NationMaster - Encyclopedia: North Auckland Line

The North Auckland Line is a major railway line in New Zealand's national rail network. It runs from Auckland to Otiria via Whangarei. The complete line was opened in 1925, the first section north from Auckland opened in 1880. // 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. ... Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest urban area in New Zealand. ... Whangarei (the initial consonant is often prounounced F) is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

The North Auckland Line previously continued to to Opua in the Bay of Islands. The section from Kawakawa to Opua is now the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway, currently disused. Russell, Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area in the Northland region of the North Island of New Zealand. ...

Construction

It took many years to build a complete line to serve the Northland Region, with different sections being developed at different times. The portion Kawakawa to Opua opened as a tramway in 1868 and was converted to railway standards a few years later, while in Whangarei, a short line ran to the coal mines in Kamo, and in 1875, the Kumeu-Riverhead Section was opened, linking the Kaipara and Waitemata Harbours. It was clear that a main line was required to link these isolated railways to improve transport of both passengers and freight to and from New Zealand's northernmost region, and to open up land to greater economic development. The Northland Region, one of the regions of New Zealand, is, as the name suggests, the northernmost of New Zealands administrative regions. ... Kawakawa is a small town in the Northland Region of northern New Zealand. ... 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Kamo is a small township north of Whangarei, approximately 20 minutes from the Whangarei CBD. Famous for having the northern most traffic lights in New Zealand. ... 1875 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Kumeu-Riverhead section was a short-lived railway line located north-west of Auckland, New Zealand. ... The Kaipara Harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea located near the base of the North Auckland Peninsula on the western side of the North Island of New Zealand. ... Auckland Harbour Bridge crossing the Waitemata Harbour Waitemata Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. ...

Construction of a main railway north of Auckland commenced in 1880, opening to Henderson on 21 December. The next section ran to Helensville and opened on 13 July 1881. Twenty kilometres south of Helensville in Kumeu, the line met the formerly isolated Kumeu-Riverhead Section, turning it into the Riverhead Branch. The Kumeu-Riverhead section provided transport to Auckland, linking with ferries on Waitemata Harbour in Riverhead, and as the North Auckland Line left these services redundant, the Riverhead Branch was closed on July 18. 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Henderson is a major suburb of Waitakere City, in the Auckland metropolitan area in the North Island of New Zealand. ... December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Helensville is a town in the northern North Island of New Zealand. ... July 13 is the 194th day (195th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 171 days remaining. ... 1881 (MDCCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Kumeu is a small town to the north of Auckland, New Zealand. ... July 18 is the 199th day (200th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 166 days remaining. ...

The next section to Kanohi was opened on 3 May 1889, and the next five kilometres took a whole eight years to construct. This section of line included the narrow Makarau tunnel and steep grades; in later years, upgrades had to be performed on the tunnel so that it was wide and high enough for new locomotives to pass through safely. During this time, construction progressed north from the short Whangarei section: Waro was reached in 1894, and Waiotu in 1899, some 30 kilometres from Whangarei. A gap of 44 km between Waiotu and Kawakawa existed, and with authorisation granted by parliament, construction proceeded to connect the sections. This line ran via Otiria. Construction of this section was slow due to access difficulties and poor weather, and it was not completed for twelve years. May 3 is the 123rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (124th in leap years). ... 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

To the south, construction was also proceeding slowly. From Makarau, the line had to pass through a number of valleys that ran east-west, necessitating a number of tunnels as the railway ran north-south. Road access to the area was poor and between 1900 and 1913, a succession of short segments of railway opened as the line crept northwards. By the start of World War I, the line terminated in Topuni, some 130 km north of Auckland and 80 km south of Whangarei. Wartime conditions meant that resources were diverted from railway projected but construction, especially of tunnels, still progressed. When peace was declared, construction surged northwards and was complemented by construction south from Whangarei, and within a few years, only one tunnel was required to link the two sections, the 600 metre long Golden Stairs tunnel. The first attempt to build the tunnel was abandoned, with the southern portal still visible, but the second attempt was successful, and on 29 November 1925, the North Auckland Line was complete and the isolated Northland railways were linked to the national network. 1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday. ... 1913 (MCMXIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Combatants Allies: â€¢ Serbia, â€¢ Russia, â€¢ France, â€¢ Romania, â€¢ Belgium, â€¢ British Empire and Dominions, â€¢ United States, â€¢ Italy, â€¢ ...and others Central Powers: â€¢ Germany, â€¢ Austria-Hungary, â€¢ Ottoman Empire, â€¢ 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... November 29 is the 333rd (in leap years the 334th) day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Stations

The following stations are or were located on the North Auckland Line (in brackets is the distance from Westfield):

Fruitvale Road Train Station is located on the Western Line of the Auckland Railway Network. ... Glen Eden Train Station is located on the Western Line of the Auckland Railway Network. ... Sunnyvale Train Station is located on the Western Line of the Auckland Railway Network. ...

Junctions

Four branch lines have diverged from the North Auckland Line throughout its existence, though only one remains operational. Otiria was the junction for the Okaihau Branch; near Whangarei was the junction of the Onerahi Branch; Waiotira is the junction for the extant Dargaville Branch, and Kumeu was once located at the western end of the Kumeu-Riverhead Section. 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. ... The Kumeu-Riverhead section was a short-lived railway line located north-west of Auckland, New Zealand. ...

Operation

In the early days of the line, services were very localised and catered to local rather than national needs. During its period of isolation, Whangarei was home to up to half of the members of the Wb class. When the line was completed, freight and passenger trains operated directly to Whangarei; freight trains further north were handled by services originating in Auckland, but the passenger trains ran directly from Auckland to Opua. This was known as the Northland Express, and by the 1950s, it ran thrice weekly and took five hours and twenty minutes to run from Auckland to Whangarei. Unfortunately, due to the twisting nature of the line, passenger services were inherently slow and they struggled to compete with private cars. The Wb class was a class of tank locomotives that operated in New Zealand. ... // Events and No. ...

In November 1956, the Northland Express carriage train was replaced by a railcar service utilising 88-seaters. These services barely lasted longer than a decade, being withdrawn in July 1967. The Auckland Harbour Bridge had opened in 1959 and drastically cut road transport times north, and in the face of heightened competition, the railway could not compete and no dedicated passenger service replaced the railcars. Passenger carriages were now attached to some freight trains to create "mixed" services; as they adhered to the freight schedules, the mixed trains now operated north or south of Whangarei, with mixed trains running between Whangarei and Auckland and from Whangarei to Okaihau and Opua. These services were unpopular due to their slow pace and the last mixed trains ran in 1976. Since this time, no passenger trains have run north of Waitakere. 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Auckland Harbour Bridge Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight lane road bridge that spans the Waitemata Harbour joining Freemans Bay in Auckland City with Northcote in North Shore City, New Zealand. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1976 calendar). ...

Commuter services between Auckland and its western suburbs have been a mainstay of the North Auckland Line from its construction. By the early 20th century, an intensive suburban service ran between Auckland and Henderson, with some trains progressing to Waitakere and Helensville. When the mixed trains were withdrawn, Helensville became New Zealand's northern passenger terminus, but in 1980, the daily train to Helensville was cancelled and the terminus moved south to Waitakere. Commuter trains nowadays terminate at Waitakere, Swanson, or New Lynn, and with traffic volumes increasing, the line is progressively being double-tracked. (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... 1980 (MCMLXXX in Roman) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

Freight services nowadays operate a couple of times daily between Auckland and Whangarei, with localised services shunting the line north to Otiria. Diesel-electric locomotives has been used since 1966, when DB class (locomotive)DB and DG class diesel-electric locomotives took over from the Ab and J class steam locomotives that had been working the line for the last couple of decades. In 1968, the Makarau tunnel was made larger to accommodate the DA class and they were the dominant motive power well into the 1980s. Although the DA class had been withdrawn from many other parts of the New Zealand network, the inability of the DC class to fit through the Makarau tunnel meant the DAs continued to operate until February 1989. By this time, the DF and DX classes were permitted to run to Whangarei, and nowadays, the DC class can also pass through the Makarau tunnel. A locomotive (from lat. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... Preserved No. ... A locomotive (from lat. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... The DA class was the most prolific class of locomotive to ever run on New Zealands national railway network. ... The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ... The DC class locomotive is New Zealands most common class of diesel-electric locomotive. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The General Motors DF class, now upgraded to the DFT class, consists of thirty locomotives built by General Motoros of Canada between 1979 and 1981. ... The General Electric DX class, consists of forty-nine locomotives built by General Electric of the United States between 1972 and 1975 for the then New Zealand Railways Department. ...

References

Categories: Railway lines in New Zealand | Public transport in Auckland | Northland, New Zealand // 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. ... The NIMT is the railway line connecting Auckland and Wellington, the two major cities of New Zealands North Island. ... The Main South Line is half of the South Island Main Trunk Railway in New Zealand and runs south from Christchurch down the east coast of the South Island to Invercargill via Dunedin. ... The South Island Main Trunk Railway runs down the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, from Picton to Bluff. ... The Waimea Plains Railway was a secondary railway line (not a branch line) that linked the towns of Lumsden and Gore in northern Southland, New Zealand. ... The Dargaville Branch is a branch line railway that leaves the North Auckland Line not far south of Whangarei and runs westward to Dargaville. ... The Donnellys Crossing Section (later the Donnellys Crossing Branch), also known as the Kaihu Valley Railway, was a railway line in Northland, New Zealand. ... The Kumeu-Riverhead section was a short-lived railway line located north-west of Auckland, New Zealand. ... The Auckland-Newmarket Line (sometimes called the Newmarket Branch) is the railway line between Britomart and Newmarket. ... The Foxton Branch was a railway line in New Zealand. ... The Methven Branch was a branch line railway that was part of New Zealands national rail network in Canterbury. ... The Mount Somers Branch, sometimes known as the Springburn Branch, was a branch line railway in the region of Canterbury, New Zealand. ... The Bluff Branch is a railway line in Southland, New Zealand that links Invercargill with the port of Bluff. ... The Catlins River Branch was a branch line railway that formed part of New Zealands national rail network. ... The Fernhill Branch is a railway line in Otago, New Zealand. ... The Hedgehope Branch, also known as the Browns Branch, was a branch line railway in Southland, New Zealand that started life in the 1880s as a privately owned bush tramway. ... The Kingston Branch was a major branch line railway in Southland, New Zealand. ... The Moeraki Branch was one of the most short-lived railway lines in New Zealand. ... The Mossburn Branch was a branch line railway in New Zealand from Lumsden on the Kingston Branch to the town of Mossburn in western Southland. ... The Ngapara and Tokarahi Branches were two connected branch lines in northern Otago, New Zealand that formed part of the national railway system. ... The Port Chalmers Branch was the first railway line built in Otago, New Zealand, and linked the regions major city of Dunedin with the port in Port Chalmers. ... The Waikaka Branch was a railway line that ran through agricultural and gold-mining country in Southland, New Zealand. ... The Kaitangata Line was a branch line railway in Otago, New Zealand. ... The Sanson Tramway was a tramway in the Manawatu region of New Zealand that operated from 1885 until 1945. ... The Wellington and Manawatu Railway (WMR) was a railway between Thorndon in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, and Longburn, near the town of Palmerston North, in the Manawatu. ...

Contents

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Stations

Junctions

Operation

References

Construction