The Raetihi 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 industr ...

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 ...

in the central North Island 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 ...

. It formed part of New Zealand's

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 ...

and operated from 1917 until 1968.

Construction

A combination of political pressure and the economic potential of the forestry in the

Raetihi Raetihi, a small town in the center of New Zealand's North Island, is located at the junction of State Highways 4 and 49 in the Manawatū-Whanganui region. It lies in a valley between Tongariro and Whanganui National Parks, 11 kilometres west ...

area motivated the construction of this line. A start on a tramway from Raetihi to Rangataua seems to have been made in 1908, with some of the route cleared and rails put in place. In 1911, the government granted approval to construct the line, with the line intended to diverge from the

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 se ...

in Rangataua. A proposal to electrify the line was investigated by the government's electrical engineer in 1911. The

Minister of Public Works 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 ...

( R. McKenzie) turned the first sod, beside the railway at

Ohakune Ohakune is a small town at the southern end of Tongariro National Park, close to the southwestern slopes of the active volcano Mount Ruapehu, in the North Island of New Zealand. A rural service town known as New Zealand's Carrot Capital, Ohak ...

, on Monday 19 February 1912, when 20 workers were about to start building the line. However, a more recent book said construction did not commence until 1913, when the site of the junction was changed to

. The change required redesign of the closest to the

. The outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

a year later caused delays in both supplies and finding available manpower; nonetheless, work progressed steadily through the war years and the line was opened on 18 December 1917. Despite proclamations that it was the start of a new route to

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whang ...

, the line was never extended beyond Raetihi.

Stations

The following stations were located on the Raetihi Branch (in brackets is the distance from Ohakune): *Rochfort (3 km) - shelter shed, platform, by goods shed, loading bank, passing loop and, from 1924, telephone *Makaranui (8 km) - from 1907 to 1914 referred to as Toanui *Pakihi (11 km) *Raetihi (13 km)

Operation

The line fulfilled its intended purpose to carry

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

to markets further afield, with large quantities railed in the branch's early years. As the forests were removed, land became available for farming and

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

became important to the line's economic fortunes.

Livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

was of particular seasonal importance. Passenger trains did not operate, but passenger carriages were attached to goods services to create what were known as

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, service ...

s. A 1930 Royal Commission into the state of New Zealand's railway network recommended the termination of passenger services, but this was not actually done until 16 December 1951. Another Royal Commission had taken place in 1950, but the line had remarkably been excluded. By the late 1950s, timber traffic had declined sharply, and road transport was creating strong competition for the branch line. Maintenance on the line had been deferred as it was not seen as a necessity or financially justifiable, but as repairs became more necessary, the line's future was put under review in 1967. Financial losses had been steadily increasing, and the review called for closure of the line. Accordingly, this took place on 1 January 1968. Waimarino_museum

Today

Two significant relics from the Raetihi Branch still exist. The Raetihi station building has been relocated from its old site to a new location in the town and has been restored as part of the

Waimarino Museum Raetihi, a small town in the center of New Zealand's North Island, is located at the junction of State Highways 4 and 49 in the Manawatū-Whanganui region. It lies in a valley between Tongariro and Whanganui National Parks, 11 kilometres west ...

. At the other end of the branch, near Ohakune's famous big carrot, an old truss bridge remains in place. For the rest of the line's length, notable remnants are absent, but the

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

can be sighted at points, especially where

embankment Embankment may refer to: Geology and geography * A levee, an artificial bank raised above the immediately surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea * Embankment (earthworks), a raised bank to carry a road, railwa ...

s or cuttings were required.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * Hermann, Bruce J; ''North Island Branch Lines'' p 44 (2007, New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society, Wellington) * *

External links

1917 photo of opening of the branch by the Prime Minister

* [http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll?BU=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aucklandcity.govt.nz%2Fdbtw-wpd%2FHeritageImages%2Findex.htm&AC=QBE_QUERY&TN=heritageimages&QF0=ID&NP=2&MR=5&RF=HIORecordSearch&QI0=%3D%221370-340-3%22 1947 view of branch signal and Ohakune signalbox]
1968 one inch map of the branch
{{NZR Lines Railway lines in New Zealand Rail transport in Manawatū-Whanganui Railway lines opened in 1917 Railway lines closed in 1968 Closed railway lines in New Zealand