Sandstone Heritage Trust - News
WN26 - The 'Not your usual Flugel'. Flugel 2
11th January 2007
Continuing Peter's story......
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Ngakawau loading bins, the end of the run from Lyttleton. The train has ran through the middle of Chch, along the Canterbury Plains, over the Southern Alps to the west coast. North of Stillwater it runs along the Gray and Inangahua river valleys, through the tree covered Buller Gorge and then along the coastal flats north of Westport. 395kms, 25 tunnels and a number of major bridges and viaducts! And that's one way. 9/12/06. 7:09pm
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Tunnel motor Dxs' 5379 & 5229 passing the old Granity station site with a loaded coal train. 10/12/06. 9:10am.
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The same train rounding the curve into the old Waimangaroa station. The river bridge seen earlier is just off the curve at the rear of the train. The long gone branch line to the Denniston Incline came off the main at the bottom of the picture and swung to the right and headed up to the hills in the background of the earlier photo of the Waimangaroa Bridge.10/12/06. 9:33am.
Read after next picture.
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The West Coast isn't all about diesels and unit coal trains. South of Greymouth is the Shantytown Museum. A replica of colonial West Coast/New Zealand towns. Pictured is L 208 a 2-4-0 of Avonside. Makers no. 1206/77. The track runs on an old bush tramway formation. 10/12/06. 2:12pm.
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Dxs' 5379 & 5229, seen earlier, are now heading up the Taramakau River valley bound for Otira. 10/12/06. 4:11pm.
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Otira Tunnel bankers, Dxs' 5477, 5460, 5287 and train locos' 5379 & 5229, close to 15,000 horse power to move a train over 14kms of 1/33 grade. 8.5kms of that in tunnel. The 30 wagons are still on a 1/60 grade through Otira station. The locos are now hitting the 1/33 grade which continues un-abated right through to Arthur's Pass. A sight and sound that leaves General Electric fans dribbling and incoherent, until the drive through the Otira gorge and up over Arthur's Pass! 10/12/06. 4:26pm.
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Just to prove that not all Midland Line trains are unit coal trains. Dx 5327 on a Sunday afternoon freight to Greymouth. The crossing loops at Arthur's Pass aren't long enough to hold today's longer trains, so one always heads into a back shunt. 10/12/06. 5:09pm
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The three tunnel bankers and train engine Dx 5327 crossing the second Bealey River bridge at the west end of Arthur's Pass station. Between the second and third locos is the highest point on the South Island rail network, at 742m. From that point it's nearly all down hill to the West Coast. 10/12/06. 5:24pm.
Again I hope they were of interest to everyone out there. That's only a small selection of scenes that are to be found on the West Coast rail network. Not included was the branch line down to Hokitika that serves the Westland Dairy factory and the short branch from Greymouth to the Rapahoe coal bins. For those of you from overseas, I hope you are able to sample this country for your selves. I'm sure Kerry has a room or two free!
Peter Jenkinson
1 January 2007m
My thanks indeed to Peter, who seems to be quite a one man band in the rail world. Some of his pictures are both very interesting from a rail point of view and too, for the scenery. As I pointed out earlier, I can send individual pictures larger and at a higher resolution, for anyone wanting them. 'K'.