Dunedin Railways (formerly the Taieri Gorge Railway) is the trading name of Dunedin Railways Limited, an operator of a railway line and tourist trains based at
Dunedin Railway Station in 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 ...
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 ...
. The company is a
council-controlled trading organisation wholly owned by
Dunedin City Council
The Dunedin City Council ( mi, Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Ōtepoti) is the local government authority for Dunedin in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Dunedin. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Dunedin is Jules ...
through its holding company Dunedin City Holdings Limited.
History
Formation
The Otago Excursion Train Trust was formed in 1978 to operate excursions on the
Otago Central Railway
The Otago Central Railway (OCR) or in later years Otago Central Branch Railway, now often referred to as the Taieri Gorge Railway, was a secondary railway line in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand.
Construction
Construction of ...
line, running its first train in October 1979.
The services grew in popularity and the Trust realised by the 1980s that it had great tourist potential.
New carriages were acquired with the "Taieri Gorge Limited" launching in February 1987.
On 19 December 1989, the
New Zealand Railways Corporation
New Zealand Railways Corporation (NZRC) is the state-owned enterprise that owns the land beneath KiwiRail's Rail transport in New Zealand, railway network on behalf of the Crown. The Corporation has existed under a number of guises since 1982, wh ...
announced the closure of the Otago Central railway line beyond Taieri owing to a lack of freight traffic following the completion of the
Clyde Dam
The Clyde Dam, New Zealand's third-largest hydroelectric dam, is built on the Clutha River / Mata-Au near the town of Clyde. It is owned and operated by Contact Energy.
History
There was considerable controversy when the dam was planned because i ...
.
Dunedin City Council then stepped in, purchasing the line as far as
Middlemarch
''Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life'' is a novel by the English author Mary Anne Evans, who wrote as George Eliot. It first appeared in eight installments (volumes) in 1871 and 1872. Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midland town, ...
and five locomotives,
which were then leased by the Trust to run its trains. The Trust continued to operate the Taieri Gorge Limited, now with its own locomotives (
DJ class locomotives withdrawn by NZR in the same year), but needed a further NZ$1 million to fund its operations. A community appeal in 1990 raised NZ$1.2 million.
The line beyond Middlemarch was lifted during 1991, and the trackbed handed over to the
Department of Conservation
An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...
in 1993. It is now the
Otago Central Rail Trail
The Otago Central Rail Trail is a 150-kilometre walking, cycling and horse riding track in the South Island of New Zealand. A pioneering project for New Zealand, the successful rail trail joined the New Zealand Cycle Trail umbrella organisation i ...
, a major cycling tourist attraction in the area.
Local Authority Trading Enterprise
On 8 March 1995, the
Dunedin City Council
The Dunedin City Council ( mi, Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Ōtepoti) is the local government authority for Dunedin in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Dunedin. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Dunedin is Jules ...
(through its holding company Dunedin City Holdings Limited) and the Trust incorporated a new company, Taieri Gorge Railway Limited.
Dunedin City Holdings was a majority of shares (72.03%) and the Trust held the balance of the shares (27.97%). The company operated as a
Council-controlled organisation
Council-controlled organisations (CCOs) and council-controlled trading organisations in New Zealand are what were formerly known as '' local-authority trading enterprises'' (''LATEs''). Introduced under Sections 6 and 7 of the ''Local Government Ac ...
(formerly known as a
Local-authority trading enterprise
A local authority trading enterprise (LATE) was an organisation established in New Zealand under the Local Government Act 1974.
The 1989 legislation assigned regional councils planning and funding responsibilities, but not the transport supplier ...
) under Part 5 of the
Local Government Act 2002
The Local Government Act 2002 (sometimes known by its acronym, LGA) is an Act of New Zealand's Parliament that defines local government in New Zealand. There are 73 territorial authorities (local districts), each with an elected Mayor and elect ...
. This was due to the need to raise more capital to finance the expansion of the Trusts operation. Dunedin City Council then sold the railway line to the new company, and the Trust sold its locomotives, carriages and other assets to the new company.
The company is governed according to its constitution by a board of directors comprising six people. Two of these people were selected by Dunedin City Holdings Limited, two by the Otago Excursion Train Trust and two jointly by both shareholding parties. On 1 December 2017, the company legally changed its name to Dunedin Railways Limited.
Taieri Gorge Limited
The Taieri Gorge Limited is New Zealand's longest tourist railway and stretches along the former
Otago Central Railway
The Otago Central Railway (OCR) or in later years Otago Central Branch Railway, now often referred to as the Taieri Gorge Railway, was a secondary railway line in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand.
Construction
Construction of ...
from the 4 km peg on the
Taieri Branch, 18 km west of
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 ...
, to
Middlemarch
''Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life'' is a novel by the English author Mary Anne Evans, who wrote as George Eliot. It first appeared in eight installments (volumes) in 1871 and 1872. Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midland town, ...
, a distance of . Between Dunedin and the start of the line, its trains operate on KiwiRail's
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 ...
via a
running rights
Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies.
Operating
Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may co ...
agreement.
The line travels along the banks of the
Taieri River
The Taieri River is the fourth-longest river in New Zealand and is in Otago in the South Island. Rising in the Lammerlaw Range, it initially flows north, then east around the Rock and Pillar range before turning southeast, reaching the sea sou ...
, through numerous tunnels and along the
Taieri Gorge
The Taieri Gorge is located on the Taieri River, in the South Island of New Zealand.
It is a deep canyon carved by the Taieri River on the middle stage of its journey from Central Otago to the Pacific Ocean, between the high plateau of the Maniot ...
to the
Strath Taieri
Strath Taieri is a large glacial valley and river plateau in New Zealand's South Island. It is surrounded by the rugged hill ranges to the north and west of Otago Harbour. Since 1989 it has been part of the city of Dunedin. The small town of Middle ...
. It crosses a dozen viaducts and passes through ten tunnels.
[''Taieri Gorge Railway - 2006-2007 Times & Destinations'' - Leaflet by Taieri Gorge Railway Limited, March 2006]
At
Wingatui railway station
The Wingatui railway station, sometimes known as the ''Wingatui Junction railway station'', is a former station between Dunedin and Mosgiel in Otago, New Zealand. On the Main South Line, it is the junction for the Otago Central Railway (now the ...
, the original building and signal box from 1914 has been restored. After the line passes through the long Salisbury Tunnel, the longest on the line, it crosses Mullocky Gully over the long
Wingatui Viaduct
Wingatui is a small settlement almost 15 kilometres west of Dunedin, and two kilometres east of Mosgiel. It has become a suburb of Mosgiel, but continues to maintain its own unique identity and heritage.
Known primarily for the historic Wingatu ...
, the largest
wrought iron
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...
structure in New Zealand since it was built in 1887.
The 47 m tall viaduct's riveted
truss
A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure.
In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...
structure rests on seven concrete and masonry piers.
Shortly after the Wingatui Viaduct, the route emerges from Mullocky Gully to join Taieri Gorge, and from then on follows that gorge above Taieri River to just east of Pukerangi. On the way the line passes former stations Parera, Mount Allen, Little Mount Allen, and Christmas Creek, crossing two curved viaducts at the latter two locations.
Hindon, still operating as a crossing station, is typically one of the stopping points on the trip. Just before the station, the railway tracks share a combined road-rail bridge with Hindon Road.
Another stopping point for photo opportunities is the Deep Stream viaduct. Here the line slowly starts to climb higher and out of the gorge, passing over the Flat Stream viaduct, and "The Notches", a section of short bridges and cuttings through several rocky outcrops, on its way to Pukerangi. Between Pukerangi and Middlemarch, the railway only once more comes close to the Taieri River, where it crosses Sutton Creek over another combined road-rail bridge.
The train operates daily to Pukerangi and on summer Fridays and Sundays to Middlemarch.
Seasider and Dunedin Silver Fern
Dunedin Railways also operates the
Seasider
The ''Seasider'' is a tourist train in the South Island of New Zealand, operated by the Dunedin Railways along the Main South Line between the historic Dunedin Railway Station and Palmerston Palmerston may refer to:
People
* Christie Palmers ...
tourist train along the coast to
Palmerston Palmerston may refer to:
People
* Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer
* Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston
** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and ...
, north of Dunedin, with bus connections to the Taieri Gorge Limited at Middlemarch. Following the withdrawal of the
Southerner by
Tranz Scenic
Great Journeys New Zealand is the tourism division of KiwiRail that operate its three Scenic train services (TranzAlpine, Northern Explorer and Coastal Pacific). The new division was launched in May 2017 and replaced the former tourism brand Ki ...
in 2002, it is the only passenger train on 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 2012, Dunedin Railways leased one of the
Silver Fern class railcars from
KiwiRail for use on the same route as the Seasider.
Rebranded Dunedin Railways
On 23 October 2014, the Taieri Gorge Railway announced that it would be changing its name to Dunedin Railways. For 35 years, the Taieri Gorge Railway and the Otago Excursion Train Trust had taken tourists on scenic rail excursions up the Taieri Gorge to Middlemarch and more recently up the coast, north of
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 ...
on the
Seasider
The ''Seasider'' is a tourist train in the South Island of New Zealand, operated by the Dunedin Railways along the Main South Line between the historic Dunedin Railway Station and Palmerston Palmerston may refer to:
People
* Christie Palmers ...
. The reason for the change was so that tourists can link the train trips to Dunedin and it makes it much clearer what the railway is.
AO 77 was the first carriage to be repainted into their new blue
livery
A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...
with their name on the sides in October 2014. This was followed by A 3022 and AG 239. In September 2015, A
L 1695 was repainted into their yellow version of livery.
Mothballing
On 20 April 2020, the company announced that due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, it mothballed its track and equipment.
The company said up to 80% of its revenue came from international tourists. The mothballing could affect up to 51 jobs.
Reactivation and restructure
Following the decision to mothball Dunedin Railways, the
Otago Excursion Train Trust sold its shares in the company to the council in April 2020.
In May 2021, Dunedin City Council agreed to keep the Taieri Gorge line as far as
Hindon in operation, as well as services on KiwiRail's railway lines.
In November 2021, the council agreed to extend support through to 2024.
Financial performance
In the financial year to June 2017, Dunedin Railways had revenues of NZ$6.578m and expenses of NZ$6.387m, and turned a profit of NZ$137,000. Following the Covid-19 pandemic of 2021, Dunedin Railways was losing NZ$1.5 million per annum.
Locomotives and railcars
The railway owns seven former New Zealand Railways
DJ class locomotives, four of which are currently operational and certified for mainline operation. They are painted in a variant of the modified New Zealand Railways scheme carried by the class in the 1980s, where the low nose sides are painted blue instead of yellow and grey cab front. Two locomotives are in an operational condition, but are not currently certified for mainline use; a seventh, DJ3021 (ex-D
J 1202), is being stored, pending future restoration after it was purchased from its former home at Ranfurly station where it was a static display. An eighth, DJ3044 (D
J 1204) was acquired from Mainline Steam in 2012 as a source of spare parts and has been dismantled. Both were painted in the modified blue scheme and were purchased in a withdrawn condition.
TGR also operates one
DE class locomotive, D
E 504 (TMS DE1337).
['technical information'](_blank)
on TGR website, retrieved 2009-05-10 This locomotive was acquired from
Otago Polytechnic (who had acquired it from New Zealand Railways Corporation) in the early 1990s and is not mainline certified, instead of being based at the TGR works depot at the 4 km peg. It previously carried a modified International Orange scheme but was repainted in 2006 to its original livery of Carnation Red with the addition of "wasp stripes" on the headstocks as it would have carried in the 1970s.
In 2013, Dunedin Railways leased
Silver Fern railcar RM24 from
KiwiRail and operated this on trips between Dunedin and Waitati. The railcar was returned to KiwiRail in 2019.
Dunedin Railways formerly operated a shunting locomotive,
TR 111 at their Dunedin depot as their resident shunting locomotive. This locomotive was obtained by the Otago Excursion Train Trust in 2009 from enthusiast Reid McNaught, who had leased the locomotive to Dunedin Railways since 2006. It was sold to the
Canterbury Railway Society in July 2015.
Carriages
47' 6" wooden body carriages
![Taieri Gorge Railway carriage at Hindon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Taieri_Gorge_Railway_carriage_at_Hindon.jpg)
All trains as of include some of Dunedin Railways five former New Zealand Railways 47" 6' foot wooden-clad carriages. These cars are known as "''Scarrett" heritage carriages and were built between 1912 and 1923 with open platform ends,
gangways and 37 seats. Dunedin Railways has started retiring these carriages largely to provide bogies for their 56-foot carriage stock, which did not have their own bogies when they were purchased. Two of the 47-foot cars have been sold, while two were scrapped circa 1978. One carriage, A 1254, is owned by the
Ocean Beach Railway
The Ocean Beach Railway (OBR) is a heritage railway that operates in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located between John Wilson Drive in the suburb of Saint Kilda and sports grounds near Forbury Park Raceway, and runs parallel with the city's main b ...
(OBR) and is leased to Dunedin Railways. This carriage will be returned to the OBR at the conclusion of its lease.
50-foot carriages
Dunedin Railways has currently three steel-clad and one wood-clad
NZR 50-foot carriage
The NZR 50-foot carriage of 1908 were originally constructed for the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) passenger trains. The first were clad in Kauri, with open end platforms, however those built from 1930 were clad in steel, with enclosed vestibule ...
s, formerly used on
Dunedin suburban trains and express passenger trains. The steel-clads have 30-37 seats, enclosed vestibules and covered gangways and were built by
New Zealand Railways Department in 1931–40.
One of these is an AL class car-van with a small luggage compartment at one end while the other two are A class carriages. Steel-clad cars, A class 50159 and 50223 were sold to the
Weka Pass Railway in 2008 and AL 50090 was sold to the
Midland Rail Heritage Trust in 2013. The wood-clad carriages are A 1327, built in 1913, with open vestibules and non-covered gangways.
Jungle Gym panorama carriages
Dunedin Railways has three all-steel air-conditioned panorama carriages with open platform ends and open gangways, known locally as "Jungle Gyms" due to the nature of their framework when under construction. These were designed and built by the OETT in 1987–92, with a "very distinctive shape to fit the tunnels".
Two of these carriages were built on Z class "roadsider" freight van underframes while the third was built on the underframe of guard's van F 529.
56-foot carriages
In September 2007, the Taieri Gorge Railway announced that it had purchased 12
NZR 56-foot carriages formerly used on the
Wairarapa Connection. The first of these, A 2325, was prepared at a cost of $45,000 and was ready in September 2008. The company anticipated having three carriages in service by the end of 2008, and all 12 by 2013. The upgrade included new seating, carpets, toilets and external paint. The railway intends to refurbish three carriages each year. As of December 2015, only five out of the twelve carriages have been restored. Two of these carriages have since been disposed of.
In 2012, panoramic window car AO 77 was leased from
KiwiRail. It has since been repainted in Dunedin Railways' blue livery and is now under their ownership. Privately-owned A 3022 is leased from its owners since 2013. In 2018, Dunedin Railways purchased six big-window AO/ASO class carriages from
KiwiRail. Two of these have since been converted to all-steel framing and reclassified as ADR.
Freight haulage
In the early 2000s, the TGR investigated the possibility of introducing log haulage between Mount Allan and
Port Chalmers at the end of the
Port Chalmers Branch
The Port Chalmers Branch was the first railway line built in Otago, New Zealand, and linked the region's major city of Dunedin with the port in Port Chalmers. The line is still operational today.
Construction and early history
Built by the Dune ...
. However on 12 June 2007, it was announced that a cost difference of
NZ$
The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; sign: $, NZ$; code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New Zea ...
5 million existed between road and rail haulage in favour of road, and potential government subsidies were insufficient to close the gap. The announcement was met with disappointment by the Dunedin City Council, which favourably viewed the rail option as it was more environmentally friendly and would have reduced traffic congestion.
It has since been worked out that with extra damage caused by the logging trucks on the Mosgiel to Port Chalmers road that it would have been cheaper to perform the operation by rail, but despite pleas by the local council, Wenita, the relevant company, said it had invested too much in the road option to change its plans.
The route's
loading gauge
A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and ke ...
restricts the maximum size of rolling stock that can operate on the railway; some freight wagons cannot use the line.
See also
*
Rail transport in New Zealand
Rail transport in New Zealand is an integral part of New Zealand's transport network, with a nationwide network of of track linking most major cities in the North and South Islands, connected by inter-island rail and road ferries. Rail trans ...
*
Otago Central Rail Trail
The Otago Central Rail Trail is a 150-kilometre walking, cycling and horse riding track in the South Island of New Zealand. A pioneering project for New Zealand, the successful rail trail joined the New Zealand Cycle Trail umbrella organisation i ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
* (soft-bound); 978-0-473-17362-3 (hard-bound).
*
External links
Dunedin RailwaysTaieri Gorge Railway Photo galleryOtago Central Branch RailwayTaieri Gorge Railway - New Zealand
{{coord, 45, 52, 31, S, 170, 30, 32, E, display=title
Rail transport in Otago
Heritage railways in New Zealand
Railway companies of New Zealand
Tourist attractions in Dunedin
Organisations based in Dunedin
3 ft 6 in gauge railways in New Zealand
1991 establishments in New Zealand