Makatote Tramway

Makatote Tramway
Forest railway and steam-powered winch
Route of "Dinwoodie Timber Co's Tram", State Forest No. 42, Block VIII, Manganui, September 24, 1935
Route length:	approx. 1 km + 1.6 km
Gauge :	4 feet 1 inch = 1245 mm
Legend km 0 North Island Main Trunk Railway 0.1 Bulls - Taumarunui Road (today SH 4 ) 0.2 Sawmill 1 End of the left branch 1.6 End of the right branch

The Makatote Tramway was from the late 1920s until 1940, more than 2.6 km long forest railway network in Makatote on the North Island of New Zealand . It ran partly on steel and partly on wooden rails with a gauge of 4 feet 1 inches (1245 mm). It was operated by Dinwoodie's Timber Company with probably fewer than 10 employees.

Route

Freshly laid steel rails

The Makatote Tramway ran east of today's State Highway 4 about 10 km south of the village of National Park on the western border of the Tongariro National Park . The main line forked into two branches in an easterly and northeastern direction. Remains of steel and wooden rails are still there. Some pits and trenches were built for the steam-powered winches and as fire-fighting water reservoirs.

Main line

Only a few sleepers and rails have been preserved from the main line, but the route can still be guessed at. The wooden Totara rails of the main line with a cross-section of 3 × 6 inches (75 mm × 150 mm) were laid on roughly sawn logs of different diameters. The rails were attached to the sleepers with heavy metal nails, some of which are still preserved on site. The wooden rail sleepers were 4 feet (1219 mm) apart. The unusual 4 foot 1 inch (1245 mm) gauge is similar to that of Wellington's electric trams . The axis of a cart lies just before the switch at which the route branches in the forest.

Left branch line

The left branch line runs from the switch on the main line to the north. It has further branches to the east and west. The second junction to the west is particularly interesting because it still has rails and sleepers as well as a switch. It runs to a winch on which the name of the manufacturer S. Luke and Co Ltd, Wellington is cast. The frame of the winch has a clearly visible crack, which was repaired on site using a steel clamp. The left branch line forks at the former border between lots 10 and 11: From the LLHB line ( Left Left-hand Branch ), some sleepers and rails as well as the remains of two wooden back spaces , an embankment and two bridges have survived. The RLHB line ( Right Left-hand Branch ) runs from the switch to the east. It crossed two bridges and in sections consisted of billet dams . She led through partially preserved wooden rails to a wooden back seat and dorthinführenden aisles . Halfway there is a turnoff to the north.

Right branch line

The right branch line (RHB) rises slightly to the east, and there are now foreign trees on it. Then it turns to the northeast to some wood back places with the aisles leading there. It is overgrown in places, but there are still sections with wooden and metal rails, including a double-track passing point. There are also several bridges and junctions, two of which even crossed the river to the south, as well as trucks from trucks.

Licenses

The state license allowed the Dinwoodie Timber Company Limited "the land for the construction and operation described in the notes to cultivate a forest railway line and operate on a forest path." An accompanying map showed the history of the existing forestry line, the road from Bulls after Taumarunui (now State Highway 4) crossed to load the sawn timber onto the North Island Main Trunk . For aesthetic reasons, the Forestry Office received a 300 m wide strip of native bush along the road when it issued the license to harvest timber.

Dinwoodie had to transport seedlings and material for reforestation free of charge for the forestry department when the unloaded trucks drove back into the bush. In the 1930s, the forestry department planted giant exotic trees and Lawson's false cypresses on the clearings as part of a large-scale experiment . However, they cannot be harvested and recycled without damaging the historical and archaeological remains of the tram and are therefore slowly being overgrown by the native vegetation.

liquidation

Thomas Dinwoodie closed his business in 1940. Perham Larsen and Co., part of the Carter Group, considered acquiring the assets of the Dinwoodie Timber Company, which were sold on the property in a liquidation sale on January 17, 1941, but withdrew on economic grounds.

Monument protection

The route of the route north of the Makatote River, the structures and remains of the sawmill, including the wood back places, a winch, water pits, lorry axes and a number of metal artefacts have been listed in category 2 of the New Zealand list of historical monuments since 2006. The site also includes four affiliated house foundations in clearings in the bush that extend south to the area where State Highway 4 winds down into Makatote Gorge.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Heritage New Zealand: Map of Makatote Tramway Site. Department of Conservation, February 7, 2006. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
2. ↑ Krustysimplex: Wooden rail & sleeper, Dinwoodie's tram near Erua.
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Heritage New Zealand: Makatote Tramway. List No 7668. Retrieved on April 29, 2018.
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Joanna Wylie: The history and archeology of the Makatote Tramway, Erua. New Zealand Historic Places Trust, Wellington ( Download PDF file ). Also in: Archeology in New Zealand , September 2006; Volume 49, Number 3: pp. 213-226, ISSN  0113-7832 .
5. ↑ Krustysimplex: Bush repair to cracked frame, Luke hauler, Dinwoodie's tram near Erua.
6. ↑ Tramway License PN / 38/42/4, Archives NZ File F1 23/3/42/8
7. ↑ Krustysimplex: 385mm (approx) dia wheels, Dinwoodie's tram near Erua.
8. ↑ Krustysimplex: Luke hauler, Dinwoodie's tram near Erua.
9. ^ Notification of Archaeological Site: Makatote Tramway, Erua. In: New Zealand Gazette , April 13, 2006, p. 930.

Coordinates: 39 ° 15 ′ 23 ″  S , 175 ° 23 ′ 37 ″  E