The Donnelly's Crossing Section (later the Donnelly's Crossing Branch), also known as the Kaihu Valley Railway, was a railway line in Northland, New Zealand. Initially an isolated line, it became a branch line when the Dargaville Branch was opened and connected it with the North Auckland Line and the rest of the national rail network. It was closed in 1959. The Northland Region, one of the regions of New Zealand, is, as the name suggests, the northernmost of New Zealands administrative regions. ... A branch line is a relatively minor railway line which branches off a more important through route. ... The Dargaville Branch is a branch line railway that leaves the North Auckland Line not far south of Whangarei and runs westward to Dargaville. ... // National Rail Network The national rail network (currently owned by a State-Owned Enterprise, the New Zealand Railways Corporation) was constructed largely by government entities from 1863 onwards. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Construction

The Kaihu Valley & Railway Company (KV&RC) formed in 1882 under the provisions of the Railways And Land Act of 1881 to build a railway linking lumber mills in the Kaihu Valley with the port in Dargaville. The Railways And Land Act authorised settlers to build railways instead of waiting for the government to do it, and the KV&RC hoped that diverse traffic would develop and use the line. However, it wasn't until February 1889 that the line reached Opanake, and with the Long Depression taking its toll, the KV&RC went bankrupt and the government foreclosed. 1882 (MDCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1881 (MDCCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Dargaville is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. ... 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The Long Depression was a economic depression that affected much of the world from the early 1870s until the mid-1890s. ...

With the economy improving, a short extension was opened to Kaihu on 21 October 1896, but it wasn't until 1908 that further work was undertaken. Construction was extremely slow and the few kilometres to Whatoro were not opened until 1 June 1914. World War I brought construction to an absolute halt, and when work began after the war, the final extension of the line was built and opened to Donnelly's Crossing on 1 April 1923. October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 71 days remaining. ... 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1908 (MCMVIII) is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Combatants Allies: • Serbia, • Russia, • France, • Romania, • Belgium, • British Empire and Dominions, • United States, • Italy, • ...and others Central Powers: • Germany, • Austria-Hungary, • Ottoman Empire, • Bulgaria Casualties 5 million military, 3 million civilian (full list) 3 million military, 3 million civilian (full list) World War I, also known as the First World... April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In 1940, this isolated section of track was finally linked to the national network when the Dargaville Branch off the North Auckland Line reached Dargaville. However, the relocation and reconstruction of Dargaville's railway station was seen as required and this work took until 1943. 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ...

Stations

The following stations were located on the Donnelly's Crossing Section (in brackets is the distance in kilometres from Dargaville):

• Parore (2 km)
• Babylon (5 km)
• Rotu (8 km)
• Maitahi (11 km)
• Taita (12 km)
• Mamaranui (14 km)
• Dairy Flat (15 km)
• Maropiu (17 km)
• Ahikiwi (19 km)
• Opanake (22 km)
• Kaihu (23 km)
• Whatoro (27 km)
• Aranga (32 km)
• Donnelly's Crossing (36 km)

Operation

Initially, the Donnelly's Crossing Section resembled a bush tramway built to railway standards, though after the government's Railways Department acquired the line off the KV&RC, it became more of a general purpose railway. Logging traffic was so heavy in the early part of the 20th century that the line was briefly considered to be one of the most profitable in New Zealand. Two "mixed" trains of both passengers and freight ran each way each day, typically carrying significant quantities of timber from the kauri forest in the area. Only so much forest existed, though, and in the 1920s, both the logging industry and the railway began their decline. In 1934, only a quarter of traffic came from the logging industry, and any hopes that a connection to the national network would improve the lines fortunes were soon dashed. Trains were cut to run just once a day in each direction in 1942, and then thrice weekly in 1951. By this point, only 171 tons of timber originaed on the line and larger quantities were being railed into the area! // NZ National Rail Network These are lines that are part of the national network currently owned by New Zealand Railways Corporation, a government company trading as ONTRACK. Most of them were constructed by national or local government bodies of New Zealand from 1863 onwards. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Binomial name Agathis australis (D. Don) Loudon The Kauri (Agathis australis) is a coniferous tree native to the northern North Island of New Zealand. ... The 1920s were a decade sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article is about the year. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... The word ton or tonne is derived from the Old English tunne, and ultimately from the Old French tonne, and referred originally to a large cask with a capacity of 252 wine gallons, which holds approximately 2100 pounds of water. ...

Remarkably, passenger services survived right until the end. Many New Zealand branch lines lost their passenger services during the 1930s, with private cars seen as far preferable over the slow pace of country mixed trains that stopped to shunt at many sidings along the way, but in the isolated Far North, people were still happy to use the train. Initially, four six-wheeled passenger wagons were based in the area, but in 1933, two-bogied carriages were introduced. As late as 1958-59, approximately fifteen people were carried per train, but the overall quantity of traffic was extremely poor and there was no reason to keep the line open any longer. Closure came on 19 July 1959, though the Dargaville shunter ran wagons of freight to and from Kaihu for a few more months. // Events and trends A public speech by Benito Mussolini, founder of the Fascist movement The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 19 is the 200th day (201st in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 165 days remaining. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Donnelly's Crossing Section was exclusively the domain of tank locomotives. During the line's period of isolation, F class engines were the dominant motive power, and with the opening of the Dargaville Branch, the line was upgraded to permit the use of Ww classs locomotives. The line closed too early for diesel motive power to be introduced. A tank locomotive (occasionally tank engine) is a steam locomotive that carries its own fuel and water with it, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. ... The F class was the first important class of steam locomotive built to operate on New Zealands railway network after the national gauge of 1067 millimetres (3 feet 6 inches) was adopted. ...

The branch today

Relics of closed railway lines naturally diminish and disappear over time due to the effects of both nature and human development, but in the rural setting of the Far North of New Zealand, some signs of the Donnelly's Crossing Section have survived. For much of the line's length, its formation can be seen travelling through the countryside, and a truss bridge over the Kaihu River is still in place. Unfortunately, the Kaihu station building was removed at some point in the latter half of the 1990s, but the Donnelly's Crossing station building survives, located near a bridge that once carried both road and rail and now remains for the sole use of the road. The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ...

References

• Churchman, Geoffrey B., and Hurst, Tony; The Railways Of New Zealand: A Journey Through History, HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand), 1991 reprint
• Leitch, David, and Scott, Brian; Exploring New Zealand's Ghost Railways, Grantham House, 1998 revised edition