic did not recover to pre-depression levels until the imposition of road traffic restrictions and petrol rationing during the 1939-1945 war years. In August 1942 the Moutohora branch was connected to the rest of the NZR network via the Palmerston North – Gisborne Line, causing a temporary increase to nearly 70,000 passenger journeys on the branch in the 1942-1943 year. However, after 1944, and the partial easing of some road transport restrictions, passenger numbers and freight fell away dramatically. Because of the combination of reduced passenger numbers and wartime coal shortages, passenger services were withdrawn from the branch on the 29th of January 1945.
2-4-0T locomotives provided all the motive power required for both construction and running services. In 1909 they were supplemented by an FA class 0-6-2T, and in 1910 the first of six WA class 2-6-2T engines arrived, with the two D class locomotives being shipped away at about the same time. As the FA class locos aged they were themselves replaced by WW class 4-6-4Ts and BB class
4-8-0
locomotives. Finally in 1952 AB class
4-6-2
Pacifics were introduced. The large tender on the ABs limited visibility when running backwards, so to ensure the line could be worked safely by these more powerful engines NZR installed a turning triangle at Moutohora station. Previous to this all engines had run smokebox first towards Moutohora and bunker first on their return.
Despite the heavy gradients train working was not as difficult as may have been expected. Most of the uphill traffic comprised empty wagons being sent to transport the district’s primary produce back to Gisborne. The heavy downhill trains required more braking power than tractive effort, and special train management rules were in place to ensure a safe descent into Poverty Bay.
The development of aerial topdressing led to a short-term increase in freight traffic towards the middle of 1952, as large volumes of superphosphate were required in the district. However, this did not last, and after lingering on for a few more years the end came in 1959, by which time keeping the line open cost more than three times its annual revenue. Despite the activities of a Railway Promotion League persisting into the 1950s to have the line extended to Taneatua
, the branch officially closed on 14 March 1959. The last working train ran a month later, on 14 April, bringing out a final load of road metal for highway improvements that would use the railway alignment once the rails had been lifted.
, cuttings, bridge abutment
s and tunnels can be seen from State Highway 2
from near Ormond to Matawai. About 5 km of the old roadbed is now the Otoko recreational walkway. Just past the northern end of the walkway, the abutments and one of the steel piers of the 30m high Otoko viaduct are clearly visible to the east of the highway. Between Otoko and Rakauora the current highway runs largely on the old railway alignment, and the piers of the Rakauora viaduct still stand about 100m to the west of the highway just before reaching Rakauora. The Matawhai station platform edge can be seen alongside the Matawai-Moutohora road, and the Motu river bridge truss
remains in situ. Some railway buildings remain at various places up and down the old line, but there are now no railway remains left at the site of the Moutohora terminus.
Locomotive D 143, one of the two D class locomotives to work on the line in the first few years, has survived and is now in preservation at the Silver Stream Heritage Railway
at Silverstream
in the Hutt Valley near Wellington
- see external links below.
Locomotive WA 165, which arrived in 1911 to work the Gisborne section (as it was then) has also survived in preservation. Now owned by the Gisborne City Vintage Railway Incorporated, it has been returned to running order and is regularly steamed to provide excursions - see 'external links'.
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 that formed part 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 national rail 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...
in Poverty Bay
Poverty Bay
Poverty Bay is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawkes Bay. It stretches for 10 kilometres from Young Nick's Head in the southwest to Tuaheni Point in the northeast. The city of Gisborne is located on the northern shore of the bay...
in the 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...
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...
. The branch ran for 78 km approximately North-West from Gisborne
Gisborne, New Zealand
-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
into the rugged and steep Raukumara Range
Raukumara Range
The Raukumara Range lies north of Gisborne, near East Cape in New Zealand's North Island. It forms part of the North Island's main mountain chain, which runs north-northeast from Wellington to East Cape, and is composed primarily of greywacke, argillites, siltstones and sandstones. The North...
to the terminus at Moutohora. Construction started in 1900, and the line was opened to Moutohora in November 1917.
Built to the New Zealand standard gauge the branch was intended to become part of the proposed East Coast Main Trunk Railway running from Napier
Napier, New Zealand
Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
to Hamilton
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
by way of Gisborne, Opotiki
Opotiki
Opotiki is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Opotiki District Council and comes under the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.-Population:* of the town: 4176 - Male 1,989, Female 2,187...
, 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...
and the eastern Waikato
Waikato
The Waikato Region is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato, Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupo District, and parts of Rotorua District...
. This comprehensive scheme never came to pass, and the branch was closed in March 1959.
The branch had four names during its lifetime. Initially it was authorised as a Gisborne to Rotorua line, and labelled as such in the Public Works
New Zealand Ministry of Works
The New Zealand Ministry of Works, formerly the Department of Public Works and sometimes referred to as the Public Works Department or PWD, was founded in 1876 and disestablished and privatised in 1988...
Statement until 1910. From then, while isolated from the rest of the NZR system, it was known as the ‘Gisborne section’ of the NZR. Once Gisborne was linked to the rest of the NZR network in 1942 the line became the ‘Motuhora Branch’, to be re-named the ‘Moutohora Branch’ in 1952, when the New Zealand Geographic Board
New Zealand Geographic Board
The New Zealand Geographic Board is constituted under the New Zealand Geographic Board Act 2008, formerly under the New Zealand Geographic Board Act 1946. Although an independent institution, it is responsible to the Minister for Land Information...
decided on this spelling for the line’s terminal locality. This article uses the final terminology and spelling throughout.
Construction
The first report on proposals to link Gisborne and the rest of Poverty BayPoverty Bay
Poverty Bay is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawkes Bay. It stretches for 10 kilometres from Young Nick's Head in the southwest to Tuaheni Point in the northeast. The city of Gisborne is located on the northern shore of the bay...
to the outside world by rail was made in 1886, but nothing eventuated at that time. In April 1897 the East Coast Railway League was established to press for the development of rail connections, and in 1899 the Government announced that Gisborne was to be connected to Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
by a line of rail.
Work on the line started in early 1900. On 14 January the then Minister for Railways
Minister of Railways (New Zealand)
The Minister of Railways was the minister in the government responsible for the New Zealand Railways Department 1895–1981, the New Zealand Railways Corporation 1981–1993, and New Zealand Rail Limited 1990–1993...
, the 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:...
, turned the first sod
Groundbreaking
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are often attended by dignitaries such as politicians and...
.
The first 20 km of the line ran across coastal plains with few obstacles, and the line was opened to Kaitaratahi on 10 November 1902.
Once past this point the line required large river bridging works, four tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
s, heavy earthworks
Earthworks (engineering)
Earthworks are engineering works created through the moving or processing of quantities of soil or unformed rock.- Civil engineering use :Typical earthworks include roads, railway beds, causeways, dams, levees, canals, and berms...
and the construction of two large viaducts 18 and 30 metres high. Much of the line was built on steep grades of up to 1 in 30, and many tight curves were required. Despite all earthworks being carried out by pick and shovel, and although hindered at times by floods, washouts and landslips and (in the later stages) a wartime shortage of materials progress continued at a slow but steady pace, and the line was opened to Moutohora at 78.5 km by 26 November 1917.
However once at Moutohora, even though over the main divide, there was no easy way for the railway to link up with the rest of the NZR network, as a definitive line for a connection to the Bay of Plenty had never been identified. By 1920 13 separate surveys had sought a practical route, but the expensive nature of the works required to provide a descent to the Bay of Plenty always deterred politicians from authorising any further extension of the line. With the passing of time it became clear that Gisborne would be connected to the rest of the NZR system via Napier
Napier, New Zealand
Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
.
Operations
Until connected with the Palmerston North – Gisborne Line in 1942 the Moutohora branch served a purely local function in maintaining access to Gisborne’s hinterlandHinterland
The hinterland is the land or district behind a coast or the shoreline of a river. Specifically, by the doctrine of the hinterland, the word is applied to the inland region lying behind a port, claimed by the state that owns the coast. The area from which products are delivered to a port for...
. The line had heavy traffic in its early years and consistently showed an operating profit. In the 12 months between April 1903 and March 1904, when only about 21 km of line were open, the approximately 6,500 people in the district made 47,706 single or return passenger journeys, and 4,464 tonnes of freight were carried.
In 1919-1920, with the full length of the line in operation, over 30,000 tonnes of freight were carried. Road metal from a quarry at Moutohora accounted for 16,400 tonnes of the 1919-1920 total, and continued to be a major component of all freight traffic in following years. Much of the rest of the 1919-1920 freight was timber cut from the extensive forests to which the line provided access. In the same year over 113,000 passenger journeys were recorded, the passenger traffic being sufficient to support a privately-leased refreshment room at Te Karaka station. Apart from occasional passenger excursion trains all trains were mixed, carrying both passengers and freight.
By 1930 most of the economically accessible timber had been cut out and sawmills along the line began closing down. Road metal and livestock continued to provide reasonably large tonnages, but with the onset of the depression both passenger and freight operations fell away, with only a small fraction of the district's primary produce being exported.
Even when economic conditions improved rail traffic did not recover to pre-depression levels until the imposition of road traffic restrictions and petrol rationing during the 1939-1945 war years. In August 1942 the Moutohora branch was connected to the rest of the NZR network via the Palmerston North – Gisborne Line, causing a temporary increase to nearly 70,000 passenger journeys on the branch in the 1942-1943 year. However, after 1944, and the partial easing of some road transport restrictions, passenger numbers and freight fell away dramatically. Because of the combination of reduced passenger numbers and wartime coal shortages, passenger services were withdrawn from the branch on the 29th of January 1945.
Motive power and train working
For the first seven years from 1902 two D classNZR D class (1874)
The NZR D class was a class of tank steam locomotives that operated on New Zealand's national railway network. The first members of the class entered service in 1874, and all had left the service of NZR by the end of 1927, which allowed the D classification to be used again in 1929.- Introduction...
2-4-0T locomotives provided all the motive power required for both construction and running services. In 1909 they were supplemented by an FA class 0-6-2T, and in 1910 the first of six WA class 2-6-2T engines arrived, with the two D class locomotives being shipped away at about the same time. As the FA class locos aged they were themselves replaced by WW class 4-6-4Ts and BB class
NZR Bb class
The BB class of steam locomotives comprised 30 engines operated by New Zealand Railways in the North Island of New Zealand. Similar in design and appearance to the preceding B and BA classes, the first BB class locomotive entered service in February 1915, with the last to commence operations doing...
4-8-0
4-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. The type was nicknamed the Mastodon or Twelve-wheeler in North America....
locomotives. Finally in 1952 AB class
NZR Ab class
The NZR AB class was a class of 4-6-2 Pacific tender steam locomotive that operated on New Zealand's national railway system. Originally an improvement on the 1906 A class, 141 were built between 1915 and 1927 by NZR's Addington Workshops, A & G Price Limited of Thames, New Zealand, and North...
4-6-2
4-6-2
4-6-2, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle .These locomotives are also known as Pacifics...
Pacifics were introduced. The large tender on the ABs limited visibility when running backwards, so to ensure the line could be worked safely by these more powerful engines NZR installed a turning triangle at Moutohora station. Previous to this all engines had run smokebox first towards Moutohora and bunker first on their return.
Despite the heavy gradients train working was not as difficult as may have been expected. Most of the uphill traffic comprised empty wagons being sent to transport the district’s primary produce back to Gisborne. The heavy downhill trains required more braking power than tractive effort, and special train management rules were in place to ensure a safe descent into Poverty Bay.
Closure
As freight volumes continued to decrease the viability of the branch came into question, particularly as it was now clear the connection with the Bay of Plenty would never be made. In 1952 a Royal Commission was appointed to look into the profitability of branch lines, including the Moutohora branch. The Commission sanctioned the retention of the branch for the time being, but made it clear to the local citizens that it was a case of 'use it or lose it'.The development of aerial topdressing led to a short-term increase in freight traffic towards the middle of 1952, as large volumes of superphosphate were required in the district. However, this did not last, and after lingering on for a few more years the end came in 1959, by which time keeping the line open cost more than three times its annual revenue. Despite the activities of a Railway Promotion League persisting into the 1950s to have the line extended to 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...
, the branch officially closed on 14 March 1959. The last working train ran a month later, on 14 April, bringing out a final load of road metal for highway improvements that would use the railway alignment once the rails had been lifted.
Remains
Five kilometres of the Moutohora branch remain open to Makaraka, functioning as an industrial siding to service a fruit storehouse. Many remains of the embankmentsEmbankment (transportation)
To keep a road or railway line straight or flat, and where the comparative cost or practicality of alternate solutions is prohibitive, the land over which the road or rail line will travel is built up to form an embankment. An embankment is therefore in some sense the opposite of a cutting, and...
, cuttings, bridge abutment
Abutment
An abutment is, generally, the point where two structures or objects meet. This word comes from the verb abut, which means adjoin or having common boundary. An abutment is an engineering term that describes a structure located at the ends of a bridge, where the bridge slab adjoins the approaching...
s and tunnels can be seen from State Highway 2
New Zealand State Highway 2
State Highway 2 is one of New Zealand's eight national highways. With the exception of State Highway 1, which runs the length of both of the country's main islands, SH 2 is the longest highway in the North Island...
from near Ormond to Matawai. About 5 km of the old roadbed is now the Otoko recreational walkway. Just past the northern end of the walkway, the abutments and one of the steel piers of the 30m high Otoko viaduct are clearly visible to the east of the highway. Between Otoko and Rakauora the current highway runs largely on the old railway alignment, and the piers of the Rakauora viaduct still stand about 100m to the west of the highway just before reaching Rakauora. The Matawhai station platform edge can be seen alongside the Matawai-Moutohora road, and the Motu river bridge truss
Truss
In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...
remains in situ. Some railway buildings remain at various places up and down the old line, but there are now no railway remains left at the site of the Moutohora terminus.
Locomotive D 143, one of the two D class locomotives to work on the line in the first few years, has survived and is now in preservation at the Silver Stream Heritage Railway
Silver Stream Railway
The Silver Stream Railway is a heritage railway at Silverstream in the Hutt Valley near Wellington, New Zealand. It regularly operates preserved New Zealand Railways Department locomotives along a restored section of the Hutt Valley Line before a deviation was built in 1954.- History :The...
at Silverstream
Silverstream
Silverstream is a suburb of Upper Hutt in the lower North Island of New Zealand. It is at the southern end of the city close to the Taita Gorge, which separates Upper Hutt from Lower Hutt...
in the Hutt Valley near Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
- see external links below.
Locomotive WA 165, which arrived in 1911 to work the Gisborne section (as it was then) has also survived in preservation. Now owned by the Gisborne City Vintage Railway Incorporated, it has been returned to running order and is regularly steamed to provide excursions - see 'external links'.