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 Branch line, connecting to the Fonterra Dairy Factory at Waitoa. History The discovery of gold in the Thames area in 1852 provided the impetus for building a railway line from Auckland to Thames. In 1872 the Auckland Provincial Council recommended a rail connection to Thames, primarily due to issues associated with barging coal from North Auckland coal mines to Thames to serve the gold mining industry. Surveys were completed in 1878, despite opposition from local Maori, putting the cost of the 54 km line at £178,000. The Thames-Te Aroha section had cost £159,340 (about $30m in 2018 values) when opened. Premier Sir George Grey turned the first sod of the line at Thames on 21 December 1878, but 18 months later work from Thames was stopped by the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Morrinsville
Morrinsville is a provincial town in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, with an estimated population of as of The town is located at the northern base of the Pakaroa Range, and on the south-western fringe of the Hauraki Plains. Morrinsville is around 33 kilometres east of Hamilton and 22 kilometres west of Te Aroha. The town is bordered by the Piako River to the east and the Waitakaruru Stream to the south. History and Culture Pre-European settlement Prior to European settlement of New Zealand, the hills around present-day Morrinsville were occupied by the Ngati Werewere Māori people of the Ngati Haua Iwi, and the site of the present-day town was on or near to an old Māori route between the upper Waihou-Piako basin and the Ngāruawāhia area. Following European settlement, some early European traders are believed to have traversed this route prior to 1834 when the Rev. J. Morgan travelled up the Piako River to near the future town site and crossed west ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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North Island Main Trunk
The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and serves the large cities of Palmerston North and Hamilton. Most of the NIMT is single track with frequent passing loops, but has double track - * between Wellington and Waikanae, except for of single-track through tunnels between North Junction ( from Wellington) and South Junction, ( from Wellington), on the Pukerua Bay to Paekakariki section, * between Hamilton and Te Kauwhata (except for the single-track Waikato River Bridge at Ngāruawāhia), and * between Meremere and Auckland Britomart. Around (approximately 65%) of the line is electrified in three separate sections: one section at 1600 V DC between Wellington and Waikanae, and two sections at 25 kV AC: between Palmerston North and Te Rapa (Hamilton) and between Papakura and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New Zealand DSJ Class Locomotive
The New Zealand DSJ class is a class of diesel-electric shunting locomotive used on the New Zealand rail network. The class has a very similar overall design to the DSG class, but is instead single-engined, has a cab that is offset from the centre and is both shorter and lighter than its twin-engined counterpart. Introduction left, DSJ4017 performing shunt duties at Ahuriri, 2003. The first DSJ was assembled in Japan by Toshiba Heavy Industries in 1983 and arrived in New Zealand in 1984. Toshiba are the same company who built the EO class electric locomotives. The remaining four were assembled at the former Addington Workshops in Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ..., and entered service from 1984 to 1985. With only five members in this class, it ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Troup (architect)
Sir George Alexander Troup (21 October 1863 – 4 October 1941) was a New Zealand architect, engineer and statesman. He was nicknamed "Gingerbread George" after his most famous design, the Dunedin Railway Station in the Flemish Renaissance style (he preferred his alternative design in the Scottish Baronial style). He was the first official architect of the New Zealand Railways. He designed many other stations, including Lower Hutt and Petone. Early life and education He was born in London, England. His family returned to Edinburgh, Scotland soon after he was born. His widowed mother sent him to Robert Gordon's College, Aberdeen, where he was entitled to free board and tuition as the son of an Aberdeen burgess. He trained as an architect and engineer under C.E. Calvert in Edinburgh, and in 1882 was employed as a draughtsman by architect J.J.A. Chesser. Career He emigrated to New Zealand in 1884. Joining the Survey Department when he arrived in Dunedin, he worked in remote sur ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Heritage New Zealand
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocates for the protection of ancestral sites and heritage buildings in New Zealand. It was set up through the Historic Places Act 1954 with a mission to "...promote the identification, protection, preservation and conservation of the historical and cultural heritage of New Zealand" and is an autonomous Crown entity. Its current enabling legislation is the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014. History Charles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe gifted the site where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed to the nation in 1932. The subsequent administration through the Waitangi Trust is sometimes seen as the beginning of formal heritage protection in New Zealand. Public discussion about heritage protection occurred in 1940 in conjunction with t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thames Railway Station
The Thames railway station is a former railway station in Thames, New Zealand on the former Thames Branch from Morrinsville to Thames. The station opened on 19 December 1898 with the opening of the branch line. Passenger service ceased from 28 March 1951. There were also station buildings at Thames North and Thames South. The branch was closed (apart from a section) on 28 June 1991, and goods service ceased. However the station building remained as it was listed by NZHPT Category II in 1982. It is a standard Vintage station, with gables, finials and scalloped bargeboards. Work on the proposed Paeroa–Pokeno Line commenced in the 1930s, but little was done and the proposal was abandoned. The line was to be the first part of the 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 betwe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New Zealand Railway And Locomotive Society
The New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society Inc is a society of railway enthusiasts, based in Wellington. It was incorporated in 1958. The society archives are in the ''Thomas McGavin Building'' on Ava railway station's former goods yard in the Hutt Valley. At one time an old railway carriage held at the Ngaio railway station was used. Publications The society publishes a magazine, the ''New Zealand Railway Observer'' (), that was first published by the New Zealand Railway Correspondence Society on a Gestetner The Gestetner is a type of duplicating machine named after its inventor, David Gestetner (18541939). During the 20th century, the term ''Gestetner'' was used as a verb—as in ''Gestetnering''. The Gestetner company established its base in London ... in 1944, and a newsletter ''Turntable''. The society publishes books on railway subjects. There are currently about 25 books available, as listed on the website. Most are about New Zealand railways, but there is a book ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Toyota New Zealand
Toyota New Zealand Limited is the importer and distributor of new Toyota and Lexus vehicles to New Zealand. It also imports used vehicles from Japan and refurbishes them at its former assembly plant in Thames. Until 1998 it also assembled a variety of completely knocked down vehicles from imported and New Zealand materials. Administration is from Palmerston North. There is a national sales office and import administration office in Auckland. Local manufacturing :''See Automotive industry in New Zealand'' From the mid-1960s Toyota sold a variety of its vehicles to its New Zealand sole agent, locally owned vehicle import-licence holderImport licensing announced in 1938 and introduced in 1939 allowed the government to issue licences in such proportions and to such persons or businesses as it might choose. Local businessmen convinced officials of the low prices and high quality of Japanese vehicles and licences were issued. It was politically unacceptable to issue new licences dir ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Katikati
Katikati is a town in New Zealand (North Island) located on the Uretara Stream near a tidal inlet towards the northern end of Tauranga Harbour, 28 kilometres south of Waihi and 40 kilometres northwest of Tauranga. State Highway 2 passes through the town; a bypass scheduled to have begun construction in 2008 is on hold.NZTA: Katikati Bypass Katikati has become known for its many murals painted on walls of commercial buildings. These were started in the 1990s to regenerate tourist interest in the town and district, and led to the town being recognised New Zealand's 'Most Beautiful Small Town' award for towns of less than 8,000 population in 2005 by the Keep New Ze ...
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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 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Puriri, New Zealand
Puriri is a small locality on the Hauraki Plains of New Zealand. It lies approximately 14 km south-east of Thames, New Zealand. Puriri was originally a Ngāti Maru settlement, which the Rev. Henry Williams visited in October 1833, when the Church Missionary Society (CMS) missionaries, William Thomas Fairburn, John Alexander Wilson, John Morgan and James Preece established a mission station in the settlement, In 1835 James Stack was appointed to Puriri. However, the missionaries withdrew from the mission that same year as the result of fighting in the Waikato. Fairburn returned to the Puriri Mission at the end of the fighting. Preece took over the mission in 1834 with the assistance of the Rev. James Hamlin. In 1838 the station was transferred to Parawai (part of the present town of Thames). In 1868 Puriri was the location for an official goldfield during the Thames-Coromandel gold rush. Puriri railway station was to the west of the village from Morrinsville and w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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NZR RM Class (Sentinel-Cammell)
The NZR RM class Sentinel-Cammell was a steam-powered railcar operated by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR). It was the only one of its type to operate in New Zealand, and one of only two steam railcars trialled in the country; the other was the Clayton steam railcar. Overview In the early 20th century, NZR began experiments with railcars as an option to replace unprofitable regional locomotive-hauled carriage expresses and to provide efficient passenger service on rural branch lines that were served solely by slow mixed trains that carried both goods and passengers. Such mixed trains had slow schedules as they had to load and unload freight regularly, making their stops longer than passenger service would normally require. In 1925, a steam railcar was ordered from the Sentinel Waggon Works of Shrewsbury and Metro-Cammell of Birmingham, and when it entered revenue service, it was the first railcar to do so in the Auckland Region. It subsequently operated outside this r ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |