Private railway locomotive on the Takaka tramway

The Takaka Tramway was a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

light railway A light railway is a railway built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail": it uses lighter-weight track, and may have more steep gradients and tight curves to reduce civil engineering costs. These lighter standards allow ...

that operated in the Tākaka Valley,

Golden Bay Golden Bay may refer to: * Golden Bay / Mohua, a bay at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island * Golden Bay (Malta), a bay and beach on the coastline of Malta * Golden Bay High School, a high school in Takaka, New Zealand * Golden Bay, Wes ...

, New Zealand, from 1882 to 1905, linking farms and sawmills of the Takaka Valley with the tidal port of Waitapu at the mouth of the

Tākaka River The Tākaka River lies in the northwest of New Zealand's South Island. It runs north for 70 kilometres, entering Golden Bay / Mohua, Golden Bay near the town of Tākaka. It was reported on 17 January 2007 that the Tākaka River is one of a growi ...

Location and history

In 1880

John Rochfort John Rochfort (21 May 1832 – 8 March 1893) was a New Zealand surveyor and engineer. Early life John Rochfort was born in London, England, the youngest son of Frank senior, a goldsmith, silversmith and jeweller, and Sarah (née Button). He w ...

surveyed the route of the line. The cost was £1350 per mile. The public endorsed the proposal of the millers and the Takaka Road Board to lay a tramline. The government contributed rails and £2000 towards the project. Another £4000 had to be borrowed. Construction began in February 1881, with the track being of gauge with light 22 lb/yard (11 kg/m) rails. The line ran from Waitapu Wharf on the coast, south to

Tākaka Tākaka is a small town situated at the southeastern end of Golden Bay, at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island, located on the lower reaches of the Tākaka River. State Highway 60 runs through Takaka and follows the river valley b ...

township via Commercial Street. From there, alongside the

at Paynes Ford (on a raised embankment between the Tākaka River and high limestone bluffs) through private land on the plains to join East Takaka Road, then met Loop Road and ended at

East Tākaka East Tākaka is a settlement in the Tasman District of New Zealand. It is located in Golden Bay, south of Tākaka. Located in the Tākaka valley, East Tākaka sits on the eastern side of the Tākaka River. The area developed from the 1860s, wi ...

, for a total distance of . After the inauguration of the tramway in 1882, the steam locomotive ''Pioneer'' ran twice daily with a passenger carriage and two to three truckloads of timber between East Tākaka and the port. The tramway was mainly used for transporting goods and timber to Waitapu for export. By 1905 this traffic had mostly disappeared and the tramway was put up for sale and removed in 1906. Only one locomotive was used on the line, an 0-4-0T named "Pioneer", built at Anchor Foundry in

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

. It arrived at Waitapu Wharf on 3 June 1882, had cylinders by with diameter wheels. In the mid 1890s, the Takaka Tramway Company came into financial problems due to the decline of the timber industry. The ownership changed hands several times. Serious flooding in 1904 virtually destroyed the track of the tramway. In 1905 the locomotive, rolling stock and rails were sold to a Wellington-based company. After the tramway closed, "Pioneer" was last noted as being in an Auckland scrap yard.

References

{{coord, -40.826795, 172.803927, region:AU_type:landmark, display=title, name=Assumed location of the rail track Narrow gauge railways in New Zealand 2 ft 6 in gauge railways in New Zealand Tākaka