The Catlins River Branch was a

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industri ...

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

that formed part of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

national rail network In United States railroading, the term national rail network, sometimes termed "U.S. rail network", refers to the entire network of interconnected standard gauge rail lines in North America. It does not include most subway or light rail lines. F ...

. It ran through

the Catlins The Catlins (sometimes referred to as The Catlins Coast) comprises an area in the southeastern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The area lies between Balclutha and Invercargill, straddling the boundary between the Otago and Southlan ...

region in southwestern

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

and was built in sections between 1879 and 1915. It closed in 1971 except for the first four kilometres, which remain open as the Finegand Branch (formerly named the 'Finegand Industrial Siding'). Along the line was the Hunts Road tunnel, the southernmost tunnel in New Zealand.

Construction

The line was built mainly to provide access to timber for logging companies, as access to the thickly wooded Catlins region was very difficult at the time. The first contract for construction was let on 29 April 1879, but it was not until 15 December 1885 that the first 12.79 km to Romahapa from the junction with the

Main South Line The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Inverca ...

in Balclutha were opened. The next stage to

Glenomaru Glenomaru is a small settlement in The Catlins, an area of the southern South Island of New Zealand. It is located 10 kilometres north of Owaka on the main road to Balclutha. On 7 July 1891, a branch line railway from the Main South Line in Ba ...

added approximately ten more kilometres to the line and opened on 7 July 1891. The opening of the following section was delayed by difficulties in boring the Hunts Road tunnel, and it was on 16 December 1895 that the branch was opened to Tahora. The present-day largest town in the district,

Owaka Owaka is a small town in the Clutha District of South Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest community in the rugged, forested Catlins area, close to the border with Southland, some south of Balclutha on the Southern Sc ...

, was reached on 22 June 1896, bringing the line to a length of 31.06 kilometres. Three years later, construction of the line recommenced, but the difficult terrain meant that it wasn't until 1 August 1904 that the next 5.5 km to Ratanui opened. Another five kilometres, another five years; Houipapa was reached on 17 December 1909. The line eventually reached its ultimate terminus of Tahakopa on 17 February 1915. There were proposals to extend the line to meet the

Tokanui Branch The Tokanui Branch, also known as the Seaward Bush Branch, was a branch line railway located in Southland, New Zealand. It diverged from the Bluff Branch south of the main railway station in Invercargill and ran for 54 kilometres in a southeast ...

, but these were little more than ploys by ambitious politicians. The rugged landscape proved to be a deterrent to serious extension plans and they were abandoned.

Stations

The following stations were on the Catlins River Branch (distance from the junction in brackets): *

Finegand Finegand is a farming hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. ...

(3.6 km), current end of rails is just beyond the station site at the 4.05 km mark. *

Otanomomo Otanomomo is a locality in the South Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It is on the banks of the Koau Branch of the Clutha River, roughly six kilometres south of Balclutha. Nearby settlements include Finegand to the north, Paretai, ...

(6.46 km) * Romahapa (12.79 km), in the 1890s, a number of

bush tramway 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, most commonly used for logging. They are ...

s operated in the immediate vicinity. *

, second station (19.41 km) *Glenomaru, original station (22.79 km) *Hunts Road (25.93 km) * Tahora (29.23 km) *

(31.06 km), in the 1890s, a number of bush tramways operated in the immediate vicinity. * Ratanui (36.65 km), also known as

Catlins River The Catlins River flows southeastward through The Catlins, an area of the southern South Island of New Zealand. Its total length is , and it flows into the Pacific Ocean at the holiday settlement of Pounawea, south of Balclutha. Its upper est ...

and junction with bush tramway to sawmill owned by Goss & Co. * Houipapa (40.58 km), junction with Houipapa Sawmilling's bush tramway. * Tawanui (46.21 km), junction with Andrew Sharp Ltd's bush tramway; it was open by 1923 and closed in 1952. * Puketiro (52.14 km) *

Caberfeidh Caberfeidh Camanachd Club is a shinty team based in Strathpeffer, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. Consisting of two teams, Caberfeidh currently play in the Marine Harvest Premiership having been promoted from the National Division after the 2017 ...

(56.14 km) * Maclennan (60.75 km), junction with Maclennan Sawmilling Co.'s bush tramway; it was open by 1923 and closed by 1942. *

Stuarts The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fi ...

(64.07 km), junction with Latta Bros. bush tramway. *Campbell's Siding (?? km), junction with Leggatt and Campbell's bush tramway. *

Tahakopa Tahakopa is a small settlement in The Catlins, an area of the southern South Island of New Zealand. It is located 25 kilometres northeast of Waikawa on the Tahakopa River. On 17 February 1915, Tahakopa became the terminus of the Catlins River ...

(68.44 km), junction with numerous bush tramways. All bush tramways were closed by the time the branch closed. Many were closed by 1942.

Operation

As the line was built, sawmills were established alongside it and extensive logging began of inland areas as only the coastal forests easily accessible by sea had been previously logged. Every station was located near at least one sawmill, and particularly in the line's first decades, they provided substantial freight traffic. Up to sixteen trains a week would operate, usually

mixed train A mixed train or mixed consist is a train that contains both passenger and freight cars or wagons. Although common in the early days of railways, by the 20th century they were largely confined to branch lines with little traffic. Typically, servic ...

s that carried passengers as well as freight. On Tuesdays, the market day in the Catlins, a dedicated passenger service would run to Balclutha to connect with the express to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. Passenger traffic began to decline in the 1930s, and although it improved during

World War II 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 return of peace brought the return of the decline, and on 30 November 1958, passenger services on the line were cancelled. A couple of years previously, the locomotive depot in Tahakopa had closed on 12 August 1956. The local residents had strong feelings for their railway, and when the last Tahakopa-based engine, A 476, departed the isolated terminus, " Now Is the Hour" was sung and a wreath was placed on the locomotive. With the closure of the Tahakopa depot, trains began operating from Balclutha instead, and with the cessation of passenger services, a freight train ran thrice weekly to Tahakopa (on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays), and a fourth service ran as far as Owaka on Tuesdays. The sawmilling industry had been thriving in the 1930s, but three decades later, it was in sharp decline, and agricultural traffic for farms around Owaka had also fallen. The line was dieselised on 5 August 1968. Local residents protested the announcement of the line's closure in July 1970, but the railway administration stood firm and confirmed in October that the date of closure would be 27 February 1971. A number of final excursions were held, with the last proving to be quite eventful. A^B 795 (now preserved to run the

Kingston Flyer The Kingston Flyer is a vintage steam train in the South Island of New Zealand at the southern end of Lake Wakatipu. It used 14 kilometres of preserved track that once formed a part of the Kingston Branch. Originally, Kingston Flyer was a passen ...

) lost its sanding ability as it climbed from Owaka to Takahopa and therefore could not grip the rails. Although repairs were conducted at the terminus, the engine's

firebox Firebox may refer to: *Firebox (steam engine), the area where the fuel is burned in a steam engine *Firebox (architecture), the part of a fireplace where fuel is combusted *Firebox Records, a Finnish 8101705801record label * Firebox.com, an electro ...

arch collapsed on the return journey and D^J 1243 had to run the train from Owaka back to

, finally arriving at 1 am the next morning. The line's closure did not affect the first four kilometres to Finegand, which remain open as an industrial siding to a

freezing works A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

Today

Although remnants of closed railways diminish and disappear as a result of both nature and human activity, the Catlins River Branch is a well-preserved line due to its isolated location. The Hunts Road tunnel is preserved by the

New Zealand Department of Conservation The Department of Conservation (DOC; Māori: ''Te Papa Atawhai'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the conservation of New Zealand's natural and historical heritage. An advisory body, the New Zealand Conservation Au ...

and can be walked; the old railway's formation to the tunnel is quite visible at this point, as it is at many other locations along the line.

Goods shed A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train. A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built ...

s and station buildings still stand in Maclennan, Romahapa (in this case, the station building has been resited), Takahopa, and Tawanui. Station buildings can also be found at Puketiro and Caberfeidh. In Takahopa, some rails are embedded in a road by the yard's former site, wheels from logging trolleys used on a bush tramway remain at the location of Stuart's yard, and the bridge over the Romahapa Creek continues to stand.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

Brian's Ghost Railways - the Catlins River Branch
{{NZR Lines Railway lines in New Zealand Railway lines opened in 1885 Railway lines closed in 1971 The Catlins 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in New Zealand 1885 establishments in New Zealand 1971 disestablishments in New Zealand Closed railway lines in New Zealand Clutha District