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Wairarapa Mail
The ''Wairarapa Mail'' was a passenger train operated by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) between Wellington and Woodville, continuing on to Palmerston North as a mixed train. It ran from 1909 until 1948 and its route included the famous and arduous Rimutaka Incline. Introduction From the 1897 completion of the Wairarapa Line until 1908, the route through the Wairarapa was NZR's primary means of accessing Wellington as the western line through the Kapiti Coast and Horowhenua was privately owned by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company. The ''Napier Express'' passenger train operated from Napier to Wellington via the Wairarapa, but on 7 December 1908, the Wellington and Manawatu Railway was purchased, and in early 1909, the ''Napier Express'' was diverted to the quicker western route. Accordingly, the ''Wairarapa Mail'' was introduced to provide Wairarapa residents with connections to Wellington, Manawatu, and the Hawkes Bay. Operation After the WMR was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 system. The Department was created in 1880 and was corporatised on 1 April 1982 into the New Zealand Railways Corporation. Originally, railway construction and operation took place under the auspices of the former provincial governments and some private railways, before all of the provincial operations came under the central Public Works Department. The role of operating the rail network was subsequently separated from that of the network's construction. From 1895 to 1993 there was a responsible Minister, the Minister of Railways. He was often also the Minister of Public Works. Apart from four brief experiments with independent boards, NZR remained under direct ministerial control for most of its history. History Originally, New Zea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rimutaka Range
The Remutaka Range (spelled Rimutaka Range before 2017) is the southernmost range of a mountain chain in the lower North Island of New Zealand. The chain continues north into the Tararua, then Ruahine Ranges, running parallel with the east coast between Wellington and East Cape. The 555-metre summit of the road over the range at its northern saddle is named Remutaka Pass. The pass was formally named on 17 December 2015 when the Minister of Land Information confirmed the decision of the New Zealand Geographic Board. Following the passage of the Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā (Wairarapa Tamaki nui-ā-Rua) Claims Settlement Act 2017, the name of the range officially changed to Remutaka Range. Geography The Remutaka Range runs north-east to south-west for 55 kilometres from the upper reaches of the Hutt Valley (where the range's northern saddle abuts the southern end of the Tararuas) to Turakirae Head at the western end of Palliser Bay. The highest peak is Mount Matthews, at 940 metres, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masterton
Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a region separated from Wellington by the Rimutaka ranges. It stands on the Waipoua stream between the Ruamahunga and Waingawa Rivers - 100 kilometres north-east of Wellington and 39.4 kilometres south of Eketahuna. Masterton has an urban population of , and district population of Masterton businesses include services for surrounding farmers. Three new industrial parks are being developed in Waingawa, Solway and Upper Plain. The town functions as the headquarters of the annual Golden Shears sheep-shearing competition. Suburbs Masterton suburbs include: * Lansdowne, Te Ore Ore on the northern side * Eastside and Homebush on the eastern side * Upper Plain, Fernridge, Ngaumutawa, Akura and Masterton West on the western side * Kuripuni an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wellington Railway Station
Wellington railway station, or Wellington Central station, is the main railway station serving Wellington, New Zealand, and is the southern terminus of the North Island Main Trunk, Wairarapa Line and Johnsonville Line. The station opened in June 1937, replacing the two previous Wellington termini, Lambton and Thorndon. History Development The capital's first Wellington railway station was a group of small buildings at Pipitea Point built in 1874 on earthquake-raised harbour floor for a temporary terminus of the railway line to the Hutt Valley. A series of reclamations allowed the line to reach well down Featherston Street and in 1880 a new Wellington railway station was, as it turned out, temporarily placed near the goods station for the new Railway Wharf. Traffic at the wharf quickly grew beyond expectations. The 1880 building was pulled north on rollers in 1885 to a less congested site on Featherston Street opposite the junction of Mulgrave Street and Sydney Str ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NZR RM Class (Wairarapa)
The sole surviving Wairarapa railcar, RM 5 (''Mahuhu''), undergoing restoration at the Pahiatua Railcar Society The NZR RM class Wairarapa railcar was a class of railcars on New Zealand's national rail network. They entered service in 1936 (three weeks after the Midland railcars) and were classified RM like all other classes of railcars in New Zealand; they came to be known as the "Wairarapa" class as they were designed to operate over the famous Rimutaka Incline to the Wairarapa region on the Wairarapa Line. They also acquired the nickname of "tin hares" in New Zealand railfan jargon. The first two to be introduced re-used the numbers RM 4 and RM 5 that had previously been used by the withdrawn experimental Model T Ford railcars. The class consisted of six passenger railcars and one passenger-freight railcar. It is often described incorrectly as a class of six railcars. Background The Rimutaka Incline over the Rimutaka Ranges posed a severe time delay to any service ope ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NZR RM Class
The RM class was the classification used by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) and its successors gave to most railcars and railbuses that have operated on New Zealand's national rail network. "RM" stands for Rail Motor which was the common name at the turn of the 20th century for what became known in New Zealand as railcars. As many types of railcars are operated, class names have been given to each railcar type to differentiate them from others. Experimental and early railcars In the early 20th century, NZR began investigating railcar technology to provide profitable and efficient passenger services on regional routes and rural branch lines where carriage trains were not economic and "mixed" trains (passenger carriage(s) attached to freight trains) were undesirably slow. A number of experimental railcars and railbuses were developed: * 1912: RM1 MacEwan-Pratt petrol railcar - the first railcar to operate in New Zealand * 1914: RM1 (number re-used) Westinghouse petr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railcar
A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railway companies, such as the Great Western, termed such vehicles "railmotors" (or "rail motors"). Self-propelled passenger vehicles also capable of hauling a train are, in technical rail usage, more usually called "rail motor coaches" or "motor cars" (not to be confused with the motor cars, otherwise known as automobiles, that operate on roads). The term is sometimes also used as an alternative name for the small types of multiple unit which consist of more than one coach. That is the general usage nowadays in Ireland when referring to any diesel multiple unit (DMU), or in some cases electric multiple unit (EMU). In North America the term "railcar" has a much broader sense and can be used (as an abbr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NZR A Class (1906)
The NZR A class were a class of steam locomotives built in 1906 with a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement for the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR). The class should not be confused with the older and more obscure A class of 1873. They were designed by the NZR's Chief Mechanical Engineer, A. L. Beattie and his Chief Draughtsman, G. A. Pearson to replace less powerful locomotives struggling with increasing loads on the South Island Main Trunk Railway, and in anticipation of the traffic volumes that would be created upon the completion of the North Island Main Trunk railway. Origin and design The Baldwin Q had established the Pacific as the way forward for Express passenger locomotives, but the C.M.E decided that greater efficiency was needed. The new locomotives were therefore designed as compounds. The Vauclain system had proved ineffective in New Zealand so the type attributed to Frenchman Alfred de Glehn was adopted. The first four had Stephenson valve gear inside and Walschaerts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fell Mountain Railway System
The Fell system was the first third-rail system for steep grade railway, railways that were too steep to be Rail adhesion, worked by adhesion on the two running rails alone. It uses a raised centre rail between the two running rails to provide extra traction and braking, or braking alone. Trains are propelled by wheels or braked by shoes pressed horizontally onto the centre rail, as well as by the normal running wheels. Extra brake shoes are fitted to specially designed or adapted Fell locomotives and brake vans, and for traction the locomotive has an auxiliary engine powering horizontal wheels which clamp onto the third rail. The Fell system was developed in the 1860s and was soon superseded by various types of rack railway for new lines, but some Fell systems remained in use into the 1960s. The Snaefell Mountain Railway still uses the Fell system for (emergency) braking, but not for traction. History The Fell system was designed, developed and patented by British engineer Jo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NZR H Class
The NZR H class steam locomotive was a unique class of Fell locomotive used by New Zealand Railways (NZR) on the Rimutaka Incline, the section of 1 in 15 (6.67 %) gradient between Cross Creek and Summit, over the Rimutaka Ranges. Introduction The first four H class locomotives were built for NZR by the Avonside Engine Company in 1875, and introduced on the Rimutaka Incline from its opening in 1877. They were named as Mount Cenis, Mount Cook, Mount Egmont, and Mount Tongariro. In 1886 two additional locomotives were introduced, built by Neilson and Company. The Neilson Locomotives were known as the Dreadnoughts. Design The locomotives worked on the Fell mountain railway system and had four horizontal driving wheels between the frames, gripping a centre rail and providing the extra adhesion needed for the climb. The outside engines drove the rear pair of coupled wheels of diameter, and the inside cylinders four spring-loaded grip wheels of diameter. On the descent, power ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steam Locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomotive's boiler to the point where it becomes gaseous and its volume increases 1,700 times. Functionally, it is a steam engine on wheels. In most locomotives, the steam is admitted alternately to each end of its cylinders, in which pistons are mechanically connected to the locomotive's main wheels. Fuel and water supplies are usually carried with the locomotive, either on the locomotive itself or in a tender coupled to it. Variations in this general design include electrically-powered boilers, turbines in place of pistons, and using steam generated externally. Steam locomotives were first developed in the United Kingdom during the early 19th century and used for railway transport until the middle of the 20th century. Richard Trevithick ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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