Hedgehope Branch - Misplaced Pages

Branch railway line in the South Island of New Zealand

Hedgehope Branch

					Kingston Branch

					Kingston Branch
				4 km	Devereux Road
				5 km	Kings
				9 km	Browns
				9 km	Browns Branch 1966
				14 km	Hokonui
				16 km	Springhills Siding
				19 km	Mako
				21 km	Hedgehope

Map

The Hedgehope Branch, also known as the Browns Branch, was a branch line railway in Southland, New Zealand that started life in the 1880s as a privately owned bush tramway. It opened as a railway in 1899 and operated until 1968, though the section beyond Browns closed in 1953. It connected with the national rail network in Winton on the Kingston Branch.

Construction

In 1883, the Forest Hill Tramway was established and a line that ran eight kilometres west of Winton to settlers in the Browns Gap area was constructed. Although the line was not particularly successful, the Hokonui Coal Company extended it in 1886 to serve their coal mining operations near the settlement of Hokonui. The tramway was built to standards far inferior to those of a railway, and the decision to upgrade was made in the 1890s. In 1896, the Makarewa River was bridged, and over the next three years, the old tramway was rebuilt to railway standards and the line was extended to Hedgehope. The line was completed in 1899 and was handed over to the government's Railways Department in time for the grand opening on 17 July 1899.

Stations

The following stations were located on the Hedgehope Branch (in brackets is the distance from Winton):

Devereux Road (4 km)
Kings (5 km)
Browns (9 km)
Hokonui (14 km)
Springhills Siding (16 km)
Mako (19 km)
Hedgehope (21 km)

Operation

The line's passenger services barely lasted three decades, with cancellation coming on 9 February 1931. Unlike most branches in Southland, the Hedgehope Branch had significant industrial traffic, mainly coal and agricultural lime, and trains ran five days a week. The line was losing money by 1930, and despite staff cuts, the losses were relatively the same in 1952. As most of the lime traffic came from the stations of Kings and Browns, the section beyond Browns to Hedgehope was accordingly closed on 24 December 1953. Roughly 75,000 tonnes of lime was being railed off the branch annually until 1959, when government incentives for farmers to transport lime via rail were slashed. The line failed to survive the next problem to strike its lime trade. A significant quantity of lime was railed up the Tokanui Branch, but when it closed in early 1966, the Browns Branch saw its traffic almost evaporate. After struggling through the rest of the year and 1967, it was closed on 1 January 1968.

Today

There is very little left of the Hedgehope Branch, with both nature and human development removing most interesting traces. Some of the formation is faintly visible, but only one substantial remnant can be found - the truss bridge across the Makarewa River, converted to allow access to a farm. Otherwise, no goods sheds, loading banks, disused rails, or other railway structures and objects remain. Discernible flat areas are all that is left of the yards that once existed in the termini of Browns and Hedgehope.

References

Citations

^ Churchman & Hurst 2001, p. 211.
^ Bromby 2003, p. 100.
^ Leitch & Scott 1995, p. 122.

Bibliography

Bromby, Robin (2003). Rails that built a Nation: An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand Railways. Wellington: Grantham House. ISBN 1-86934-080-9.
Churchman, Geoffrey B; Hurst, Tony (2001) . The Railways of New Zealand: A Journey through History (Second ed.). Transpress New Zealand. ISBN 0-908876-20-3.
Leitch, David; Scott, Brian (1995). Exploring New Zealand's Ghost Railways (1998 ed.). Grantham House. ISBN 1-86934-048-5.
Mulligan, Barbara (2000). New Zealand Rail Trails: A Guide to 42 Ghost Lines. Wellington: Grantham House Publishing. pp. 211–215. ISBN 978-1-86934-126-8.

New Zealand railway lines

Main lines

North Island	East Coast Main Trunk North Island Main Trunk (inc. Kapiti Line)
South Island	Main North Line and Main South Line (inc. Lyttelton Line), known together as the South Island Main Trunk

Secondary lines

North Island	Marton–New Plymouth line Newmarket Line North Auckland Line Palmerston North–Gisborne Line Stratford–Okahukura Line Wairarapa Line (inc. Hutt Valley Line)
South Island	Midland Line Nelson Section Otago Central Railway Stillwater–Ngākawau Line Waimea Plains Railway

Branch lines

Upper North Island	Cambridge Dargaville Donnellys Crossing Glen Afton Kinleith Kumeu–Riverhead Manukau Mount Maunganui Murupara Okaihau Onehunga Onerahi Opua Rotorua Tāneatua Thames Waiuku and Mission Bush
Lower North Island	Ahuriri Castlecliff Foxton Gracefield Greytown Johnsonville Melling Mount Egmont Moutohora Ngatapa Opunake Raetihi Taonui Te Aro Waitara Wanganui
Upper South Island	Blackball and Roa Cape Foulwind Conns Creek Eyreton Fairlie Ferrymead Little River Methven Mount Somers Oxford Rapahoe Rewanui Hokitika/Ross Seddonville Southbridge Waiau Waimate Whitecliffs
Lower South Island	Bluff Catlins River Dunback and Makareao Fernhill Hedgehope Kingston Kurow Moeraki Mossburn Ngapara and Tokarahi Outram Port Chalmers Roxburgh Shag Point Tapanui Tokanui Tuatapere Waikaia Waikaka Wairio Walton Park Wyndham

Private lines

Under construction

City Rail Link

Significant proposals

Bold represents lines used by passenger trains, Italics indicates lines which are now closed.
See also: New Zealand railway museums and heritage lines

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