The Nelson Railway…to Nowhere
CONTENTS |
Despite more than 80 years of drive and determination on the part of Nelsonians to work towards a railway that would end their isolation from the rest of the South Island, the resulting line was destined to be the railway to nowhere.
Save our Railway
Nelsonians had dreamed of a railway that would link them to the rest of the South Island from as early as the 1860s.
Permission was finally given in 18711 to start work on a line intended to meet up with the main trunk line. Construction of the first 30.4km stage, from the city to Foxhill, began in 1873 and it opened in 1876.2 The line followed St Vincent Street, rather than the publicly favoured port route. It went over the relatively steep gradient of Bishopdale and through Stoke, Richmond, Brightwater and Wakefield, to Wai-iti, just short of Foxhill.3
Belgrove construction workby Midland Railway Company,The Nelson Provincial Museum, Tyree Studio collection, 179476/3Click image to enlarge
An economic recession forced the suspension of construction until 1879-1880, when an extension to Belgrove was built.4
Meanwhile, in 1878, work had started on widening Haven Road to accommodate a line from the city to Government Wharf at Port Nelson.5 This followed the route of the closedDun Mountain railway line and was opened in 1880.6
Work began on the Belgrove to Motupiko (Kohatu) section in 1890. A work camp was established and a 303m tunnel built through the Spooner Range.7 This section opened in 1897, and in 1901 a start was made on the 16km stretch to Tadmor, via Tapawera. A rail and road bridge across the Motueka River was completed in 1906.8
Frustrations grew over the time taken to build the railway. It had taken 33 years to build just 66km of track.9 The line had been extended from Tadmor, through Kiwi, Tui and Kaka to Glenhope10 by 1912. Construction was again suspended, however, and the outbreak of war in 1914 brought a further halt.11
A 6km extension to Kawatiri began in 1920 and the Pikomanu railway camp was established the following year. A tunnel of 185 m. was cut, two bridges built across the Hope River and the section opened in June 1926.12
Services were reduced in the 1920s, with passenger numbers and freight volumes having decreased due to the rapid development of road freight and passenger transport. The Nelson Progress League was established in 1924 to campaign for the line to be extended to join the main trunk. It launched a pamphlet in 1925 calling on the Government to “Fill the Gap”.13
Between 1924 and 1929 a 6km section was built to Gowan Bridge, but this was only ever used for freight. With the country reeling from the Depression, all work on the railway was suspended from January 1931, terminating the employment of 300 men.14
The gap between the completed section of line and Inangahua Junction, where it could connect with the main trunk line, was less than 70km (42 miles).15
Toi Toi Valley train, The Nelson Provincial Museum, FN Jones Collection, 26713 Click image to enlarge
From 1931 the line was under constant threat of closure and people were urged to “use it or lose it”. It was announced in 1952 that the Nelson line would remain open only until major highways were completed. Rail services were suspended in 1954.16
A public meeting resulted in a 12,000-signature petition calling for a change of the decision. The Prime Minister, Sid Holland, issued a challenge to Nelson to save its railway by guaranteeing 25,000 tons of rail freight per year. On June 12, 1954, an excursion took 400 passengers on “the last train to Glenhope”. A few days later the Progress League accepted the Prime Minister’s challenge and the line re-opened. Despite its best efforts, the League fell short of the target and the line was set for closure on September 3, 1955.17
Kiwi Protest 1955, The Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C Wood Collection, 8830 fr38 Click image to enlarge
The last timetabled train arrived in Nelson on Friday September 2, 1955 and there was a last-ditch public meeting on the Church Steps.18 Ruth Page called her own women’s protest meeting, on hearing that work would start on pulling up the railway lines at Kiwion September 20th.19 A group of women held a week-long sit-in on the line at Kiwi, with nine of them being arrested and convicted when they refused to move. It was to no avail, and the railway line, so desperately wanted and so long under construction, was gradually dismantled.20
The dream was over.
2008
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