The Rarawai–Kavanagasau Light Railway was a long narrow gauge railway on

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

Operation

The railway with a gauge of was built and operated by the Colonial Sugar Refinery Co. The operation started in December 1914 with free, twice-weekly, return passenger train services and weekly public goods trains, which transported pipes for the manganese mines as well as agricultural produce such as potatoes, onions, rice, maize, and other food. Transport of cattle started in the early 1950s. The section of the Kavanagasau–Rarawai tramline from Kavanagasau to Baitiri behind Navisabasaba village, at the boundary of Cuvu and Lomawai sectors, about 4.5 kilometres from the Intercontinental Hotel towards Nadi was closed on 7 August 2009 due to the significant decline in the production of cane in the Cuvu and Olosara sectors and cane from these areas being transportable by lorry to the Lautoka Mill.

Rolling stock

Locomotives

The

Hudswell Clarke Hudswell, Clarke and Company Limited was an engineering and locomotive building company in Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. History The company was founded as Hudswell and Clarke in 1860. In 1870 the name was changed to Hu ...

0-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. This was the most common wheel arrangemen ...

locomotive with works number 972 of 1912 named ''Fiji'' (Colonial Sugar Refining Co. No. 11) and a Hudswell Clarke 0-4-0ST with works number 1056 of 1914 (Colonial Sugar Refining Co. No. 19) are preserved at

Statfold Barn Railway The Statfold Barn Railway is a narrow gauge railway based near Tamworth, Staffordshire and partially in Warwickshire, England. Founded by engineering entrepreneur Graham Lee and his wife Carol at their farm-based home, they originally designed wh ...

.Chris Allen: ''Statfold Barn Railway - green, red and yellow.'' The Geograph, No 5382236.

Carriages

Two second class passenger carriages and a brake van were built in 1914 by

Clyde Engineering Clyde Engineering was an Australian manufacturer of locomotives, rolling stock, and other industrial products. It was founded in September 1898 by a syndicate of Sydney businessmen buying the Granville factory of timber merchants Huds ...

in Granville,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

for Rarawai–Kavanagasau Light Railway. One of the carriages is now at the Ferrymead 2ft Railway in a partially disassembled state.

External links

''The Railways of Fiji. The Development of Railways in the South Pacific.''
In: ''Railway Wonders of the World.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rarawai-Kavanagasau Light Railway 2 ft gauge railways in Fiji Standard gauge railways Defunct railroads Fiji