The Okaihau Branch, sometimes known as the Kaikohe Branch and rarely the Rangiahua Branch, was a branch line railway that joined the North Auckland Line of the national rail network of New Zealand at Otiria. It was the most northerly line in New Zealand and was intended to run all the way to Kaitaia. It opened to Okaihau in 1923 and closed in 1987. A branch line is a relatively minor railway line which branches off a more important through route. ... The North Auckland Line is a major railway line in New Zealands national rail network. ... // 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. ... Kaitaia is a town in Northland Region, in the far north of New Zealand. ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Construction

Proposals for a railway line to Kaitaia and the Far North existed as early as the 1870s, but it was not until 1909 that preliminary surveys were conducted. After the North Auckland Line was linked to and extended over the Opua Branch in 1911, construction progressed in earnest from Otiria towards Kaikohe: initial work had been undertaken in 1910. On 1 May 1914, this section opened. A small amount of further construction took place over the next two years, but World War I meant that no work took place between 1916 and 1919. The resumption of work led to the completion of the line to Okaihau on 29 October 1923. // Events and Trends Technology The invention of the telephone (1876) by Alexander Graham Bell. ... Year 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The North Auckland Line is a major railway line in New Zealands national rail network. ... The Bay of Islands Vintage Railway (sometimes erroneously called the Opua Branch, once the Otiria-Opua Industrial Line) is a former section of the North Auckland Line in the Northland Region of New Zealand between Kawakawa and the Bay of Islands township of Opua. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... Kaikohe is the central service area for the Far North District of New Zealand, about 260 km from Auckland, situated on State Highway 12 at 35°27′S 173°49′E. It is the largest inland town and highest community above sea level in the Northland Region. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Franz... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... October 29 is the 302nd day of the year (303rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Debate raged over what route to follow to Kaitaia. The proposal was to run from Okaihau to Rangiahua, near the Hokianga Harbour, and then either through the Maungataniwha Range, about 30 kilometres long with two tunnels; or skirting the range, roughly ten kilometres longer with no tunnels. A 1921 commission did not support work beyond Okaihau, but a compromise in 1923 established Rangiahua as the northern terminus and the Public Works Department continued to build northwards, albeit slowly. Rangiahua is a small locality near the Hokianga Harbour in the Northland Region of New Zealand. ... The Hokianga Harbour, also known as The Hokianga River or more frequently simply as The Hokianga is a long estuarial drowned valley and its surrounding area on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. ... The Maungataniwha Range is a volcanic mountain range located halfway between Kaitaia and Okaihau in Northland of New Zealand. ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for full calendar). ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The Great Depression proved catastrophic for the fortunes of the line beyond Okaihau, with construction abandoned in the early 1930s. The Rangiahua section was essentially complete: the line wound downhill to the settlement and a station yard complete with platform was built, though the station building itself was not erected. In 1936, a change in government led to a review of the work beyond Okaihau and the decision was made not to extend the line to Kaitaia. The steep route to Rangiahua was not seen as being particularly useful and had been plagued by slips. The line was accordingly terminated in Okaihau, which was on the main State Highway north (SH1). During World War II the abandoned trackage was salvaged for use elsewhere. The Great Depression was an economic downturn which started in 1929 and lasted through most of the 1930s. ... The 1930s (years from 1930-1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom France Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Charles de Gaulle Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian...

Stations

The following stations were on the Okaihau Branch, with the distance from Otiria in brackets. The extension to Rangiahua is not included, as it never saw regular service.

• Kawiti (5 km)
• Cameron's Crossing (7 km)
• Ngapipito (10 km)
• Rakautao (17 km)
• Ngapuhi (22 km)
• Kaikohe (26 km)
• Lake Omapere Road Crossing (35 km)
• Okaihau (40 km)

Operation

Although Kaikohe has become established as the service centre of the Far North, it failed to generate much rail traffic in the early years of the line. During the first ten months of existence, just 1,500 tons of inbound freight was carried, with roughly half that carried outbound; the decline continued to the point that in 1918 Kaikohe lost its stationmaster. Minimal services were offered, and although losses increased up to 1930, fortunes had somewhat improved by 1940, and by 1950 there was sufficient traffic to justify six trains each way a week. Two carried solely freight, while four were mixed trains, also carrying passengers. Full complements of staff were employed at Kaikohe and Okaihau, where a locomotive depot was located. Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Folk singer Peter Cape wrote and sang his song The Okaihau Express in the 1950s about the Okaihau train, which consisted of a steam engine, a carriage and a guards van; page down on [1].

When railcars were introduced on services north of Auckland in November 1956, they ran all the way to Okaihau. Previously, a carriage train known as the Northland Express had run from Auckland to Opua with connections to Okaihau via the mixed trains, but with the change of the northern terminus to Okaihau, the branch increased in importance. This proved to be short-lived; in July 1967 the very popular railcar service was withdrawn due to mechanical problems plaguing the railcars. Passengers had to use the mixed trains, with significantly older rolling stock on a slower schedule, and demand slipped. The branch closed to passengers on 21 June 1976. A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. ... Schematic map of Auckland. ... Year 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 (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 193 days remaining. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ...

In 1977, a relaxation of road transport laws led to a decline in freight traffic on the line and forestry proposals that would have required a railway service failed to eventuate. Scheduled trains were cancelled on 12 August 1983, and for a little over four years the line was shunted when required. The branch closed on 1 November 1987. For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Branch today

After the line's closure, the New Zealand Railways Corporation retained ownership over the trackbed in the hopes that forestry proposals would come to fruition, and some rails were still in place during the 1990s. In most places track and bridges have been removed, though evidence of the bridge piles and ballast remain. A loading bank and rails under a loading chute exist in Kaikohe, and in Okaihau, the flat area of the yard, the tunnel leading to Rangiahua and the platform are very apparent. For much of the line's length, its formation is quite obvious and includes embankments and cuttings. At Rangiahua State Highway 1 is where the rails used to be, with a loading bank to the west and a platform to the east. The corridor is still owned by the Crown. For the band, see 1990s (band). ... The New Zealand State Highway Shield. ...

Resources

• 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
• Cape, Peter; "The Okaihau Express", page down on:

[2]