The Eyreton Branch was a branch line railway that formed part of New Zealand's national rail network. Located in the Canterbury region of the South Island, it left the Main North Line in Kaiapoi and was built a mere ten kilometres south of the Oxford Branch. It opened in 1875 and operated until 1954, except for the first portion, which remained open until 1965. A branch line is a relatively minor railway line which branches off a more important through route. ... // 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. ... The New Zealand region of Canterbury mostly comprises the Canterbury Plains. ... The South Island The South Island is one of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the North Island. ... The Main North Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is an important railway line in New Zealand that runs north from Christchurch up the east coast of the South Island to Picton. ... Kaiapoi is a town in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand, located close to the mouth of the Waimakariri River. ...

Despite the implication of the branch's name, it passed north of Eyreton, though its original terminus was located in West Eyreton.

Construction

At the start of the 1870s, a number of plans were made for a branch line from the Main North Line, then under construction, to Oxford. This was in response to the realities of the appalling communication and slow transport of the time. One plan, made in 1871, called for a line from Kaiapoi to Oxford, but this was seen as a threat to the interests of a proposed line from Rangiora to Oxford. Intense campaigning from groups in support of either line led to the government's decision to build two branches, one from Rangiora to Oxford and another from Kaiapoi to West Eyreton. // Events and Trends Technology The invention of the telephone (1876) by Alexander Graham Bell. ... Rangiora may refer to the following: Rangiora, an endemic New Zealand plant. ...

Despite warnings the line to West Eyreton would never be profitable, contracts for construction were let in 1873, and by 1875, construction was proceeding well, with the line opened to West Eyreton on 17 December 1875. This was intended to be the terminus of the branch, but in an attempt to make it profitable, work began the next year to link it with the Oxford Branch. This was completed on 1 February 1878 and linked West Eyreton with Bennetts Junction. December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

For a while, a break-of-gauge existed at the junction with the Main North Line in Kaiapoi. The Main North Line had been built with the Canterbury Provincial Railways' broad gauge of 1600mm, while the Eyreton Branch was built to the then newly accepted national standard of 1067mm (internationally, a narrow gauge). However, it wasn't long before the Main North Line was converted to a gauge of 1067mm and the break-of-gauge eliminated. With railways, a break-of-gauge is where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. ... Great Western Railway broad gauge steam locomotives awaiting scrapping in 1892 after the conversion to standard gauge. ... Narrow-gauge railways are railroads (railways) with track spaced at less than the standard gauge of 4 ft 8 in (1. ... Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track. ...

Operation

For many years, the line was serviced by one train in each direction per day. This was a "mixed" service that carried both passengers and freight, and it ran through to Oxford. Much traffic carried on the Eyreton Branch was actually freight from Oxford using the Eyreton route as a shortcut to the Main North Line. Concerns that the line would not be profitable were fulfilled by low traffic volumes even before the era of widespread competition from road, and as road transport increased in competitiveness, freight dwindled. By 1927, only four services ran per week, and in 1930, a Royal Commission suggested that the line be closed unless locals wished to fund the line. Nonetheless, the Railways Department kept operating the line, though on 9 February 1931, passenger services were cancelled due to low patronage and the link with Bennetts Junction on the Oxford Branch was closed. However, the Eyreton Branch did not terminate at its original terminus of West Eyreton as five kilometres of the link with the Oxford Branch was retained, with the new terminus in Horrelville. February 9 is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ...

By 1950, only two trains a week ran, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This in itself contributed to declining freight quantities, as wagons delivered on a Thursday would not be collected until the next week, an undesirably long delay for most businesses. Nonetheless, a flour mill along the line in Wetherell was generating some traffic for the line, and as traffic beyond it did not justify the line's existence, it was closed from Wetherell to Horrelville on 26 May 1954. By April 1965, the remaining portion of the line between Kaiapoi and Wetherell was also closed. May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The branch today

Remnants of closed railways diminish and disappear over time due to natural and human activity, and little of note remains of the Eyreton Branch. Modern day roads closely follow the route of the railway and its formation is often visible. Loading banks can be found at the sites of the West Eyreton, Mandeville North, and Swannanoa stations, and a couple of bridge abutments and culverts survive. Otherwise, little remains of one of New Zealand's more minor branch lines.

External link

• Patrick Dunford's Railways of New Zealand - Oxford and Eyreton Branches

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