The Rimutaka Range (often referred to as the Rimutaka Ranges) is one of several mountain ranges in the North Island of New Zealand which form a ridge running parallel with the east coast of the island between East Cape and Wellington.
The ridge is at its most pronounced in the southern part of the island, where it is comprised of the Ruahine, Tararua, and Rimutaka Ranges.
The Rimutakas run southwest-northeast for 55 kilometres from Turakirae Head at the eastern end of Palliser Bay to the upper reaches of the Hutt Valley where it joins the southern end of the end of the Tararua Range.
The highest peak in the Rimutakas is Mount Mathews, at 940 metres.
Although a suitable alignment could be found on the western side of the range, on the eastern side surveys were less successful, the only practical route was that with graded steeper than that used with conventional railways.
An average grade of 1 in 15 was used to descend a three-mile section of track between Summit and Cross Creek on the Wairarapa side of the range.
Near the end of its days the Rimutaka Incline bore witness to the passage of a Royal Train carrying HM Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh.
The line was continued over the Rimutakaranges to Featherston in the Wairarapa, opening on October 12, 1878.
To assist with the 1 in 15 grade on the Featherston side of the range, the Rimutaka Incline[?] employed Fell Engines[?] that used a raised friction traction centre rail to haul trains up the steep grade.
In conjunction with the Tunnel, the laying of a new route, new bridges, and substantial realignments and double tracking of the rest of the line from Wellington as far as Trentham station had occurred by June 26, 1955.
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