Kinleith Branch

Kinleith Branch
Kinleith Branch
	DL-hauled freight passes Castle Pamela near Tīrau on 4 June 2015.
Overview
Status	Open, freight only
Owner	New Zealand Railways Corporation
Termini	Morrinsville,Waikato; Kinleith Mill;
Stations	Walton (East Coast Main Trunk) Waharoa Matamata Hinuera Okoroire Tīrau/ Oxford Taumangi Putāruru(forRotorua Branch) Lichfield
Service
Operator(s)	KiwiRail
Rolling stock	None
History
Opened	6 October 1952 (as a heavy-rail line)
Technical
Line length	65 km (40 mi)
Number of tracks	Single
Character	Rural
Track gauge	1,067 mm(3 ft 6 in)
Route map
Route map
	Legend
	East Coast Main Trunk
	←Hamilton│Kawerau→
	Rotorua Branch
	toRotorua
	This diagram: view; talk; edit;

TheKinleith Branchrailway line is located in theWaikatoregion ofNew Zealand.The line was constructed by the Thames Valley and Rotorua Railway Company, Taupo Totara Timber Company and rebuilt by thePublic Works Departmentprimarily to serve theKinleith Millin 1952.^[1]It is 65 kilometres (40 mi) in length.

Map

History

TheNew Zealand Government Railwaysline to Thames was opened to Morrinsville on 1 October 1884. Taking advantage of enabling legislation, the Thames Valley and Rotorua Railway Company originally built the line from Morrinsville as part of its planned route toRotoruaas far as Lichfield.^[2]The Morrinsville-Oxford section opened without any ceremony on 8 March 1886.^[3]NZGR took over the company on 8 March 1886, instead building theRotorua Branchrailway line fromPutāruru.The 8 km (5 mi) section between Putāruru and Lichfield was closed by NZGR in 1897 as it served no purpose. The Taupo Totara Timber Company (TTT Company) then used the disused railway formation from Putāruru for itslightly constructed bush tramway line to Mokai,nearLake Taupō.^[4]

Following the exhaustion of native timber in the region, the TTT Company line closed on 26 October 1944. The government saw that the line had greater potential and in September 1946 acquired the 29 km (18 mi) section between Putāruru and Kinleith. This line formed part of aproposed railway line to Taupō.The section of line reopened on 9 June 1947 under the control of the Public Works Department, using geared steam locomotives purchased from the TTT Co. The Public Works Department eventually rebuilt the line with heavier rail, some of it brought fromTaranakiafter opening of theTurakina deviation,^[5]wider curves and slighter grades, reachingTokoroain 1949 and Kinleith in 1952.^[6]

Bridges

There were 14 bridges on the original Morrinsville to Oxford section. No 1 bridge, over thePiako Riverat Morrinsville, was realigned from the original plans to be a 7-span, 220 ft (67 m) skew bridge, 54 ft (16 m) above river, made ofkauriandtotara.^[7]

Services

A^Bclass steam locomotive608 on an excursion at Matamata in June 2015.

From 1913 the Morrinsville to Putāruru service was operated by amotor train.^[8]

Since the withdrawal of theGeyserland Expressto Rotorua in 2001, all services on the line are freight trains. The line from Putāruru - Kinleith Mill has only seen regular freight trains since being rebuilt in 1952. Occasional excursion passenger trains have operated, some being hauled by preserved steam locomotives.

The branch sees eight trains in and out of Kinleith each weekday, two on Saturdays and four on Sundays.^[9]Tokoroa Road Rail Terminal opened in 2015 and handled an average of about 11 containers a day in its first 6 months.^[10]

References

^Hermann 2007,p. 25–29.
^"Thames Valley and Rotorua Railway Company".New Zealand Herald.1 March 1886. p. 6.Retrieved15 May2018.
^"Tuesday, March 9, 1886".Waikato Times.9 March 1886. p. 2.Retrieved1 June2018.
^Churchman & Hurst 2001,p. 118.
^"Putaruru-Tokoroa Railway".Bay of Plenty Times.31 December 1947. p. 3.Retrieved14 May2018.
^Robin Bromby (2003).Rails That Built A Nation - An Encyclopedia of New Zealand Railways.Grantham House.ISBN 1-86934-080-9.
^"Morrinsville. (held Over from Last Issue.)".Te Aroha News.26 April 1884. p. 7.Retrieved15 May2018.
^"Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives — 1913 Session I — D-02 Page 2".atojs.natlib.govt.nz.Retrieved14 May2018.
^"North Island Master Plan"(PDF).24 May 2009. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 21 July 2011.
^"R J Lincoln".South Waikato.27 May 2019. Archived fromthe originalon 18 July 2024.Retrieved28 April2021.

Bibliography

Churchman, Geoffrey B; Hurst, Tony (2001) [1990, 1991].The Railways of New Zealand: A Journey through History(Second ed.). Transpress New Zealand.ISBN 0-908876-20-3.
Hermann, Bruce J (2007).North Island Branch Lines.Wellington:New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society.pp. 25–29.ISBN 978-0-908573-83-7.

External links

[FOOTNOTEHermann200725–29-1] Hermann 2007,p. 25–29.

[2] "Thames Valley and Rotorua Railway Company".New Zealand Herald.1 March 1886. p. 6.Retrieved15 May2018.

[3] "Tuesday, March 9, 1886".Waikato Times.9 March 1886. p. 2.Retrieved1 June2018.

[FOOTNOTEChurchmanHurst2001118-4] Churchman & Hurst 2001,p. 118.

[5] "Putaruru-Tokoroa Railway".Bay of Plenty Times.31 December 1947. p. 3.Retrieved14 May2018.

[rails_nation-6] Robin Bromby (2003).Rails That Built A Nation - An Encyclopedia of New Zealand Railways.Grantham House.ISBN 1-86934-080-9.

[7] "Morrinsville. (held Over from Last Issue.)".Te Aroha News.26 April 1884. p. 7.Retrieved15 May2018.

[8] "Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives — 1913 Session I — D-02 Page 2".atojs.natlib.govt.nz.Retrieved14 May2018.

[9] "North Island Master Plan"(PDF).24 May 2009. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 21 July 2011.

[10] "R J Lincoln".South Waikato.27 May 2019. Archived fromthe originalon 18 July 2024.Retrieved28 April2021.

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