The Thames Branch railway line connected

Thames, New Zealand Thames () ( mi, Pārāwai) is a town at the southwestern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the Firth of Thames close to the mouth of the Waihou River. The town is the seat of the Thames-Coromandel (di ...

, with

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

and was originally part of the

East Coast Main Trunk The East Coast Main Trunk (ECMT) is a railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, originally running between Hamilton and Taneatua via Tauranga, connecting the Waikato with the Bay of Plenty. The ECMT now runs between Hamilton and Kawera ...

railway. Part of the line between

Morrinsville Morrinsville is a provincial town in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, with an estimated population of as of The town is located at the northern base of the Pakaroa Range, and on the south-western fringe of the Hauraki Plains. ...

and Waitoa remains open and is in use as the Waitoa Branch line, connecting to the

Fonterra Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited is a New Zealand multinational publicly traded dairy co-operative owned by around 9,000 New Zealand farmers. The company is responsible for approximately 30% of the world's dairy exports and with revenue exce ...

Dairy Factory at Waitoa.

History

The discovery of gold in the Thames area in 1852 provided the impetus for building a railway line from Auckland to Thames. In 1872 the

Auckland Provincial Council The Auckland Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Area The province covered roughly half of the North Island of New Zealand. It was the largest of the six initial provinces, both ...

recommended a rail connection to Thames, primarily due to issues associated with barging coal from North Auckland coal mines to Thames to serve the gold mining industry. Surveys were completed in 1878, despite opposition from local Maori, putting the cost of the 54 km line at £178,000. The Thames-Te Aroha section had cost £159,340 (about $30m in 2018 values) when opened.

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Sir

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...

turned the first sod of the line at Thames on 21 December 1878, but 18 months later work from Thames was stopped by the 1880 Royal Commission ordered by Grey's successor. The track bed had been built as far as Kopu by 1884, employing about 30 men. Construction of the section from Hamilton continued, albeit slowly. The line crossed the

Waikato River The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...

and was opened from Morrinsville to

Te Aroha Te Aroha ( mi, Te Aroha-a-uta) is a rural town in the Waikato region of New Zealand with a population of 3,906 people in the 2013 census, an increase of 138 people since 2006. It is northeast of Hamilton and south of Thames. It sits at the f ...

on 1 March 1886, to

Paeroa Paeroa is a town in the Hauraki District of the Waikato Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou River and Ohinemuri River, and is approximately 20 k ...

on 20 December 1895, and finally to Thames on 19 December 1898. The

Minister of Railways A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructur ...

Alfred Cadman Sir Alfred Jerome Cadman (17 June 1847 – 23 March 1905) was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party. He was the Minister of Railways from 1895 to 1899 in the Liberal Government. Early life Cadman was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1847 ...

, drove the first train into Thames, headed by an F class locomotive. One of the lines first major traffic sources was

A & G Price A & G Price Limited is an engineering firm and locomotive manufacturer in Thames, New Zealand founded in 1868. History A & G Price was established in 1868 in Princes Street, Onehunga by Alfred Price and George Price, two brothers from Stroud, ...

of Thames, who started producing locomotives for NZGR from 1904. Following the completion of 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 ser ...

in 1908, the government began planning the

in 1909, eventually to connect to Gisborne. Work began in 1911 on a link from

through the

Karangahake Gorge The Karangahake Gorge lies between the Coromandel and Kaimai ranges, at the southern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. A sharply winding canyon, it was formed by the Ohinemuri River. State Highway 2 passes throug ...

Waihi Waihi is a town in Hauraki District in the North Island of New Zealand, especially notable for its history as a gold mine town. The town is at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula, close to the western end of the Bay of Plenty. The nearby res ...

. From this stage the Thames Branch was defined as Paeroa to Thames, with the Morrinsville - Paeroa section being designated as part of the East Coast Main Trunk. In 1928 the passenger service was being provided by a steam railcar. Freight was declining by 1930, leading to the loss of the porter at

Puriri ''Vitex lucens'', or pūriri, is an evergreen tree endemic to New Zealand. History Pūriri was first collected (by Europeans) at Tolaga Bay by Banks and Solander during Cook's first visit in 1769. The plant was excellently described by Soland ...

. The opening of the

Kaimai Tunnel The Kaimai Tunnel is a railway tunnel through the Kaimai Range in the North Island of New Zealand. Since it was opened in 1978, it has held the title of longest tunnel, at , in New Zealand, assuming this distinction from the previous title hol ...

in 1978 and the closure of the Paeroa -

Katikati Katikati is a town in New Zealand (North Island) located on the Uretara Stream near a tidal inlet towards the northern end of Tauranga Harbour, 28 kilometres south of Waihi and 40 kilometres northwest of Tauranga. State Highway 2 passes through ...

section of the East Coast Main Trunk led to the re-designation of the Morrinsville - Thames section as the Thames Branch. Scheduled trains to Thames ceased in 1985. The last service on the line was on 28 June 1991, following the reduction in output from the

Toyota New Zealand Toyota New Zealand Limited is the importer and distributor of new Toyota and Lexus vehicles to New Zealand. It also imports used vehicles from Japan and refurbishes them at its former assembly plant in Thames. Until 1998 it also assembled a va ...

assembly plant at Thames resulting in loss of traffic. While New Zealand Rail did attempt to win this traffic back, the branch was officially closed on 31 May 1995. The Toyota plant closed for vehicle assembly in 1997 and of track was then lifted between Thames and the dairy factory at Waitoa. In 2004 the section of the line as far as Waitoa, which was still in place, was re-opened for dairy traffic, as part of

's policy of reviewing its transport links. The Thames Railway Station building of 1898 survives as it was listed by NZHPT Category II in 1982. It is a standard Vintage station, with gables, finials and scalloped bargeboards.

Services

Currently, services to Waitoa consist of scheduled weekday shunts to Hamilton and Morrinsville carrying dairy products, usually powered by a DSJ class shunting locomotive, or by a DC class mainline locomotive when higher tonnages are being moved.

Stations

Stations were at Thames North (formerly known as Grahamstown, then Thames), Thames (Shortland until 1 October 1915 and Thames South until 28 April 1929), Parawai, Kopu,

Matatoki Matatoki is a locality on the Hauraki Plains of New Zealand. It lies on State Highway 26, south east of Thames and north of Paeroa. The Matatoki Stream runs from the Coromandel Range through the area to join the Waihou River. The Kopu sawmil ...

, Omahu, Wharepoa Rd, Hikutaia, Komata North,

(junction for Tauranga),

Tirohia Tirohia is a rural community in the Hauraki District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It was one of the main areas used by Ngāti Hako, including Te Rae o te Papa pā. A bridge was built over the Waihou River in 1919. Education ...

, Waitoki, Mangaiti, Tui Pa,

, Herriesville, Waihou,

Waitoa Waitoa is a settlement in the Matamata-Piako District of New Zealand. State Highway 26 runs through the town, and connects to Te Aroha 10 km to the north-east. A Fonterra dairy factory is a prominent blue building in the middle of the town. T ...

(current terminus), Tatuanui, Piako and the present junction with the ECMT at Morrinsville.

Cycleway

Most of the former rail alignment is now part of the

Hauraki Rail Trail The Hauraki Rail Trail is one of the Great Rides of the New Zealand Cycle Trail system, using parts of the abandoned ECMT and Thames Branch railways in the Hauraki Gulf plains and the Coromandel Peninsula. The trail officially starts from K ...

of the

New Zealand Cycle Trail The New Zealand Cycle Trail project (Māori: ''Nga Haerenga'', "The Journeys") is a New Zealand government initiative, co-funded together with local councils and charitable trusts, which is to build and operate a network of cycle routes throug ...

network, with the local councils in 2011 securing a 20-year lease, though the option of prior termination remains should KiwiRail intend to relay the railway to run trains along the corridor again.Thames Line Handed To Cycleway
- AKT Blog, 15 May 2011

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * Hermann, Bruce J; ''North Island Branch Lines'' pp 19–24 (2007, New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society, Wellington) * *

External links

1888 timetable

* ttp://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/Gov09_05Rail-fig-Gov09_05Rail032a.html Paeroa Junctionbr>1915 photo of Thames-Auckland train derailment at Tirohia

Morrinsville Heritage Centre

* ttps://railsoc.org.nz/archive-images/as6/ 1947 photo of train arriving at Puriribr>1978 photo of train at Te Aroha

Photo of shelter at Tatuanui
{{NZR Lines Railway lines in New Zealand Rail transport in Waikato Railway lines opened in 1898 Railway lines closed in 1991 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in New Zealand Closed railway lines in New Zealand