The Canterbury Provincial Railways was an early part of the railways of New Zealand. Built by the Canterbury Provincial government mainly to the

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

of , the railway reached most of the Canterbury region by the time the province was abolished in 1876.

Edward Dobson Edward Dobson (1816/17? – 19 September 1908) was Provincial Engineer for Canterbury Province, New Zealand from 1854 to 1868. Early life Edward Dobson was born in London, probably in 1816 or 1817. His parents were John Dobson, a merchant, and E ...

, the Provincial Engineer from 1854 to 1868, was the designer and overseer.

History

New Zealand's first public railway was opened from Christchurch to

Ferrymead Ferrymead is a suburb south-east of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the main thoroughfare for reaching the eastern sea suburbs such as Sumner, as well as home to a number of cliff-top residences and businesses along the estuary front. After t ...

in 1863. In 1867 the Ferrymead section was made redundant when the

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

through the

Lyttelton rail tunnel The Lyttelton Rail Tunnel, initially called the Moorhouse Tunnel, links the city of Christchurch with the port of Lyttelton in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is the country's oldest operational rail tunnel, and is on t ...

to the port of Lyttelton opened. The contractors who had built the line, Holmes and Company of Melbourne, operated the trains until 31 July 1868, when the Canterbury Provincial Railways took direct control. The contractors selected the broad gauge used for the railway, as it was the same gauge in use for railways in the

Colony of Victoria In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

. The first locomotive and rolling stock were purchased from

Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

, a railway Holmes and Company had been contracted to construct. The company also brought to Canterbury the necessary railway workers to operate the railway. The Canterbury Provincial Railways built two lines into rural areas along the east coast, 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 ...

towards

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

and eventually

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 ...

, and the Main North Line towards

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

. Both lines were built as broad gauge, as far as

Rakaia Rakaia is a town seated close to the southern banks of the Rakaia River on the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island, approximately 57 km south of Christchurch on State Highway 1 and the Main South Line. Immediately north of the ...

on the Main South Line, reached in June 1873, and

Amberley Amberley may refer to: Places Australia *Amberley, Queensland, near Ipswich, Australia *RAAF Base Amberley, a Royal Australian Air Force military airbase United Kingdom * Amberley, Gloucestershire, England * Amberley, Herefordshire, England ...

north of Christchurch, on the Main North Line, reached in 1876. Following the central government's Great Public Works Policy of 1870 and the passing of the Railways Act 1870, all new lines were to be constructed to a national gauge of . As a result, Canterbury Provincial Railways also operated a number of narrow-gauge branches, and the line from

to Lyttelton became

dual-gauge In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to ca ...

. The Central Government paid for the construction of these branches as part of its Great Public Works Policy. Following the abolition of the provinces in 1876, Canterbury Provincial Railways were absorbed into the national network, the remaining broad gauge lines of the Canterbury network was converted to

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 ...

by 1878.

Motive Power

The Canterbury Provincial Railways operated ten

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s of varying types, not divided into separate classes. They were all

tank locomotive A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locom ...

s based on contemporary British practice and were built by the

Avonside Engine Company The Avonside Engine Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Avon Street, St. Philip's, Bristol, England between 1864 and 1934. However the business originated with an earlier enterprise Henry Stothert and Company. Origins The firm was original ...

, except for no. 9 by

Neilson and Company Neilson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Glasgow, Scotland. The company was started in 1836 at McAlpine Street by Walter Neilson and James Mitchell to manufacture marine and stationary engines. In 1837 the firm moved to Hyde Park ...

. Nos. 1-4 had a

2-4-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and no trailing wheels. The notation 2-4-0T indi ...

wheel arrangement In rail transport, a wheel arrangement or wheel configuration is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed under a locomotive. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and c ...

: No. 1, named ''Pilgrim'', was built for the Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

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 ...

in 1862 but was quickly on-sold unused to Holmes and Company, who were building the Ferrymead line. It entered revenue service when the line opened; 2 arrived in April 1864, 3 in March 1867 and 4 in May 1868. Also in May 1868 nos. 5 and 6, ordered in March 1867, arrived: they were of

0-4-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement with no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. While the first locomotiv ...

T wheel arrangement and were considerably smaller. Three more 0-4-2T locomotives followed, each ordered independently, 7 entering service in August 1872, 8 in March 1874 and 10 in June 1874. No. 9 was a diminutive

0-4-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven. The wheels on the earliest four-coupled locomotives were ...

T ordered after 8 but entered service before it, in January 1874, shunting on Lyttelton wharf. Only no. 1 was withdrawn while in Canterbury Provincial Railways' service, in 1876. When the conversion of the Canterbury lines to narrow gauge was completed, its frame and the other nine locomotives were sold to the

South Australian Railways South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Austr ...

. Despite the ship carrying the locomotives and rolling stock, the '' Hydrabad'', being shipwrecked near Foxton on the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

's west coast on its journey to Australia, the locomotives and rolling stock ultimately were safely delivered to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and with considerable modification seven of them remained in service until the 1920s. In addition, by 1875 Canterbury Provincial Railways had 22 narrow-gauge locomotives.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{refend Rail transport in Canterbury, New Zealand History of Canterbury, New Zealand 5 ft 3 in gauge railways in New Zealand 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in New Zealand

History

Motive Power

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography