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Waiau Branch
The Waiau Branch was a branch line railway in the northern Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Known as the Great Northern Railway for its first few decades of life, the Waiau Branch was seen as part of a main line north but was ultimately superseded by a coastal route. Opened in stages from 1882 to 1919, the line closed in 1978 but a portion has been retained as the Weka Pass Railway. Construction During the 1870s, significant debates motivated by regional interests took place regarding the most desirable route for a railway from Canterbury to the West Coast, Nelson, and Marlborough. A number of these plans involved lines that would have in some way incorporated the route of what became the Waiau Branch, and when it was built, it was seen as an integral part of the Main North Line. Despite an 1879 report favouring a coastal route via Kaikoura as the line north, the inland route was initially chosen and construction work soon began. Its junction with th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Passenger Rail Terminology
Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas: Rapid transit A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid acceleration. It uses passenger railcars operating singly or in multiple unit trains on fixed rails. It operates on separate right-of-way (transportation), rights-of-way from which all other vehicular and foot traffic are excluded (i.e. is fully grade separation, grade-separated from other traffic). It uses sophisticated railway signalling, signaling systems, and railway platform height, high platform loading. Originally, the term ''rapid transit'' was used in the 1800s to describe new forms of quick urban public transportation that had a Right-of-way (railroad), right-of-way separated from street traffic. This set rapid transit apart from horsecars, trams, streetcars, bus, omnibuses, and other forms of public transport. A variant of the term, ''mass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Culverden
Culverden is a small town in the northern Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It lies at the centre of the Amuri Plain. Culverden has traditionally been surrounded by sheep farms. Dairy farms have now become more common as a result of irrigation schemes in the area. The Waiau Plains Irrigation Scheme was completed in 1980. It provides irrigation to 17,000 hectares of farmland and the Balmoral Scheme provides irrigation to a further 5500 hectares. The Rutherford Reserve and the Culverden Recreation Reserve are on the southern side of Culverden and the Culverden Golf Course in on the northern entrance to Culverden. There is a memorial in the Rutherford Reserve to Dr Charles Little who died in November 1918 from the Spanish Flu. He was the county doctor providing medical services from Waikari to Waiau. Local government When provincial government was abolished in 1876, Culverden became the main centre for the newly established Amuri County. Counties were abolished in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawarden, New Zealand
Hawarden is a small town in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located near Waikari, just off State Highway 7. From 15 December 1884 until 15 January 1978, the town was served by the Waiau Branch, a branch line railway that at one stage was planned to become the Main North Line to Nelson and Blenheim. The Weka Pass Railway restoration project once had plans to retain the line through Hawarden, but later chose to terminate their line in Waikari. Some relics of the old railway line still remain at the site of Hawarden's railway station. The town is home to the Flaxmere Gardens and is located in a scenic area near the Lake Sumner Forest Park, with a number of other lakes also in the vicinity. Demographics Hawarden is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement and covers . Hawarden is included in Upper Hurunui statistical area. Hawarden had a population of 240 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 6 people (2.6%) since the 201 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glenmark Station (Weka Pass Railway)
Glenmark may refer to: * Glenmark (ship), a British clipper ship of the 1860s-70s * Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, an Indian Pharmaceuticals company * Glenmark, California, United States * Glenmark Station, sheep station of George Henry Moore near Waipara, 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 ... * Glenmark Wines, a New Zealand vintnery * Glen Mark, Angus, Scotland, United Kingdom {{dab, geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parnassus, New Zealand
Parnassus is a locality in the Canterbury region's Hurunui District on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is located on the north bank of the Waiau River. It takes its name from a local sheep run owned by a classical scholar, Edward Lee. He saw a likeness between a local hill and the Greek Mount Parnassus, mythical home of the god Apollo and the Muses. Cheviot district passes through the town on its route from Cheviot to Kaiko ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Track Bed
The track bed or trackbed is the groundwork onto which a railway track is laid. Trackbeds of disused railways are sometimes used for recreational paths or new light rail links. According to Network Rail, the trackbed is the layers of ballast and sub-ballast above a prepared subgrade/formation (see diagram). It is designed primarily to reduce the stress on the subgrade. Other definitions include the surface of the ballast on which the track is laid,, p. 386. the area left after a track has been dismantled and the ballast removed or the track formation beneath the ballast and above the natural ground. The trackbed can significantly influence the performance of the track, especially ride quality of passenger services. See also * Embankment (transportation) A road, railway line, or canal is normally raised onto an embankment made of compacted soil (typically clay or rock-based) to avoid a change in level required by the terrain, the alternatives being either to have an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire and in the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war. Prior to 1914, the European great powers were divided between the Triple Entente (comprising France, Russia, and Britain) and the Triple Alliance (containing Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Tensions in the Balkans came to a head on 28 June 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otira Tunnel
The Otira Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the Midland Line in the South Island of New Zealand, between Otira and Arthur's Pass. It runs under the Southern Alps from Arthur's Pass to Otira – a length of over . The gradient is mainly 1 in 33, and the Otira end of the tunnel is over lower than the Arthur's Pass end. Construction Construction commenced in 1907 and a "breakthrough" celebration was held on 21 August 1918 by the Minister of Public Works Sir William Fraser. When the tunnel opened on 4 August 1923, it was the seventh longest tunnel in the world and the longest in the British Empire. The Midland Railway Company investigated alternatives to a long tunnel, but a line over the pass with gradients of 1 in 50 on both sides was not practical. Other options for a line over the pass were a cable-hauled system or a line of 1 in 15 gradient using either the Fell system or a rack railway using the Abt system (or even an S-shaped tunnel under Mount Rolleston). However, the g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buller Gorge
The Buller Gorge is a gorge located in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. The Buller River flows through the deep canyon between Murchison and Westport. Land Information New Zealand lists two sections for the gorge, Upper Buller Gorge and Lower Buller Gorge. runs alongside, but considerably above, the river through the gorge. The Stillwater - Westport Line railway also runs through the gorge. New Zealand's longest swingbridge at in length spans the Buller River west of Murchison. That area also offers rides on a zip-line across the gorge Buller Gorge Swingbridge Adventure and Heritage Park website. Accessed 2013-09-18. as well as several short bush walks. The gorge and river ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reefton
Reefton is a small town in the West Coast region of New Zealand, some 80 km northeast of Greymouth, in the Inangahua River valley. Ahaura is 44 km south-west of Reefton, Inangahua Junction is 34 km to the north, Maruia is 63 km to the east, and the Lewis Pass is 66 km to the south-east. In 1888, it was the first town in New Zealand and the Southern Hemisphere to be lit by electricity, generated by the Reefton Power Station. Reefton was a thriving gold mining town in the late 19th century, and gold mining lasted from the 1870s to the 1950s. Its economy is based on tourism, forestry, coal mining and farming. Reefton is home to the Inangahua County Library. Name The rich veins of gold found in a quartz reef near the town led to its name, originally spelled "Reef Town". Two nicknames in use soon after it was founded were "Rest Town" and "Quartzopolis". The main street, Broadway, was named after West Coast magistrate Charles Broad. The nearby Wealth o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Alps (New Zealand)
The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern Alps" generally refers to the entire range, although separate names are given to many of the smaller ranges that form part of it. The range includes the South Island's Main Divide, which separates the water catchments of the more heavily populated eastern side of the island from those on the west coast. Politically, the Main Divide forms the boundary between the Marlborough, Canterbury and Otago regions to the southeast and the Tasman and West Coast regions to the northwest. Names The Māori name of the range is , meaning "the Mirage of the Ocean". The English explorer James Cook bestowed the name ''Southern Alps'' on 23 March 1770, admiring their "prodigious height". p. 384. They had previously been noted by Abel Tasman in 1642, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blenheim, New Zealand
Blenheim ( ; mi, Waiharakeke) is the most populous town in the region of Marlborough, in the north east of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of The surrounding Marlborough wine region is well known as the centre of the New Zealand wine industry. It enjoys one of New Zealand's sunniest climates, with warm, relatively dry summers and cool, crisp winters. Blenheim is named after the Battle of Blenheim (1704), where troops led by John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough defeated a combined French and Bavarian force. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "flax stream" for . History The sheltered coastal bays of Marlborough supported a small Māori population possibly as early as the 12th century. Archaeological evidence dates Polynesian human remains uncovered at Wairau Bar to the 13th century. The rich sea and bird life of the area would easily have supported such small communities. As the Māori population of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
