The Kurow Branch (also known as the Hakataramea Branch) was 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 ...

. In the

North Otago North Otago in New Zealand covers the area of Otago between Shag Point and the Waitaki River, and extends inland to the west as far as the village of Omarama (which has experienced rapid growth as a developing centre for astronomy and for glid ...

region of the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

, it was built in the 1870s to open up the land behind

Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railway ...

for development, and closed in 1983.

Construction

The branch started as a tramway when the Awamoko Tramway Company was formed in 1873. Construction of a tramway from 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 ...

at Awamoko (now

Pukeuri Pukeuri is a settlement to the north of Oamaru in the North Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located near the coast in the Waitaki District that straddles the border of Otago and Canterbury. The settlement's major employer i ...

) to Duntroon commenced the next year with approval from the Otago provincial government. In 1875, after the realisation that tramway standards were not sufficient for the line's purposes, an upgrade to railway standards commenced. Almost everything that had already been constructed had to be rebuilt; the rails were too light, the

sleepers ''Sleepers'' is a 1996 American legal crime drama film written, produced, and directed by Barry Levinson, and based on Lorenzo Carcaterra's 1995 book of the same name. The film stars Kevin Bacon, Jason Patric, Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Dustin H ...

were too small, and insufficient

ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship, ...

had been laid. Nonetheless, only a fortnight after reconstruction began, the official opening ceremony took place on 1 December 1875. Freight trains did not begin running for another three weeks, and passengers were not carried until 16 August 1876, when the reconstruction programme had been completed. The line had not reached Duntroon; it terminated on the opposite (east) bank of the

Maerewhenua River The Maerewhenua River, also known as the Marewhenua River, is a small river in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located in North Otago and acts as a tributary of the Waitaki River, which forms the border between Otago and C ...

due to bridging difficulties. The Duntroon and Hakataramea Railway Company was formed in 1878 after the 1877 District Railways Act was passed, with the intention of building a railway from Duntroon to

Kurow Kurow is a small town in the Waitaki District, New Zealand. It is located on the south bank of the Waitaki River, northwest of Oamaru. Description The name is an Anglicised form of the Māori name of the nearby mountain, Te Kohurau. In the ...

and then further up the Waitaki Valley. Construction commenced in 1879, the Maerewhenua River was bridged on 2 July 1881, and when the

Waitaki River The Waitaki River is a large braided river that drains the Mackenzie Basin and runs some south-east to enter the Pacific Ocean between Timaru and Oamaru on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It starts at the confluence of the � ...

was bridged on 7 November 1881 the line was completed to

Hakataramea Hakataramea, spelt Hakateramea in some older sources, is a rural village located in the southern Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is in the Waimate District and sits on the north bank of the Waitaki River at its confluence wi ...

, 1.76 km beyond Kurow by rail on the northern side of the Waitaki. There were plans to extend to a proposed town that was to have 10,000 residents, but the town never came to fruition and Hakataramea remained the terminus. The Duntroon and Hakataramea Railway Company did not purchase its own equipment; the branch was always 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 ...

. This arrangement lasted for over three years while the company and government disputed ownership, primarily due to the fact the line terminated at Hakataramea rather than being built to the full extent of original plans. The government purchased the line in April 1885 and charged a tariff beyond Duntroon until 1897. Further construction took place in 1928, when the

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

built 6.4 kilometres of railway from Kurow to the site of the Waitaki

hydro-electric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

. This line was never owned or operated by NZR, though NZR trains did occasionally use it, when a Public Works Department locomotive took over from Kurow. Works and freight services began on 20 December 1928 and passengers were carried from 25 February 1929.

Stations

The following stations were on the branch. In brackets is the distance from the junction at Pukeuri: *Papakaio (6.94 km) *Gibsons (10.18 km) *Peebles (12.75 km) - gravel pits west of the station. *Aitchisons (17.52 km) *Uxbridge (19.85 km) *Black Point (26.01 km) *Bortons (28.72 km) *Maerewhenua Siding (34.4 km) - "Duntroon" terminus before the Maerewhenua River was bridged. Sometimes spelt "Marewhenua". *Duntroon (35.5 km) *Waikaura (39.75 km) *Otekaieke (45.97 km) *Strachans (52.33 km) *Hilles (55.73 km) *Kurow (58.57 km) *Hakataramea (60.33 km) - also spelt "Hakateramea". After closure to Hakataramea, the end of the branch was just beyond Kurow station, 59.22 km from Pukeuri. When the line closed, only Papakaio, Duntroon, Otekaieke and Kurow were still open.

Operation

The Clayton steam railcar on a trial run at Kurow circa 1927. A P Godber Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library. Operations in its first few decades were typical of many rural branch lines. A single

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 ...

departed Kurow for Oamaru in the morning and returned in the late afternoon, taking roughly three hours each way. In 1926, the branch was the location for the trial of one of New Zealand's two steam

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 drive ...

s, the Clayton steam railcar, taking 1 hour and 45 minutes between Oamaru and Kurow. It did not prove popular and it was replaced by a passenger train hauled by a

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 locomot ...

on 10 November 1928 running to the railcar's schedule, but this was withdrawn on 12 July 1930 due to the

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 contagio ...

. Special passenger trains still ran on occasions, notably in 1931 for sightseers along the Public Works Department (PWD) line to the under-construction Waitaki Dam. For a few years, the PWD used its own

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...

for school children at Kurow. This service ceased when the PWD line closed in the mid-1930s; it formally closed in late 1936 and the track was removed in April 1937. NZR had closed its section from Kurow to Hakataramea on 14 July 1930. Until the 1960s, the branch was operated by

s, initially the F and T classes, later the W^F and W^W, and from the late 1940s the A and A^B. By the 1940s, traditional traffic such as livestock and agricultural supplies were declining as competition from road transport increased, and the primary freight became goods for the Upper Waitaki Hydro Scheme. On 25 March 1947, passenger services were withdrawn and the mixed trains became goods only. In the late 1960s, the branch was dieselised when the DJ class was introduced and trains were reduced to thrice weekly, then just Mondays and Thursdays. Its function was as the railhead for dam construction, and even with just two trains a week sometimes one was cancelled. When the project was completed in the early 1980s, the line ceased to have a reason to exist and it closed on 5 June 1983, with the final train two days later to collect rolling stock.

The branch today

The formation is visible for much of its length, and some crossing gates, culverts, and bridge piles remain. The combined road/rail bridge over the Waitaki River to Hakataramea remained as a road-only bridge until 2014, when a new bridge was opened and the original one dismantled. Loading banks or platforms are still at Papakaio and Uxbridge, and Otekaieke's station sign stands in a field. Kurow station building has been modified by a farmer for private use. The most significant remnant is in Duntroon, where the station building has been preserved as a community crafts centre and a base for farmers' markets, and a water tank stands nearby in good condition.North Otago Museum, "Duntroon Railway Station".

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * Hermann, Bruce J; ''South Island Branch Lines'' p 24 (1997, New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society, Wellington) * {{NZR Lines Railway lines in New Zealand Rail transport in Otago Railway lines opened in 1875 Railway lines closed in 1936 Closed railway lines in New Zealand