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Rotorua Branch
The Rotorua Branch is a railway line from Putāruru to Rotorua, in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Construction of the line was commenced by the Thames Valley and Rotorua Railway Company and finished by the Public Works Department (PWD). The complete line, in length, opened in two sections; on 24 November 1893 to Tārukenga and the final to Rotorua on 8 December 1894. History The line was partially constructed by the Thames Valley and Rotorua Railway Company. The company began planning of the line from 1877, following the passing of the District Railways Act 1877. Construction of the Rotorua line did not begin until after its survey, from 1881. The survey took 12 months to find a suitable route to Rotorua over the Mamaku Ranges. The company only ever completed the section between Morrinsville and Tīrau (called Oxford at that time), and this opened on 8 March 1886. The Government took over its operations in 1886. From this time onwar ...
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Waikato
Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki Plains, Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupō District, and parts of Rotorua, Rotorua District. It is governed by the Waikato Regional Council. The region stretches from Coromandel Peninsula in the north, to the north-eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu in the south, and spans the North Island from the west coast, through the Waikato and Hauraki to Coromandel Peninsula on the east coast. Broadly, the extent of the region is the Waikato River catchment. Other major catchments are those of the Waihou River, Waihou, Piako River, Piako, Awakino River (Waikato), Awakino and Mokau River, Mokau rivers. The region is bounded by Auckland Region, Auckland on the north, Bay of Plenty on the east ...
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Kaimai Tunnel
The Kaimai Tunnel is a Rail transport in New Zealand, 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 Tunnels in New Zealand#Railway Tunnels, longest tunnel, at , in New Zealand, assuming this distinction from the previous title holder, the Rimutaka Tunnel. It is part of the Kaimai Deviation, which was constructed to bypass the old route of the East Coast Main Trunk Railway through the Karangahake Gorge (part of which has been preserved as the Goldfields Railway). History In the first half of the 20th century, the disadvantages of the East Coast Main Trunk route through the Karangahake and Athenree gorges became starkly apparent. The capacity of the line was constrained by several factors; its length, severe grades of up to 1:50, sharp curves of up to 6 chains radius, and light 55 lb per yard rail which prohibited the use of the more powerful diesel locomotives. It was also an unreliable route ...
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Tranz Rail
Tranz Rail, formally Tranz Rail Holdings Limited (New Zealand Rail Limited until 1995), was the main Rail transport in New Zealand, rail operator in New Zealand from 1991 until it was purchased by Toll Holdings in 2003. History The New Zealand railway network was initially built by Provinces of New Zealand, provincial governments, starting with the Ferrymead Railway in 1863. From 1880, a central Government department, the New Zealand Railways Department, was responsible for operating most of the growing railway network. A few private lines were built, but only one, the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company (W&MR) achieved any measure of success. The W&MR was nationalised in 1908. In 1931, due to increasing competition from road carriers, the Transport Licensing Act 1931 was passed, restricting road cartage and giving the railways department a monopoly on long-distance freight. In 1982, the same year the land transport sector was deregulated, the Railways Department was reconst ...
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NZR RM Class (Silver Fern)
The NZR RM class Silver Fern was a class of rail motor in New Zealand. The three air-conditioned and sound-proofed 723-kW 96-seater diesel-electric twin-set railcars were built by Kawasaki under contract with Nissho Iwai of Japan. New Zealand Railways (NZR) classified the railcars as RM (Rail Motor), the same as other railcars, using the ''Silver Ferns'' (a national symbol of New Zealand) because of their exterior was made of corrugated stainless steel, like the premier night sleeper train that also ran on the Wellington-Auckland (North Island Main Trunk) route, the ''Silver Star''. The Silver Ferns replaced the three successful ''Blue Streak'' railcars on the service. History The railcars are most well known for their service on the eponymous North Island Main Trunk daylight passenger train between Auckland and Wellington between 14 December 1972 and 8 December 1991. Intermediate stops were at Palmerston North, Marton, Taihape, Waiouru, Ohakune, National Park, Taumaru ...
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Geyserland Express
The ''Geyserland Express'' was a long distance passenger train operated by the Tranz Scenic division of Tranz Rail (previously the New Zealand Rail Limited division InterCity Rail) between Auckland and Rotorua in New Zealand's North Island. It utilised the Silver Fern railcars and operated from 9 December 1991 until 7 October 2001. Background The Rotorua Branch line had a long history of express trains between Auckland and Rotorua since the branch line opened in 1894. Until 1959, the ''Rotorua Express'' was steam-hauled and was one of New Zealand's premier trains in its heyday. It was initially only run thrice weekly in the peak Christmas and Easter period, but by 1902, it ran daily year-round, and in December 1903, dining cars were introduced. This was a rare feature for trains operated by the New Zealand Railways Department, but shortages during World War I led to their withdrawal. In the post-war period, the service was briefly cancelled in 1919, but by 1925, it was ex ...
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NZR RM Class (88 Seater)
The NZR RM class 88-seaters were a class of railcar used in New Zealand. New Zealand Government Railways (NZR) classified them as RM (Rail Motor), the notation used for all railcars, numbering the 35 sets from RM100 to RM134. They were the most numerous railcars in NZR service. Their purchase and introduction saw the demise of steam-hauled provincial passenger trains and mixed trains, and was part of a deliberate effort to modernise NZR passenger services at a time of increasing competition from private motor vehicles. Being diesel powered and lighter the railcars were less expensive to operate and able to maintain quicker timetables, although became plagued with mechanical and electrical problems, with a number of the class eventually being turned into depowered locomotive-hauled carriages and reclassified as the AC class "Grassgrubs". Background In the early 1950s, NZR was in the process of replacing steam traction with diesel and modernising the railways to cope with vastly i ...
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Rotorua Express
The ''Rotorua Express'' was a passenger express train operated by the New Zealand Railways Department The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR (New Zealand Government Railways) and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway ... between Auckland and Rotorua. It operated from 1894 until 1959 and was known as the ''Rotorua Limited'' between 1930 and 1937. This train was one of the first expresses in the world to use Pacific (4-6-2) type locomotives. Introduction The ''Rotorua Express'' was introduced when the Rotorua Branch branch line, line was opened through to its Rotorua terminus. The first train to use the new line was an express from Auckland on 8 December 1894 led by two NZR J class (1874), original J class steam locomotives; the trip had taken 8 hours and 40 minutes to reach Rotorua and travelled at an average speed of less than . Later in Dece ...
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Paengaroa
Paengaroa is a village in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand which lies 11 km from Te Puke, 35 km from Tauranga and 46.2 km from Rotorua. Paengaroa is located on State Highway 33 approximately 2 km from the junction with State Highway 2, and at the eastern end of the Tauranga Eastern Motorway (TEL), which was opened in 2015. Paengaroa is a largely rural settlement with many farms and a few shops. Some residents also commute to Tauranga. It has 2.27 hectares of commercial land. Demographics Paengaroa is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement, which covers . It is part of the wider Pongakawa statistical area. Paengaroa had a population of 795 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 144 people (22.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 171 people (27.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 285 households, comprising 411 males and 381 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.08 males per female, with 210 people (26.4%) aged under 15 yea ...
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Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagion began around September and led to the Wall Street stock market crash of October 24 (Black Thursday). It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide gross domestic product (GDP) fell by an estimated 15%. By comparison, worldwide GDP fell by less than 1% from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession. Some economies started to recover by the mid-1930s. However, in many countries, the negative effects of the Great Depression lasted until the beginning of World War II. Devastating effects were seen in both rich and poor countries with falling personal income, prices, tax revenues, and profits. International trade fell by more than 50%, unemployment in the U.S. rose to 23% and ...
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Taupō
Taupō (), sometimes written Taupo, is a town on the north-eastern shore of Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake, in the central North Island. It is the largest urban area of the Taupō District, and the second-largest urban area in the Waikato, Waikato region, behind Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton. It has a population of Taupō was constituted as a borough in 1953. It has been the seat of Taupō District Council since the council was formed in 1989. Naming The name ''Taupō'' is from the Māori language and is a shortened version of ''Taupō-nui-a-Tia''. The longer name was first given to the cliff at Pākā Bay, on the eastern shore of the lake, and means the "great cloak of Tia". It was named for Tia (Māori explorer), Tia, the Māori explorer who discovered the lake. Māori later applied the name to the lake itself. In 2019 the official name of the town was changed from ''Taupo'' to ''Taupō''. Although the English pronunciation "tow-po" (, New Zealand English, NZE ) ...
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East Coast Main Trunk
The East Coast Main Trunk (ECMT) is a railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, originally running between Hamilton and Taneatua via Tauranga, connecting the Waikato with the Bay of Plenty. The ECMT now runs between Hamilton and Kawerau, with a branch line to Taneatua from the junction at Hawkens. The line is built to narrow gauge of , the uniform gauge in New Zealand. It was known as the East Coast Main Trunk Railway until 2011, when the word "Railway" was dropped. History Construction In 1880, the North Island Main Trunk railway had reached Frankton, Hamilton, from Auckland. From there, it was delayed by construction of the original Waikato River bridge (now carrying road traffic as part of Claudelands Road), before the line made its way to Morrinsville in October 1884, Te Aroha in March 1886 and Paeroa in 1898. There were also minor delays, such as in the delivery of totara sleepers. The route to Waihi through the Karangahake Gorge was surveyed in the next few year ...
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Moutohora Branch
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 on 26 November 1917. Built to the New Zealand standard gauge the line was originally intended to become part of a railway to Auckland via Rotorua, and later as part of an East Coast Main Trunk Railway running from Gisborne to Pokeno by way of Ōpōtiki, Taneatua, Tauranga, and Paeroa. This comprehensive scheme never came to pass, and the branch line it subsequently became 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 ...
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