Taupo Totara Timber Company Tramway

Taupo Totara Timber Company Tramway
ALCO - Mallet steam locomotive No. 7
Routing of the Taupo Totara Timber Company Tramway via "The Spiral" or "The Corkscrew" on 5 levels
Route length:	82 km
Gauge :	1067 mm ( cape track )
Maximum slope :	62.5  ‰
Minimum radius :	30 m
Top speed:	6 mph = 10 km / h to 20 mph = 32 km / h
Legend by Hamilton ( NZR ) to Rotorua (NZR) 0.0 former transition to the NZR network Taupo Totara Timber Co. in Putaruru Tokoroa 29.0 Kinleith Mill Waikato River The Spiral or The corkscrew 82.0 Taupo Totara Timber Co. in Mokai Wooden rails in the bush Fan-like network in the bush

The Taupo Totara Timber Company Tramway owned and operated from 1903 to 1944 a more than 82 km long railway line between Putaruru and Mokai in the Waikato region on New Zealand's North Island .

Route

The Taupo Totara Timber Company operated its railway line from the junction on the New Zealand Government Railways (NZR) route in Putaruru, where it had its wood storage areas and the planing mill, to the sawmill in Mokai and from there on as a forest railway into the bush. The 82 km long main route from Putaruru to Mokai crossed the Waikato River at Ongaroto on a large wooden bridge. The steep section called The Spiral or The Corkscrew had a slope of 62.5 ‰ (1:16) and tight curves with a radius of 30 m. The Putaruru – Mokai section was built with steel rails and was used for mixed passenger and freight traffic. The rails from the sawmill to the bush, however, were made of wood. The track was 3 feet 6 inches (1067 mm) wide .

history

The line was built in 1903. It led, among other things, via the former Lichfield Branch, which was originally built by the Thames Valley and Rotorua Railway Company as part of the route to Rotorua . The wooden bridge over the Waikato River at Ongaroto was designed by Frederick Furkert , an engineer with New Zealand's Public Works Department , and built from nearby totara trees. Over time, this wooden bridge deteriorated so much that it was classified as unsafe. Since the company could not afford to build a new one because its sawmill burned down in 1928, the trains stopped in front of the bridge for several years. The passengers and the stoker crossed it on foot before the engine driver opened the steam valve of the locomotive only slightly and then jumped off. The train drove slowly over the bridge before being stopped on the other side by the stoker, after which all passengers could get back on the train. The wooden bridge was replaced in 1931 by a steel truss bridge with a central pillar.

Most of the forest railway was built with inclines of 33.3 ‰ (1:30), which are unusually gentle for forest railways. This reflects the company's intention to ultimately sell the route to NZR . In 1911, the company proposed extending its route from Mokai to Taupo via Oruanui . This would have required another bridge over the Waikato River. The Rotorua Chamber of Commerce appealed against the proposal to parliament because it preferred a route from Waiotapu via Rotorua to Taupo. The Taupo District Railway League then filed a complaint with District Representative MacDonald to protest opposition from the Rotorua Chamber of Commerce.

Over time, the route extension proposal was eventually postponed, largely due to the outbreak of World War I and significant objections from the Rotorua Chamber of Commerce. The line would have required significant structural improvements to bring it up to the NZR standard, as it was built primarily for the transport of wood and therefore had tighter curves, narrower cuts and smaller clearance profiles compared to the NZR lines .

On October 26, 1944, the forest railway was set. However, the government recognized the potential of the route and in September 1946 acquired the first 29 km between Putaruru and Kinleith . This section of the line was reopened on June 9, 1947 under the direction of the Public Works Department with the steam locomotives of the Taupo Totara Timber Company.

Around the same time the construction of a large pulp and paper mill was planned in Kinleith. The route with its sharp curves, steep inclines and light rail profiles therefore had to be expanded at great expense. The reconstruction of the line began in 1949, with the gradients reduced from 22 ‰ (1:44) to 14 ‰ (1: 70) and the curve radii increased from 201 meters to 322 meters. The converted line was handed over to the NZR on June 12, 1950. During this time the proposal came up again to rebuild the route and extend it to Taupo. After the elections in 1949, nothing more was heard of this proposal. However, it was later picked up several times, but not carried out.

The section from Putaruru to Kinleith Mill south of Tokoroa is still used today ⁽²⁰¹⁸⁾ as part of the Kinleith Branch Line for freight traffic.

Rail vehicles

Locomotives

TTTCo number	Manufacturer	Factory no.	year	design type
1	Stearns Manufacturing Co	1074	1903	Heisler
2	Stearns	1082	1903	Heisler
3	Yorkshire Engine Company	255	1875	Conventional
4 (ex NZR A 71)	Dubs & Co	654	1873	Conventional
5	Climax	?	1903	Climax A class
6th	Barclay	1270	1912	Conventional
7th	ALCO	53970	1912	Mallet
8th	Heisler	1448	1921	Heisler
9	Heisler	1449	1921	Heisler
10	A. & G. Price	?	1937	Geared locomotive

The Taupo Totara Timber Company's Mallet steam locomotive No. 7 was built in 1907 by ALCO based on a design later used by the Baldwin Locomotive Works . From 1914 to 1945 she worked for the Taupo Totara Timber Company in Putaruru . In 1945 it was sold as scrap but stored in a junkyard and sold to the Auckland Railway Enthusiasts Society in 1958. It was exhibited in Putaruru until it was sold to the Glenbrook Vintage Railway in Auckland City in 1975. There it was restored as the Glenbrook Vintage Railway No. 4 until 1977.

dare

• 1 mixed passenger / freight car
• 1 Guard Van
• 25 stake cars

• 

  Sawmill in Mokai

• 

  Heisler steam locomotive No. 8

• 

  Heisler steam locomotive No. 9

• 

  Bridge over the Waikato River at Ongaroto

• 

  The Heisler locomotives meet at Kopakorahi

• 

  Unloaded train on its way back to Mokai

• 

  Draisine (jigger)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} David Kinzett: Taupo Totara Timber Co. February 9, 2000. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
2. ↑ Ongaroto Bridge . IPENZ Engineering Heritage. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
3. ^ A Light Railway . In: Evening Post , September 10, 1912, p. 7. Retrieved June 24, 2016. 
4. ↑ Kevin Cudby: Men of Pluck , ISBN 0-473-07505-9 , p. 56 (Retrieved August 4, 2018).
5. ↑ Logging Malletts: Taupo Totara Timber Company # 7.

Coordinates: 38 ° 31 ′ 50 ″  S , 175 ° 55 ′ 32 ″  E