Whakatane Board Mills Line

Whakatane Board Mills Line
Overview
Status	Closed
Termini	Awakeri Whakatane Board Mill at Whakatane
Operation
Opened	1939
Closed	2001
Owner	Whakatane Board Mills
Operator(s)	Whakatane Board Mills then Tranz Rail
Character	Industrial
Rolling stock	None
Technical
Line length	10 km (6.2 mi)
No. of tracks	Single
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)

The Whakatane Board Mills Line of 10 km length was opened about 1939 as a freight only line, and was sometimes referred to as a "private siding".

The line had previously operated from 1937 as a private siding, then as the Matahina Tramway. Two F^A steam locomotives were purchased from the New Zealand Railways, No 41 in 1937 and No 250 in 1943. The maximum speed on the line was originally 10 mph, then 20 mph; and trains were piloted over level crossings

Later two Drewry diesel shunting locomotives built in 1949 and 1950 were used to haul log wagons from the Whakatane Board Mills timber mill on the western side of the Whakatane River at Whakatane to the Taneatua Branch terminal at Awakeri.

Tranz Rail took over operations from 3 October 1999, and renamed the line the Whakatane Industrial Siding.

The line was closed on 3 December 2001, and the track was lifted in 2006.

References

Hermann, Bruce J (2007). North Island Branch Lines. Wellington: NZRLS. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-908573-83-7.

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 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–Westport Line Waimea Plains Railway

Branch lines

Upper North Island	Cambridge Dargaville Donnellys Crossing Glen Afton Kinleith Kumeu–Riverhead Manukau Mount Maunganui Murupara Newmarket Okaihau Onehunga Onerahi Opua Rotorua Taneatua 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

Significant proposals

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Whakatane Board Mills Line

See also

References