The Piako County Tramway was built in 1882-83, just south of

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 ...

. It was a long, horse powered tramway. It carried

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

from

gold mines Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface, ...

in the

Kaimai Range The Kaimai Range (sometimes referred to as the ''Kaimai Ranges'') is a mountain range in the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of a series of ranges, with the Coromandel Range to the north and the Mamaku Ranges to the south. The Kaimai Ra ...

to water-powered batteries in the Waiorongomai Stream valley below. It was built to the rare gauge, thought to be that used on bush tramways in the Waitawheta and neighbouring valleys. A & G Price's first locomotive was built for the line, but proved too large for the curves and was sold for less than half its cost in 1885. It was later used for log haulage on Smyth Bros tramway at

Kennedy's Bay Kennedy Bay (also called Kennedy's Bay and Harataunga) is a locality in the north eastern Coromandel Peninsula of New Zealand. The Harataunga and Omoho Streams flow from the Coromandel Range past the settlement and into the bay to the east. Ther ...

. The line included 3 self acting inclines, the longest being up a 1 in 4 gradient. Repairs ceased in 1924 and by 1932 the line was overgrown and unusable. During the 1950s and 1960s, some rails were sold to local contractors, but in 1966 permission to remove rails was refused and in 1976, council scheduled the tramway as of historical and scientific interest. The tramway was listed as Category 1 in 1997.

DOC DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to: In film and television * ''Doc'' (2001 TV series), a 2001–2004 PAX series * ''Doc'' (1975 TV series), a 1975–1976 CBS sitcom * "D.O.C." (''Lost''), a television episode * ''Doc'' (film), a 1971 Wester ...

has restored parts of the tramway, now used by Waiorongomai Valley

tramping Tramping may refer to: Travel *Hiking *Trekking *Tramping in New Zealand, a style of backpacking or hiking * Czech tramping, a Czech outdoors pastime Places * Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380, Saskatchewan, Canada ** Tramping Lake, Sas ...

tracks.

References

External links

1880s photo of head of incline, trucks and winding gear
{{Matamata-Piako District Railway companies of New Zealand Narrow gauge railways in New Zealand 2 ft 9 in gauge railways Matamata-Piako District Rail transport in Waikato