Weka Pass Railway

A 428 at Glenmark Station

The Weka Pass Railway is a New Zealand heritage railway based in Waipara, North Canterbury. It is operated on a 12 km length of the former Waiau Branch railway between Waipara and Waikari. The railway is operated by an incorporated society whose members come from all walks of life and are largely resident in the city of Christchurch, 60 km to the south. The railway began carrying passengers in 1984 and is now well established locally and nationally.

History

Beginnings

See Waiau Branch for more details

The first stage of the Waiau Branch line inland through the Weka Pass to Waikari was completed in 1882. This area is noted for its scenery and the railway passes through many large cuttings, around tight curves and on steep gradients (max 1 in 47). When originally built the line was expected to be part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway north of the city of Christchurch. Further sections of the line through Hawarden, Medbury, Balmoral, Pahau, Culverden, Achray, Rotherham and Waiau were constructed in subsequent years. The line was officially opened to Medbury in 1884 and to Culverden in 1886 but the final section to Waiau was not completed until 1919. In the 1920s the decision was made to take the Main North Line on a coastal route north out of Waipara. The Main North Line, which involved major earthworks and many engineering difficulties, was not completed until 1945.

The Waiau Branch suffered the fate of many rural branch lines in later years as increasing competition from road transport saw a decline in traffic carried. For many years the railways were protected from this competition by mileage limits; as these were gradually increased, more and more branches were closed. The branch had a short reprieve in its twilight years when large amounts of logs were carried from the Balmoral forest. Closure occurred in January 1978.

Following the closure the line gradually decayed. All of the track remained in place except for the removal of a level crossing at Waikari where the road crossed State Highway 7. Some of the station buildings were removed or demolished soon after the closure. The mainline connection along with some of the associated sidings remained in place at Waipara and the line was occasionally used as a backshunt when long trains were crossed there. The national railway union banned the removal of the track for a period of five years after the closure. However tenders were called for the first demolition work in August 1982. That part of the line which was not purchased for preservation was lifted in stages around 1982/83, including the large bridges at the Hurunui and Pahau Rivers.

Formation

A public meeting at Waipara in August 1982 saw a steering committee established to investigate the Weka Pass Railway proposal. There had been interest from a number of people in preserving part of this old branch line particularly in the scenic Weka Pass. The impetus came from local Waipara people who saw the tourist potential, and railway enthusiasts, many drawn from the Ferrymead Railway. The Society was formally established in December of that year. The new group began negotiating with NZ Railways and other parties to purchase track, locomotives, rolling stock and other facilities. In May 1983 the first major public event the "Mayfair" was held and featured the operation of locomotives and rolling stock from Ferrymead and McLeans Island Steamscene. December 1983 saw the arrival of the first of the locomotives and rolling stock. The society also negotiated the purchase of the first 30 km of the branch line from Waipara to the south bank of the Hurunui River. In 1984 the society began to operate trains in its own right on the first 2 km of the line, later extended to Frog Rock. Later that year the historic steam locomotive K 88 operated passenger trains on the line. By April 1985 passengers were able to be carried by train to Herberts Crossing where trolleys and an inspection car operated to Waikari. Train running was extended to Waikari by December of that year.

The Railway suffered a major setback in 1986 when heavy rain damaged the line in a number of places. It was decided to close the line for major repairs. Also at this time the future of the line beyond Waikari, at which it was bisected by the state highway where the track had been removed, was reassessed. Over the next two years the members decided to lift all of the track beyond Waikari. Major repair works and earthworks were also carried out between Waipara and Waikari to remedy longstanding problems resulting from ground movement and slipping. Extensive track repairs included the use of salvaged materials from the lifted portion of line. By April 1987 trains were again running to the 5.5 km peg. The railway's first station at Glenmark (Waipara) was then under construction. Track removal beyond Waikari began in 1986 at Medbury and continued back to Waikari where this work was finally completed in 1991.

Consolidation

The second decade of the Weka Pass Railway has been one largely of consolidation of the previous work, rather than major developments. One of its biggest achievements was the restoration of steam locomotive A 428 which was completed in 1993. An ongoing activity during that era has been the continued track refurbishment which saw the line reopened in stages, reaching Frog Rock in 1991 and Herberts Crossing in 1992. A massive reconstruction of the formation and track at Waikari, together with the purchase and erection of another station building, saw the line finally reopened in 1999, at which time it was also formally opened. The 1990s also saw the development of the popular and successful Waipara Vintage Festivals, which have been held every two years since 1995 and have featured locomotives and rolling stock from around New Zealand.

Infrastructure

Track and buildings

Glenmark Station at Waipara

The Weka Pass Railway owns approximately 13 km of branch line track between Waipara and its terminus at Waikari. Station buildings, yards and associated facilities have been constructed at Glenmark (Waipara) and Waikari, the latter including a turntable. The 1939 Waikari station is a standard class A station, moved from Hundalee.^[1] There is also a depot located in the old Waipara railyard where an engine shed, carriage repair depot and hall are located along with various storage sidings. The railway also has a connection to the Main North Line via the Waipara crossing loop. Signalling equipment has been installed at Waipara station along with tablet machines. A system using telephones and VHF radio communication with their own repeater controls the operations of trains on the line.A new turntable at the Waipara end of the line was commissioned in 2009, enabling the locomotive to be turned to face the correct way at each end of the preserved railway. A new raised water vat at Waipara is in use.

Locomotives and rolling stock

The railway presently owns four locomotives, all formerly owned by the New Zealand Government Railways, and a large fleet of ex-NZR rolling stock.

Dg 791 and DE 1429 (at the back) with another shuttle train for the 2016 Waipara Vintage Festival.

NZR Steam locomotives

NZR Diesel locomotives

Carriages

Viewing Cars

Vans

Wagons

Rolling stock formerly owned by the railway

A& G Price 198 of 1960, a small 0-4-0DM diesel shunting locomotive, was donated by Kempthorne Prosser Fertiliser to the railway in 1985. The locomotive, designated as Model 8 by Prices, was a small diesel-hydraulic 15-ton shunting locomotive developing 107 hp, similar to the ten Prices '15-tonner' T^R 0-4-0DH shunting locomotives sold to NZR in 1955. It had previously worked at the KP Hornby works, where it had displaced ex-NZR 2-4-0T steam locomotive D 140 (now operating at Ferrymead).

Unfortunately, Price 198 was of little use; it only made one run at Waipara in 1985 when it was re-railed on the Waipara triangle (it promptly derailed) before it shunted A 428 into the new shed. It was stored at the back of the Waipara loco depot/workshops until 1995, by which time D^SA 276 had arrived and entered into service. With the little locomotive of no use, Weka Pass received approval from Ravensdown Fertiliser (who had taken over Kempthorne Prosser) to sell the locomotive to The Plains Railway in Ashburton, who have since restored it in NZR livery as 'T^R 119'.^[2][3] It is not however an NZR loco; NZR never had a T^R 119 on its roster, and 198 is externally different from the '15-tonner' T^R class as built.

In 1988, the railway purchased the inoperable hulk of D^G 783 (TMS DG 2376, EE2287/D366 of 1955) from the New Zealand Railways Corporation. The locomotive, originally built as a mechanically similar D^H, had been purchased on withdrawal by Roger Redward in 1983 for his proposed 'Southern Rail' museum along with another D^G, D^G 790 (TMS DG 2451, EE2294/D373 of 1955). In 1988 NZR repossessed the Southern Rail collection in lieu of payment for the lease of NZR land by the group.

While DG 2451 was cut up in 1990 by Sims Pacific Metal, the hulk of DG 2376 was sold to Weka Pass for spare parts. When D^G 791 was found to have a cracked bogie bolster in the early 1990s, one from the remains of DG 2376 was used to replace the damaged assembly (trains were kept running by the use of D^G 772 from the Diesel Traction Group at Ferrymead).

In 2005, rumours began circulating that DG 2376 was on the move again. In reality, the locomotive had been purchased by two enthusiasts and it was moved to Ferrymead that year. Restoration has been slow, but part of the locomotive has been repainted in the 'International Orange' livery, which 2376 seems never to have worn. The damaged leading bogie (containing the cracked bolster from 791) has been removed for repairs and at present the loco is supported by an old goods wagon bogie. It is also believed that the owners wish to fit it with a rebuilt cab from one of ten locomotives rebuilt in 1979/80, and that the finished loco will be based in Wellington.

The group previously also owned a Plasser and Theurer type 04 tamper formerly owned by the NZRC. This was purchased in the 1980s, but it was found to be temperamental, and prone to trouble. While it could operate, parts frequently worked loose or broke; instead of operating on its own, it was often pushed or pulled along with the work train rather than run it on its own. Laid up by the workshops in the late 1980s, another member began to restore it with more reliable operation in mind before his untimely death in 1993. With no-one interested in the tamper, it was stripped for spare parts (for other groups) and the remains scrapped. Since then, it has been easier to hire a Tranz Rail/Toll Rail/KiwiRail tamper and regulator for any maintenance work.

References

External links

• Weka Pass Railway website
• Waiau Branch