A bush tram and line-side log hauler owned by the Tamaki Sawmill Co., Raurimu. Photographed by Albert Percy Godber circa 1917. In New Zealand railway terminology a bush tramway is an

industrial tramway Tramways are lightly laid railways, sometimes with the wagons or carriages moved without locomotives. Because individual tramway infrastructure is not intended to carry the weight of typical standard-gauge railway equipment, the tramways over w ...

, most commonly used for logging. They are distinguished from urban trams as bush tramways were predominantly for freight, usually logging in the bush, and not for passengers, and were often built in parts of the countryside that were otherwise inaccessible to transport. In some cases, such as the

Kinleith Branch The Kinleith Branch railway line is located in the Waikato region of New Zealand. The line was constructed by the Thames Valley and Rotorua Railway Company, Taupo Totara Timber Company and rebuilt by the Public Works Department primarily to ser ...

, bush tramways were converted to heavy rail and incorporated into the

New Zealand Government Railways 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 ...

network. In modern parlance, both urban trams and bush tramways are known as light rail.

History

Although legally defined as a railway, the

Dun Mountain Railway The Dun Mountain Railway was a privately owned and operated narrow gauge, long horse-drawn tramway from chromite mines in the vicinity of Duppa Lode on the eastern slopes of Wooded Peak to Nelson port in the Tasman District of New Zealand's ...

was the first industrial tramway in New Zealand, opening in 1862. The line used horses to haul mineral wagons from Dun Mountain the port of Nelson. "Bush tram" was first used to describe the horse-drawn tramway from Greymouth to the banks of the

Taramakau River The Taramakau River is a river of the West Coast Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It rises in the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana near Harper Pass, due east of Hokitika, and runs westward for into the Tasman Sea south of Gr ...

, which opened in 1867.

Motive power

Bush tramways initially made use of horses and in some cases log haulers (

stationary steam engine Stationary steam engines are fixed steam engines used for pumping or driving mills and factories, and for power generation. They are distinct from locomotive engines used on railways, traction engines for heavy steam haulage on roads, steam cars ...

s pulling wagons by chain or rope) alongside tramway tracks for motive power. As tramways grew longer, steam locomotives were used, usually

geared locomotive A geared steam locomotive is a type of steam locomotive which uses gearing, usually reduction gearing, in the drivetrain, as opposed to the common directly driven design. This gearing is part of the machinery within the locomotive and should no ...

s. Following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the New Zealand Forestry Service banned steam locomotives in native bush, and there was a rush to replace steam locomotives with diesel or petrol alternatives.

References

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History

Motive power

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography