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Waiuku and Mission Bush Branches

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Railway branch in Auckland

Waiuku and Mission Bush Branches
NZR J class locomotives on the Glenbrook Vintage Railway near Waiuku
Overview
StatusOpen to Mission Bush, Waiuku branch partially open as Glenbrook Vintage Railway (GVR)
OwnerKiwiRail
Termini
  • Paerata
  • Mission Bush (Glenbrook Steel Mill)
    Waiuku (GVR)
Service
Operator(s)KiwiRail (to Mission Bush)
Rolling stockNone
History
Opened10 May 1922 (Waiuku)
7 October 1968 (Mission Bush)
Closed31 December 1967 (Glenbrook to Waiuku)
Technical
Line length17.09 km (10.62 mi) Pukekohe - Mission Bush
18.08 km (11.23 mi) Pukekohe - Waiuku
Number of tracksSingle
CharacterRural
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Route map

Legend
North Island Main Trunk
← Waitematā │ Wellington →
(Mission Bush Branch)
Paerata Road (SH 22)
Beatty Road
Heights Road
Schlaepfer Road
Hart Road
Patumahoe Road
Mauku Road
Pilgrim Road
Somerville Road
Glenbrook Station Road Glenbrook
(Waiuku Branch)
Glenbrook Road Morley Road
Brookside Road Pukeoware Road
Mission Bush Road Shakespeare Road
Glenbrook Steel Mill Cornwall Road
Fernleigh
Kitchener Road
Waiuku Stream
Waiuku
This diagram:
Map

The Waiuku and Mission Bush Branches are two branches on the New Zealand railway network which are closely linked. The Mission Bush Branch connects the North Island Main Trunk railway to the Glenbrook Steel Mill.

History

Proposed as early as 1880, and surveyed along a more southerly alignment in 1883, the branch line to Waiuku was finally authorised in 1912, following the election of William Massey, the local MP for Waiuku, as Prime Minister. The first sod was turned on 19 February 1914, in a ceremony at Waiuku. Progress was slow, and the branch did not open until 5 January 1922, with more work to finish until the line was fully open. The line was not very profitable, and passenger services were withdrawn on 17 July 1948, being replaced by buses.

In 1966 it was announced a new 5.5 km (3.4 mi) spur line would be built from Glenbrook to the New Zealand Steel steel mill at Mission Bush. Traffic continued to decline, until the line was closed on 31 December 1967 to Waiuku. The construction of the steel mill was the line's saviour. The spur line to the steel mill was opened on 7 October 1968.

The remaining section from Glenbrook to Waiuku was in the process of being lifted until it was taken over by the Glenbrook Vintage Railway. The line has been extended into Waiuku following the old branch as far as the last curve where it deviates. The line presently terminates at Victoria Avenue in Waiuku, a short walk from the centre of the town, with plans the eventually terminate the line at the Tamakai reserve, next to the old wharf.

The extension to Victoria Ave was completed by Easter of 2010 with the first passenger carrying train running on the line on 3 April 2010, hauled by J 1250. The extension was officially opened to the public on Labour Weekend (23 October 2010) by Kevin Lawrence, former Waiuku Borough Mayor, and Len Brown, Mayor of Auckland.

Services

Services currently consist of five trains per day. Inbound trains include bulk lime and coal trains; outbound trains carry export steel to the Port of Tauranga.

See also

References

Citations

  1. "RAILWAY COMMISSION (REPORT OF.) Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives — 1880 Session I — E-03 Page XVI". atojs.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  2. "RAILWAY TO WAIUKU. NEW ZEALAND HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 4 January 1922. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  3. "Stations" (PDF). NZR Rolling Stock Lists. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  4. ^ Churchman & Hurst 2001, p. 102.
  5. "WAIUKU RAILWAY OPEN. NEW ZEALAND HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 6 January 1922. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  6. "New Railway to Serve New Zealand Steel Mill". New Zealand Railway Observer. 23 (107). New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society: 34. Autumn 1966. ISSN 0028-8624.
  7. "North Island Master Plan". Retrieved 16 April 2023.

Bibliography

New Zealand railway lines
Main lines
North Island
South IslandMain North Line and Main South Line (inc. Lyttelton Line), known together as the South Island Main Trunk
Secondary lines
North Island
South Island
Branch lines
Upper
North Island
Lower
North Island
Upper
South Island
Lower
South Island
Private lines
Under construction
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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