Remnants of the Waimate Branch Today

The first part of this line is rather unremarkable: it ran inland from its Main South Line junction for 7.4 km to the eponymous township and was opened in 1877. It is the more distant part of this railway that creates the most interest; built by a private company, it included a section of formation that was never completed and had no track laid. This gorge section closed first, in 1953, the main part of the line following in 1966.

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The line branched from the Main South Line at Studholme; it curved around and crossed State Highway 1 very shortly thereafter. It then ran in a nearly straight line westerly to Waimate. The route is followed by a line of power poles and is easily spotted as a fenced off area on both sides of SH1. It is probably best from here to drive into Waimate and pick up the line where it passed behind the cemetery and crossed McNamaras Road. The line then passed the racecourse and crossed Gorge Road before approaching the station yard, at which site there are now no traces. Departing town you should travel south on SH82, the railway soon converges on the right side. 2.5 km south of Waimate the routes enter the gorge, the terrain bringing them much closer together. The railway formation is now on the far side of the stream as it meanders its way through the gorge until exiting at Arno. The road now curves around to the west and crosses the railway which continues more or less south. You should turn left off the highway into Kapua Road just before the crossing and the railway will now be on your right about 400 metres away. A bridge is close to the line of the formation about 500 metres south of Arno and may be an ex railway structure. At the intersection with Kapua School Road, turn right into this road to encounter the McLeans station site and level crossing after 150 metres. Continue north on this road to rejoin the highway, turning left at the intersection. The railway soon comes in from the left as the road dips down through a river terrace. As you continue west the railway is about 150 metres out to your left. After you cross the Waihao River bridge, the road takes a sweeping left hand bend to go southerly, and soon brings you to the intersection of Mount Harris Road, into which you should turn. As you head back north-east, the railway is encountered right alongside the road and after about three hundred metres you come to the site of the Waihao Forks station. Returning to the highway, head west and the railway is on your left, running along the foot of the hills. At the far end of the hills you can see the Waihao Downs goods shed still on its original site.

Beyond Waihao Downs, further formation work was constructed which never had any rails laid on it, with the aim of reaching Waihaorunga, a locality some 12 km to the north-west. I have marked out a hypothesised route on the map in green, based on what appears to be formation viewed from Google Earth, along with hypothetical station sites. The route probably came right alongside SH82 just before the four way intersection (Turners Rd & Serpentine Valley Rd) and then crossed the highway and turned sharply northward along the west edge of Serpentine Valley Road. After about 500 metres the route crossed Serpentine Valley Road and continued on the north side of it, with significant formation work clearly visible from above, 500 metres from the road. Passing through the locality of Douglas, Bridge Road gives access to some of the formation and a hypothesised station site. It appears the route then turned back towards S.V. Rd and possibly “terminated” at a hypothesised station site near the intersection with Elephant Back Rd. As no further formation traces have been determined with any reasonable certainty, it appears likely that no work was undertaken beyond this point.

Remnants of the Waiau Branch Today

Continuing with the series of articles exploring remnants of NZ’s ghost railways, today we are going to have a look at the Waiau Branch in North Canterbury. These articles are intended to be used in conjunction with other sources such as NZRTA and L&S. They are complementary to these sources. I will not repeat in this article all the information that is found in these other sources. This is just a commentary on the features that can be identified on the maps I have drawn, and draws upon the other sources and hopefully adds to them. We also do know that L&S can be somewhat stilted in places due to the size limitation of the published book so some information was omitted from it.

All of these articles reference a static map file edition that was current at the time the article was published. However as the maps continue to be updated, check the most current map by browsing the NZ Rail Maps website as information may have changed.

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The Waiau Branch is probably one I know more about than any other in New Zealand. The ghost railway is in two sections:

• Following the closure of the line, the Weka Pass Railway society bought the first half of the line from Waipara to the Hurunui River. The rest of the line was lifted.
• After Weka Pass Railway made a correct decision not to cross the road at Waikari, they lifted the 18 km of track that they owned but were not going to operate.

The Weka Pass Railway operates on the first 12 km of line from Glenmark to Waikari. We start at Waipara where the branch junction was. The Weka Pass Railway follows the original route from Waipara. The main change at Waipara that I can see is that a house has been built where the old turning triangle used to be.

The ghost railway starts at the road crossing at Waikari. The Weka Pass Railway station is on the east side and the ghost route starts on the west side. You can walk down the first part of the route to the NZR Waikari station site as it is a public walkway. It connects with a track leading to the Timpendean Maori Rock Drawing caves. There have been some changes at the Waikari yard with the opening of a new medical centre for the district. However, you may still be able to find some foundations of the old station building, the platform, the turntable pit at the engine depot, the old limeworks building, and the flour mill buildings which are now a private residence. Further on, some bridge remains may be visible from the main road as the line passes along a big curve that turns it from a westerly to a northerly heading. Some of the formation in this area may have been turned into public walking tracks. As the line approaches Hawarden, it comes right alongside the road and you may be able to see the remains of one or two small bridges here. The line then curves away from the road to enter the Hawarden station site, which can be reached on Waterloo St, accessed off the main road via High St. You may still be able to find remains of the former station building at Hawarden.

The line then headed north towards the next station, Medbury. Along the way it encountered the Waitohi River which was crossed by a long bridge. The main road is some distance away but you can access the route at three level crossings. Take the Horsley Downs Road north out of Hawarden and turn right at Bentleys Road. At the crossing site you may be able to see the remains of two small bridges to the south. Return to Horsley Downs Road and at the township, take the right hand turn onto Medbury Road. About 500 metres further on, take the right hand turn onto Gilberts Road. The crossing is the site of a former ballast pit that was used to develop the line during construction. The Waitohi River bridge site is 500 metres north of here. There are still bridge piles in the riverbed. Return to Medbury Road and drive north, taking a right hand bend after Peaks Road comes in on the left, now heading east alongside the forest. This will bring you to Medbury station site, which was actually on both sides of the road. On the south side you may be able to see the site of a bridge about 200 metres away. On the north side, where the main station facilities were, the old ballast pit which was turned into a road gravel pit has been excavated through the station so that there is almost nothing to see now. This pit has now closed and is grassed over. However, the old goods shed was moved into the farm property immediately east of the ballast pit and may still be seen. The Hurunui bridge site is 2 km north of Medbury. Shimmins Road runs part of the way to the bridge, but there might not be public access to the south side of the riverbank. There is nothing to be seen now at the Hurunui River. Continuing east on Medbury Road, the farm property on the south side about 500 metres east of the level crossing may still contain some of the old shelter sheds from the line’s smaller stations, which are visible from the road.

Continue on Medbury Road heading east to State Highway 7 and turn left, now heading north. About 100 metres after the Hurunui River bridge, turn left onto Balmoral Station Road. At the intersection of Hocking Road, this is the Balmoral station site. The station was on the south-west side of the road. If Hocking Road is publicly accessible, you may be able to drive about 4 km to the north bank of the Hurunui River. If there is public road access alongside the rail corridor heading north, and/or if you can get permission to enter private land between Balmoral and Pahau stations, at the north-west corner of the forest there are two old ballast pits and the remains of the Dry Creek Bridge, which may have been rebuilt for vehicle use. Returning to Balmoral Station Road, continue north-west for some 3 km to a T intersection and take a right turn onto Top Pahau Ford Road. 1 km further on take a right turn onto Long Plantation Road. After about 4 km the road veers around a patch of forest or bush and crosses the railway formation. The Pahau station site is on the south side of the crossing; there are no remains to be seen now. The railway made its third major river crossing at the Pahau River, 1.5 km north-east of the station. There does not appear to be public access to the site but it could be possible to get into the river bed at the main highway bridge 1.5 km downstream. There are no known remains at the bridge site. Continuing east on Long Plantation Road, turn left onto State Highway 7 after about 2.5 km. After you cross the Pahau River bridge, the railway line gradually veers in from the left. 3 km from the bridge, you reach Culverden township, which was the railhead for a number of years and had an extensive yard. There is almost nothing left in the yard itself, but you can still drive into the public access road opposite Highfield Street. Heading north out of Culverden, the line is right on the left of the road, crossing School Road, passing an old ballast pit and crossing School Creek where bridge remains may still be visible. The site of another small bridge can be seen about 1 km further on. The line continued right next to the road as far as Red Post Corner, which was originally to be a railway junction for a line going inland from here. There is a T intersection here and you need to take a right hand turn onto Rotherham Road South. The railway line continues on your left with a clearly visible formation, passing the remains of another small bridge/culvert. An old pit site that might have had some railway connection is passed here. A small culvert is seen just beside two small trees growing on the old embankment.

As it approaches the Achray station site at the intersection of Flintoff Mouse Point Road and Beavens Road, the line veers away to the left along a line of trees. It then runs in a straight but diverging line towards Rotherham station. Hendersons Road gives access to the south end of the yard, but Heaton Street / Station Road at the north end is recommended because you may also be able to view a small concrete bridge just north of the crossing. I do not know if there is now any public access to the station site, but small loading banks and the station platform still remained at my last visit; the old station building lingered on for a number of years after closure but has now, I believe, been demolished. Heading north again on George St, which becomes Rotherham Road North, the road veers left on an S bend towards the railway, and then the two formations converge about 1 km north of the township. From here to Waiau both road and rail sit at the west side of a low line of hills. Just as the road comes alongside the railway onto a straight, you can see an old bridge on the left, which appears to be intact or rebuilt. The road and rail split as the road veers right passing along a shelter belt, the road then curves back to the left to rejoin the railway; a small culvert is just north of there, with others here and possibly here. Further on, just past a dip in the road and the site of an old road bridge on the right, you see the concrete piers and abutments of a three span bridge. There is another smaller old bridge site about 200 metres further on, and another culvert a little further. At the south end of the Waiau station yard both road and rail take a 60 degree bend around the toe of a hill. Just opposite a farm entrance at 138 Rotherham Road is the site of the former locomotive depot. At the site of the old station platform, an old loading bank can be seen alongside a small picnic area and informational plaque. Just past here, the most prominent relic is the old bulk lime loading silo. The track ended about 100 metres further on where a side road cuts past the end of it.

Remnants of the Moutohora Branch Today

This branch heading north-west from Gisborne was opened between 1902 and 1917. The early railway planners intended that Gisborne would be linked to the Bay of Plenty via the East Coast Main Trunk (hence its name) at Taneatua. Hence one of the first names for the section was the Gisborne-Rotorua via Opotiki Line. Later on it became the Gisborne Section. After the line from Wairoa was completed in 1943 it became the Moutohora Branch and finally was closed in 1959. I have decided to write this series of Remnants articles, as time permits, as a commentary to accompany the maps that I have drawn of the lines. The commentary will be brief; gaps can be filled in by examining the maps in closer detail.

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The line begins at Gisborne itself, the junction with the PNGL being at 1.7 km. Beyond this point the remaining section of the track to Makaraka is mothballed, the track and perhaps an odd small bridge or two still in place but disused. This part was originally retained to service siding traffic at Makaraka, and latterly the East Coast Museum of Technology. The track has ended by the time it reaches this bridge. Just on the far side of the creek is Makaraka Junction where the Ngatapa Branch turned away to the west. Continuing more northerly now, the route of the branch is delineated by parallel fencelines and occasional stretches of embankment as it heads in the direction of Te Karaka. At Ormond it parallels Domain Road at the rear of some houses. Little more is seen from there until Kaitaratahi as it skirts a loop in the Waipaoa River and then turns to cross it (unlike the Ngatapa Branch, there is no trace of the bridge today). Passing the township of Waipaoa with its disused freezing works, once crossing Scott Road the formation becomes much clearer than anywhere else so far, with little interference from agricultural activities. The route is now clearly seen on the overheads as it turns to run alongside McMillan Road, eventually crossing it on a distinctive curved embanked approach to Tunnel No.1. The line then turns easterly towards Te Karaka, paralleling the highway as it heads south-west on the outskirts of the township. As the open plains disappear and hills close in on the highway and railway, the second of the line’s tunnels is encountered (click here to see a Panoramio photo). Just west of the tunnel it appears some of the railway formation has been obliterated by a big slip. A little further on before Dymock Road the railway crossed the highway at a bend, continuing on the north side. The route reappears occasionally, running close to the highway in places, before becoming more visible at the approach to a bridge, worthy of closer examination as the extant structure  may turn out to be built on railway foundations. Just before Waikohu the line crossed the road and approached the yard by way of a road-rail bridge. 

Just after the next road bridge the railway route crossed the road again and continued on the north side, close at hand as the valley narrowed. As Mahaki is approached, the entrance to the Otoko walkway is reached. The highway formerly went in a tight loop on the north side of its present route and its bridge is still intact on private land. The line’s third tunnel took the railway under the former highway at the walkway entrance. West of here the route can be walked as the Otoko Walkway. There appears to be a site of a reasonable size bridge here. The remains of the Otoko Viaduct appear to be about here. The route then crosses to the south side of SH2 to reach Otoko; beyond here the highway uses the rail route for several kilometres until a divergence on a corner just past a stock bridge. After running very close northside of the road for a distance, the rail route crosses to be on the south side. It is generally close to the road except for a few locations where it diverges to follow the topography, one such place being just west of Cemetery Road where a noticeable curved embankment still exists. Formation is prominent as the line turns northerly on the approach to Rakauroa; the highway continues in this direction while the railway turned westward to reach the township’s station, crossing over Rakauroa Road on a bridge whose concrete pier can still be seen. After passing the station, the line began to climb to Matawai, employing substantial embankments and cuttings. At one point the present SH2 route is crossed by both legs of a notable horseshoe curve. The rail is then close to hand alongside the highway for about 1 km before turning away and passing through the sharply curved fourth tunnel. Road and rail then converge again at Matawai where the highway is left for the first time since Gisborne. Motu Road then follows the rail formation until 800 metres before the remains of the Motu Bridge, with the centre truss still present in the middle of the riverbed. The Moutohora terminus is another 500 metres further on.