Industrial Sites of the Ngapara-Tokarahi Area

In the course of my recent article on the Ngapara and Tokarahi Branches I read about a considerable part of the industrial history of the area. The main features are summarised below.

Limeworks have long been a feature of the areas. NZRTA shows that McDonald’s Lime had an operation at Weston, but does not give any more detail of it. The best possibility I have been able to come up with for a possible location is this location, without any clues at all, and purely based on looking from above and presuming that there might have been an industrial operation at this site. For which I have no confirmation whatsoever at this time. McDonald’s is now a majority owned subsidiary of Holcim and operates exclusively in the North Island.

Taylor’s Lime is a bit easier to pin down. They used to operate two quarries further up the Ngapara line, at Cormacks. One of these quarried Oamaru stone for the domestic building trade, and the other was for agricultural production. Taylor’s, which operates exclusively in the South Island and is also a Holcim subsidiary, own the Dunback (Makareao) limeworks, and they chose to consolidate their operations there with the construction of a new plant in 1990. Obviously, they didn’t need a rail siding to Makareao any more. They then sold the operations at Cormacks to Parkside Quarries, who continue to produce lime and stone. Here is the Cormacks works. The railway line used to go along the front of the site, and as it stands now, the route of the old branch would be inside the fence.

Holcim may have sold off its operations at Cormacks, but it now seeks to establish a new cement works right alongside. In railway geography terms it will be about halfway between Cormacks and Lorne stations. The industrial site is smack bang in the middle of that field you can see, and the limestone quarry will be in the escarpment right behind it. In order to get the cement out, Holcim has called for the reinstatement of the old Ngapara Branch as far as its site. This means that the line will have to come along the front of the old Taylors works at Cormacks, so they will have to move that fence back in to leave room. At this stage a decision as to whether to build the Weston cement works is still in the pipeline but is expected later this year, if it happens it will replace the Westport works which took over from Burnside when that closed in 1988.

Holcim also wants to establish a sand quarry at Windsor for the cement works. This sits right next to the old Tokarahi Branch and part of it will be used as an access road. This is roughly a view of the area where the quarry will be (here it is on an overhead).

The third part of the Holcim Weston Option equation is the opencast coalmine to be opened at Ngapara. The area has a previous history of coalmining which operated until about 1970. The mine is to be in the hills just north of Ngapara and coal will be trucked to the cement works.

When I was digging around I also became aware there was a small limeworks operating at Tokarahi. As seen here and here. About it I don’t know much else. We don’t know without further research whether there was any lime railed out of the area. There used to be a Pringles limeworks in the area for many years. Was it the same site? This one looks like a small scale operation at least for the present. There is a Tokarahi Lime company based in the township below this hill, which is listed in a business directory as having 1-4 employees.

Remnants of the Ngapara and Tokarahi Branches Today

The Ngapara Branch left the Main South Line at Waiareka Junction, the first station south of Oamaru. This line was constructed for the usual rural development reasons, as well as traffic of lime which is still produced in the area today. Work on construction began 1874 and the 24 km of track was completed three years later. The branch was cut back to Cormacks, continuing to serve a local limeworks, in 1959, and was closed outright in 1997. There is a proposal under consideration at present to construct a new cement works at Weston, the first station up the line. This would utilise Cormacks limestone and so require the reinstatement of the line to there. Coal for the plant would be mined at Ngapara and sand quarried at Windsor, both of which were stations on the full branch line, although there has as yet not been any suggestion of relaying the full length of track to these locations.

The Tokarahi Branch joined onto the Ngapara Branch at Windsor Junction and headed south and west for a distance of 19 km. It was opened also in 1877 and closed in the depression in 1930. This line was originally intended to go to Livingstone, a few km further on from the final terminus. Due to the fact that it closed 80 years ago, relatively little is known about the Tokarahi Branch, and the first three editions of the NZ Railway and Tramway Atlas failed to show any intermediate stations, while all editions to date only show one of the two tunnels that were constructed on the route.

View Larger Map

We begin our journey on Weston Road railway overbridge, crossing over the Main South Line at Waiareka. Looking north, we can see the branch formation curving around to the left. You should drive west from here 100 metres to the insection of Saleyards Road and then head north for another 100 metres to the former level crossing. The formation is easily seen, especially on the west side. Turn around and return to Weston Road, heading west. In the Weston township you can access the formation at former crossing sites in Essex Street, Gordon Street and Main Street; rail is still embedded in the road at the latter two. After crossing the formation at Main Street, continue north following a curve to the left onto Weston Ngapara Road. Weston was formerly the site of a limeworks and the location while unconfirmed could be in the Meek Street area alongside the railway route. Continuing west on the main road, 1 km further on the railway, very clearly visible as a raised embankment, approaches and  crosses over from the left side. 500 metres further on, you come to the Cormacks limeworks. The road dips as it approaches the works, leaving the rail embankment high above the road level. As the embankment gives way to farmland,  you can see that the rail route has diverged from the road, going close in to the hills. This situation lasts for about 3 km, when the route comes back towards the road to another crossing, which was via an overhead road bridge. This remains largely intact at the north side of the road, because the roading authorities chose to straighten the road by bypassing the bridge completely, cutting through the rail formation in the process. The formation is seen gradually curving away as you continue west on the main road.

A little further on there was a medium sized bridge, although nothing remains today. The road then takes a 1 km diversion away from the railway, during which you pass Coal Pit Road on the right, while immediately opposite the intersection you can see, apparently, the relocated Enfield goods shed and station. The road then sweeps left again to rejoin the railway on a long right hand curve where the formation was hard up against the left hand edge just outside Enfield. You can see another level crossing at Wellington Street. Continuing west on Weston Ngapara Road, the routes diverge rapidly and separate by as much as 1 km, although side trips are possible down Elderslie and Pine Hill Roads, the latter leading you to the general vicinity of Elderslie station. Further along the main road, Pig Island Road provides another optional diversion, while Windsor Road is recommended because it takes you to the eponymous station, which was the junction of the Tokarahi Branch. Turn right into Peaks Road and you can view the station area and the nearby junction. Head back to the main road and continue westward. Finlays Road on the left brings you to the site of Corriedale station. The road and rail remain separate by about 300 metres until the main road closes in at Queens Flat, the railway clearly seen after an S bend in the road. A small culvert is possibly seen at the approach to QF station. The rail now remains right alongside on the left of the road all the rest of the way to Ngapara. As you enter the township an old flour mill is on the right. I believe that the station itself was located just on the far side of Tokarahi Ngapara Road, alongside Railway Street.

You should now continue south/west on this road about 6 km to the triangular intersection at Island Cliff with Island Cliff-Duntroon Road. Continue on T N Road as it takes a left turn, heading south. After 1.5 km you come to the point where the Tokarahi Branch crossed this road. The Island Cliff railway station was in the trees on the south side of the road. Continue another 3 km to Tokarahi with the rail line just out to your right, on the way observing stone culvert abutments. The terminus was apparently in a paddock alongside some houses. Livingstone is about another 5 km due west. Continue on T N Road for another 300 metres to the intersection of Tokarahi Tapui Road and take the slightly left turn to the south. After about 1 km the road turns through 90 degrees to head east, and a further 2 km on, as the road dips down towards a signposted S bend, you see the rail route again in a cutting to the right. The line then curves around to run alongside the road as it zig-zags up the hill, clearly seen in cutting in the vicinity of Tapui station, where a house which may have a railway heritage remains. At the intersection with Cants Road continue on the right, crossing the formation after another 100 metres. Rail and road now diverge but the formation is visible at times higher up the hill by the lines of trees it follows. Drive 2.5 km to the intersection of Conlans Road and proceed up the hill about 500 metres to the point where it crosses over the top of the No.2 Tapui Tunnel. Continue up the hill to Peaks Road and turn right, driving another 3 km to the intersection of Tunnel Road, and proceeding another 1 km downhill to an S bend which crosses over the top of the No.1 Rakis Tunnel. This route should, in theory, give you good views of the railway formation below. Then continue down Tunnel Road to Victoria Hill Road and turn left into it. The rail route is further up the hill and is not too close until you approach Windsor, where it is seen sweeping round a couple of long bends as it runs towards the junction. Turn left into Peaks Road to view the station site, junction and a few hundred metres of the Tokarahi Branch until it disappears around the first bend.   

Remnants of the Dunback and Makareao Branches Today

The Dunback Branch left the Main South Line at Palmerston and headed inland to its eponymous terminus 14.2 km inland. Opened in 1885, the line was originally expected to head into Central Otago but these plans did not eventuate and it remained as a short branch until it was closed in 1968 beyond Inch Valley. This station had in 1900 been connected with another branch of 4 km to lime works at Makareao and this “Inch Valley Railway”, which took in the entire length from Palmerston after 1968, was later renamed the Makareao Branch. This line became known for the “stone trains” of limestone being hauled down to the Milburn Cement works at Burnside (Dunedin), which constituted the entire traffic of the branch in later years. After the Clyde Dam was completed in the mid 1980s, the output of the cement works declined significantly and it was closed at the end of 1988. Trains on the branch were suspended at the same time, and formal closure occurred on 1 June 1989.

The Makareao Branch is one of the few branches I have examined to have had substantial bridge structures left after the track was lifted. I photographed many of the bridges between the first crossing of SH 85 and Inch Valley in 1999, when I traced the line in detail. All of the bridges on the line were wooden beamed right up to the time that it closed; unlike many other branches, steel girders never made any appearance on this route. This probably accounts for the exclusive use of DI and DJ locomotives with their light axle loading on the stone trains in the diesel era. Most of the bridges were wooden beams and piers, but some had stone piers. Beyond Inch Valley there appear to be no bridge remnants on either line; the first bridge up to Makareao, the lengthy crossing of the Shag River, stood for several years after closure but was demolished in the mid 1990s; the second much smaller bridge appears to be gone as well. On the upper Dunback route, what bridge sites you can find are just abutments, including a small bridge or culvert in the Dunback yard. With the passage of time, it is of course likely that most of the bridge remains will disappear.

View Larger Map

Beginning at Palmerston railway station, you should drive north on SH1 for about 400 metres to the intersection of Stour Street, which crosses the highway on a north-south alignment. The branch line left the MSL about 50 metres before this intersection and curved around to cross SH1 on the far side of the road and then follow its eastern side. A slight embankment hump can be seen alongside the road approaching East Otago High School. At the school entrance is an old semaphore railway signal, resited, which may have been the old home signal for the branch, which if there was one, would have been close by. The embankment becomes very prominent after Brough Street and the first bridge is located near the road bridge a few hundred metres further on, which in April 2010 still had the beams in place, well hidden in the trees. The line continued straight along Stour St and crossed Factory Road, whereafter it curved around westward and crossed a second bridge which appears to have been removed (no public access). You should turn left and drive along Burraness Street towards SH85 and turn right. The road takes a slight left hand bend after about 300 metres and the railway converged from the right, about 100 metres away in this view of the vicinity of a small bridge, which was still in place in December 2007. After another 300 metres the railway crossed SH85 at a small angle and then curved to run along the left hand side. Both approaches are currently used as farm tracks. Hughes Road intersects on the left 100 metres further on, just beyond which the No.4 bridge can be seen, largely intact. 400 metres further on. Bridge No.5 can be seen opposite Switchback road. If you drive down Switchback Road you may see on the left the possible site of a ballast pit just before crossing the river, which was in use for gravel extraction in 2007. The first part of the Dunback Branch was originally built to access ballast reserves alongside the river in this vicinity, which would have required connecting sidings, the routes of which have not been determined.

Continuing north-west on SH85, the railway route is diverging from the highway at this location and the next bridge site is hidden behind a house, the route then closes into the road as the valley narrows. As the road veers right the railway was right alongside on the left, following a line of greenery. The stockyards 200 metres further on are at the site of Meadowbank, the first station after Palmerston; the railway formation is the dirt track in the foreground. About 500 metres past Meadowbank, the remains of No.7 Bridge can be seen to the left. The river this crossed could have been another possible ballast source; there is a hypothetical pit site about 100 metres away on the east side of the highway. Road and rail continue to run close alongside up past the intersection of Munro Road and McElwee Road, with a crossing fence still visible on the latter. About 250 metres further on, you come to the site of Bridge No.8, well hidden in the weeds. The formation is now clearly just behind the fence as you continue north-east on Highway 85. A side road at a slight angle on the right leads to a site that possibly could have been a ballast pit. Just before a left hand curve in the road, you pass the site of Glenpark station, followed closely by the site of No.9 Bridge, which still has the beams and a centre pier in place. The hills close in fairly quickly after this point and the road and rail stay close together, the latter becoming a farm track hemmed in behind a fence as the routes pass through a spectacular limestone formation. About 500 metres further on you pass the intersection of Craig Road on the right, the rail rises above the road and a solid stone culvert can be seen under it. Further limestone formations are seen just beyond the railway here, along with further cuttings becoming more necessary as the hills close in. About 300 metres after the intersection of Blair Athol Road on the left, the road crosses the signposted Downlands Creek, with the old railway bridge No.10, now decked over for farm access, clearly visible on the left. As the road exits the S bend you are now approaching the site of Inch Valley Junction, 500 metres further on. As you approach the southern end of the station there appears to be another stone culvert passing under the formation. Inch Valley is denoted by a widening of the formation, there otherwise being little to see here with most of the remnants that could be seen ten years ago having disappeared, such as the loading bank that used to be present here. In NZR days, Inch Valley had a siding connected to it which led to a ballast pit, and this was probably the large gravel pits behind the poplars directly opposite the station in the river bed, although I haven’t confirmed this.

As you leave Inch Valley on SH85, the road takes a left hand bend. The railway passes through a small cutting along the side of the hill, and then just as the road begins to curve, the branch to Makareao curved away to the right, crossing the highway and heading for the river. On the left, the line continued on towards Dunback. As the highway approaches a 90 degree curve, the railway veers further left, the embankment clearly visible as it curves to follow the road. As the valley narrows, the formation rises above the level of the road and then, as the road begins a sharp curve to the right, the railway route enters a rock cutting. At the inside of this curve, the line emerges onto solid stone retaining walls right alongside the road (2). Road and rail both pass through further rock outcrops and then the rail route becomes an embankment again on a right hand curve. As the road straightens, the formation continues to curve round to a crossing over the road, just before this you may see what appears to be an old crossing gate opposite a signposted rest area. About 600 metres past the SH85 crossing you may be able to see bridge remains in the riverbed next to a highway culvert; aside from this there is very little trace of the railway on the north side of the highway. At a long right hand curve on the road you can see the old road on the left, and I recommend you make a stop to view a solid stone arched single lane bridge that used to be part of the highway. You may also find rail bridge remains on the opposite side of the highway.  As you pass the intersection of Domain Road on the right, the rail formation becomes distinctly visible again on the right side of the road and is now seen clearly for the last 500 metres into Dunback. As you approach the station you can see a loading bank in the yard along with a railway house next to the road. You may be able to spot a bridge abutment just past the house. Continuing past what appears to be the local war memorial on the left, make a right turn into Murphy Road to view the end of the rail yard including stockyards and another loading bank.

Now retrace your steps, heading back east on SH85. After about 700 metres, take the left hand turn into Domain Road, crossing over the Shag River. 300 metres further on, turn right into Grange Hill Road, then 350 metres further take a left hand turn into Limekiln Road. After another 2.7 km the road crosses a small bridge over a gravel riverbed and then turns sharply left, bringing you directly alongside the Makareao Branch formation on your right. As the road approaches the limeworks, the formation is incorporated into the road. There are substantial historic remnants of the limeworks at this site, but it is on private land. As you return back down Limekiln road, you should be able to see the formation separate as it drops down a steep 1 in 35 gradient. The grade from Inch Valley was relentless between the first bridge and the limeworks, apart from a short level stretch for the second bridge. As you reach the road bridge, you may care to walk 500 metres down the stream bed to reach the site of the second rail bridge, although there appears to be little to see today. When you reach the intersection of Grange Hill Road, turn left this time and head down the Shag River valley on the opposite side from the highway and Dunback Branch. After about 800 metres go right to cross the Shag River (the straight ahead route is a dead end that heads into a gravel pit). After the right turn, turn left back onto Highway 85. Now drive about 500 metres towards Palmerston and take a left hand turn into McLew Road to cross over the Makareao Branch formation after 150 metres. Continue on the road to make a left hand turn onto a farm access road just after the bridge and drive about 300 metres to the east abutment of the 15-span Bridge No.1, of which only the abutments remain. On the near side (the road has been cut through the embankment) you can see the line disappearing up the grade towards Makareao as it approaches a pair of cuttings.