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Mokai Tramway

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Taupo Totara Timber Company Railway
Railway line of the Taupo Totara Timber Company showing "the corkscrew", with five different levels[1]
Technical
Track gauge3 ft 6 in (1067 mm)
Route map

Legend
km
from Hamilton (NZR)
to Rotorua (NZR)
0,0
 former transfer to the NZR network
Taupo Totara Timber Co. in Putāruru
Tokoroa
29,0
 Kinleith Mill
Waikato River
The Spiral or
The Corkscrew
82,0
 Taupo Totara Timber Co. in Mokai
Wooden tracks into the bush
Fan like network in the bush

The Taupo Totara Timber Company Railway was a bush tramway constructed by the Taupo Totara Timber Company (TTT) to link their milling centre at Mokai with the New Zealand Government Railways line (NZR) at Putāruru in the Waikato region on the North Island of New Zealand. The more than 51 miles (82 km) long light railway line was operated from 1903 to 1944 by the Taupo Totara Timber Company. After the closure of the Mokai mill, the NZR purchased the 19 miles (31 km) stretch between Putāruru and the Kinleith Mill south of Tokoroa.[2] This stretch underwent a major reconstruction, and is now (2024) part of the NZR's Kinleith Branch Line.

History[edit]

The 82 kilometres (51 mi) line was built for the TTT between 1903 and 1905 by John McLean & Sons[3] to carry sawn timber from forests near Mokai (23 kilometres (14 mi) northwest of Taupō) to the government railway at Putāruru. It was designed as a contour[4] railway by former Wellington and Manawatu Railway engineer and TTT director James Fulton,[4][5] who in 1903 temporarily resigned his position on the TTT board to supervise construction of the railway and sawmills.

The 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) northern section between Putāruru and Lichfield was built on the formation of the former Lichfield Branch line, which was originally built by the New Zealand Thames Valley Land Company(NZTVLC) to be part of the line to Rotorua. The permanent way (rails and sleepers) was removed in 1897 after the failure of the NZTVLC's Lichfield town development (known as the "Selwyn Estate"),[6] leaving only the earthworks.[5]

The TTT line continued south of Lichfield over easy country through what is now Tokoroa to Kopakorahi, near the present-day Tokoroa Golf Course and Kinleith paper mill. From Kopakorahi it crossed the Maungaiti Range via the Wawa saddle, descending 1,000 feet (300 m) from Wawa to Ongaroto, where it crossed the Waikato River. The line continued south and uphill to the sawmill village at Mokai.[7] Several tram lines, some temporary, brought logs from the forests to the Mokai sawmill.

The TTT line had a ruling grade of 1 in 35[4][8]. The construction contract specified 100 feet (30 m) radius curves on steep sections and curves of 3 chains (60 m) to 5 chains (100 m) on easier sections.[8] Some of the sharper curves were later rebuilt with wider radii.

A siding at Kopakorahi was used for changing locomotives. Heisler geared locomotives hauled trains over the mountainous section between Kopakorahi and Mokai. From 1914, trains on the easier northern section between Putāruru and Kopakorahi were usually hauled by an articulated Mallet Compound locomotive.

The longest single span wooden bridge in New Zealand over the Waikato River at Ongaroto[1]

At Ongaroto the company built a large timber arch bridge of locally sourced totara, designed by James Fulton.[5]

In the late 1920s this timber bridge deteriorated, and consulting engineer Stanley Jones recommended replacement.[9] The company was already struggling financially due to the combined pressures of intense competition from imported timber, the onset of the Great Depression, and the loss of one of its Mokai sawmills, which had burned down in late 1928.[10] Following Jones's inspection and report, the company banned anyone from riding the train across the bridge. Trains arriving at the bridge would stop and the passengers and fireman would walk across while the driver gently opened the throttle and then jumped off. The train would slowly ease across the bridge before being stopped on the other side by the fireman, where everyone would reboard the train.

The timber arch bridge was replaced in 1931 by a steel truss bridge with a central pier.[11]

Taupo Totara Timber Company sawmill at Mokai[1]

In 1911 the TTT put forward a proposal to extend their line from Mokai into Taupo township via Oruanui.[12][8] However, considerable objection was made to this proposal by the people of Rotorua.[13] The Taupo District Railway League consequently lodged a complaint to the Member of Parliament for the district, William MacDonald, protesting the opposition being made by the Rotorua Chamber of Commerce. As time passed the proposal for the TTT scheme was eventually shelved.

Closure, Sale, and Reconstruction[edit]

The TTT railway closed on 26 October 1944. The 19 miles (31 km) section from Putāruru to the "19-Mile Peg", near the present-day location of the Kinleith Paper Mill south of Tokoroa, was purchased by the NZR[2] in September 1946.

This section reopened on 9 June 1947 under the control of the Public Works Department using steam locomotives purchased from the TTT.[14]

Around the same time plans were being made for a large pulp and paper mill to be constructed at Kinleith. Beginning in January 1949,[15] the line underwent a major reconstruction, reducing grades from 1 in 44 to 1 in 70 and easing curves from 201 metre radius to 322 metre radius. The rebuilt line was handed over to NZR on 12 June 1950.[16] This section is still(2024) being used for goods transport as part of the NZR's Kinleith Branch Line.

Rolling stock[edit]

Locomotives[edit]

ALCO Mallett steam locomotive No 7[1]
TTT maintenance trolley[1]
TTT Number Maker Maker's Number Year Type
1 Stearns Manufacturing Co 1074 1903 Geared (Heisler[[1]])
2 Stearns Manufacturing Co 1082 1903 Geared (Heisler[[2]])
3 Yorkshire Engine Company 255 1875 Conventional
4 (ex NZR A71) Dubs & Co 654 1873 Conventional
5 Climax 157 ? Climax Type A
6 Barclay 1270 1912 Conventional
7 ALCO 53970 1912 Mallet Locomotive
8 Heisler 1448 1921 Geared (Heisler)
9 Heisler 1449 1921 Geared (Heisler)
10 A & G Price ? 1937 Geared, Price Type E[17]

Wagons[edit]

  • 1 combination car for goods and passenger transport
  • 1 guard van
  • 25 flat wagon with side stakes[18]
  • Heisler steam locomotive No 8[1]
    Heisler steam locomotive No 8[1]
  • Heisler steam locomotive No 9[1]
    Heisler steam locomotive No 9[1]
  • Trains hauled by Heisler steam locomotives crossing at Kopakorahi[1]
    Trains hauled by Heisler steam locomotives crossing at Kopakorahi[1]
  • Empty train ton the return trip to Mokai[1]
    Empty train ton the return trip to Mokai[1]
  • Loco No 7 at Ngutuwera T.T.T. Railway, 1947[1]
    Loco No 7 at Ngutuwera T.T.T. Railway, 1947[1]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

[5]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand
  2. ^ a b Scherer, Vicki (1992). Putaruru: Home of the Owl. Tokoroa, NZ: South Waikato District Council. p. 74.
  3. ^ "Special Interviews - The Totara Timber Industry - A chat with Mr. Murdoch McLean", NZ Herald: 1 (Supplement), 5 April 1905
  4. ^ a b c AJHR, 1912 Session 2 Section I-10: Report of Taupo Totara Timber Company Committee. Wellington, NZ: Government Printer. 1912. p. 65.
  5. ^ a b c d Stanley W. Jones: The Taupo Totara Timber Co. New Zealand Engineering, 12/7, 1957, pp. 237–239.
  6. ^ Scherer, Vicki (1992). Putaruru: Home of the Owl. Tokoroa, NZ: South Waikato District Council. p. 20.
  7. ^ "Special Interviews - The Totara Timber Industry - A chat with Mr. Murdoch McLean", NZ Herald: 1 (Supplement), 5 April 1905
  8. ^ a b c AJHR, 1911 Section I-10: Report of Taupo Totara Timber Company Committee. Wellington, NZ: Government Printer. 1911.
  9. ^ Cudby, Kevin. Men of Pluck. p. 35. ISBN 0-473-07505-9.
  10. ^ Cudby, Kevin. Men of Pluck. p. 32. ISBN 0-473-07505-9.
  11. ^ "Ongaroto Bridge". www.ipenz.org.nz. IPENZ Engineering Heritage. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  12. ^ AJHR, 1911 Section I-3: Reports of the Native Affairs Committee. Wellington, NZ: Government Printer. 1911.
  13. ^ "A Light Railway". The Evening Post. 10 September 1912. p. 7. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  14. ^ Churchman & Hurst 2001, p. 118.
  15. ^ "T.T.T. Line". Putaruru Press. Cargill Publishing Co Ltd. 20 January 1949. p. 8. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  16. ^ Churchman & Hurst 2001, p. 119.
  17. ^ Cudby, Kevin. Men of Pluck. p. 56. ISBN 0-473-07505-9.
  18. ^ David Kinzett: Taupo Totara Timber Co. Archived 2018-11-29 at the Wayback Machine 9 February 2000. Retrieved on 9 May 2018.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Churchman, Geoffrey B; Hurst, Tony (2001) [1990, 1991]. The Railways of New Zealand: A Journey through History (Second ed.). Transpress New Zealand. ISBN 0-908876-20-3.
  • Ida Davis and Ruth Forshaw, Mokai, 1990, 175 Taharepa Road, Taupō, NZ
  • Vicki Scherer, Putaruru: Home of the Owl, 1992, South Waikato District Council, Tokoroa, NZ

External links[edit]

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