Oamaru's Weighbridge - A holdover from the past

The Oamaru weighbridge and cabin. 24/09/2024.

Oamaru has a good number of railway buildings that have escaped the bulldozers and excavators of past railway companies, the district council and from being torched by bored locals. One of these is the old weighbridge cabin located in the former goods yard. While the goods shed has gone on to bigger and brighter things as the home of Scotts Brewery, the old weighbridge cabin stands forlornly as the Oamaru Steam and Rail trains travel past nearby.

The location of the weighbridge in the old Oamaru goods yard.

Apart from the track, much of the old Oamaru goods yard with the old weighbridge cabin located between the former goods shed and container gantry crane. 

The New Zealand Railways installed weighbridges at most of their medium and large stations. The railways used the scales to find the weight of the load in a wagon so they could charge the right amount for transport. The weighbridges were also used to ensure wagons weren't overloaded, and to determine the weight of the wagon and its load so that trains could be put together that didn't exceed the tonnage limits of the locomotives hauling the trains.

To help staff work out the weight of the load, every wagon had the tare weight of the wagon and what it was capable of carrying called the distributed load stenciled on the side. 

LA24158 with its tare and distributed weight stenciled on its side. This wagon is preserved and looked after by the Fielding and District Steam Rail Society. 

The weighbridge is made up of three parts, the weighbridge, the pit and the cabin.

The weighbridge and cabin in the old Oamaru goods yard. 14/09/2024.

Wagons were weighed using a mechanical system of levers. The weighbridge consisted of the rails which sat on two steel I beams that rested on the main levers located in the pit directly below. A transverse lever off the main lever connected to a rod that went up to either a sliding weigh beam or dial which showed the weight of the wagon and whatever it was carrying. Steel plates protected the levers from the elements and stopped people from falling into the pit. The weighbridge was only big enough for four wheel wagons.

The weighbridge and pit.

Weighbridge cabins were built to protect the scales and railway staff from the elements. The cabins came with large windows so that staff had a good view of the weighbridge and along the weighbridge siding. 

The cabin is a standard NZR design that was used across the network. There were two versions of this type of weighbridge cabin. The first version was rectangular with windows at the front and two sides. The second version had windows at the front which angled to the sides like the one we have in Oamaru. 

Front of the weighbridge cabin. 

The south side of the weighbridge cabin. In the background can be seen the former Oamaru goods shed and yard area.

The rear of the weighbridge cabin.

The north side of the weighbridge cabin.

With the closure of the Oamaru goods yard and redevelopment of the land it is remarkable that the cabin and weighbridge still remain in situ. Hopefully the cabin continues as a reminder of the industrial and transport history of Oamaru and North Otago.

And that's about it.

Bridge 194 - The finished product

An aerial view of the new bridge over the Pleasant River at Goodwood. Photo courtesy of KiwiRail April 2024.

Earlier this year, HEB Construction and KiwiRail completed the new bridge over the Pleasant River. The Pleasant River is just south of Palmerston and directly north of the old Goodwood station site on the Main South Line between Christchurch and Invercargill. 

As part of the Rail Network Investment Programme, the old bridge which was a 12 span timber beam bridge that had very much reached the end of its working life was replaced with a four span concrete ballast bridge. The replacement bridge is the first of KiwiRail's ballast bridge designs to be constructed.

With a bit of spare time one cold and clear Saturday morning I was able to get out and see the finished product, the new Bridge 194 over the Pleasant River.

The eastern side of Bridge 194 crossing the Pleasant River and Brooklands Road. 

The beautiful winter sun stayed low in the sky which made getting a good shot of the whole bridge difficult. From the western side I was looking into the sun and from the eastern side there were plenty of shadows. I decided to work from the eastern side even though the shadows played havoc with photography.

The four concrete spans of the new bridge.

The bridge is a great example of good engineering. Throughout the construction process, the bridge remained open to trains except for some weekend block of lines for critical work. 

A temporary bridge was built alongside the existing bridge to provide crane access. Pile casings were first driven into the ground before being filled with concrete. On the top of the casings, concrete cross beams were cast in place. This work was done with the old bridge still in place. Over an extended block of line, the old timber bridge was removed and the new spans which had been assembled onsite from precast concrete beams were placed on the piers. Much of the construction material including the casings and beams were brought in by rail.

Precast concrete bridge beams and wingwalls were brought in by special work train in January 2024. Photo courtesy of HEB Construction from their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HEBConstruction.

HEB and KiwiRail used a work train to bring in over 250 tons of precast concrete bridge components including eight 15 metre bridge beams, four precast wingwalls and a container of crane lifting equipment. The train used standard container wagons with special bolsters and  eliminated approximately 8,400 km's of heavy haulage transport would have been required to transport the concrete components from the factory in Hornby in Christchurch to the Pleasant River site.

One of the the bogie container wagons, IK 16140 which was used to transport the precast concrete bridge beams using special bolsters seen here in the Palmerston yard.

A close up of one of the bolsters on bogie container wagon IK 16140.

With time to spare I had a good look around the new bridge.

Another view of the four spans and three piers looking northwards.

The first pier and northern bridge abutment.

A side on view of the third pier.

A view of the underneath of the new bridge taking in the first and second piers.

Piers two and three and the southern bridge abutment.

The third concrete bridge span

Rubber pads between the bridge pier and concrete span.

The southern bridge abutment.

A side on view of the southern bridge abutment.

A close up of the rubber pads between the fourth concrete span and the southern bridge abutment.

A view of the southern brigade abutment from track height.

Ballasted concrete span bridges, while common in other countries, are relatively new in New Zealand. Some of the advantages of a ballasted bridge include lower maintenance costs compared to traditional timber bridges, the ease of keeping track level while the bridge supports settle and the ease of track maintenance as its essentially a continuation of the normal ballasted track.  

The ballasted track across the bridge.

As well as the construction of the bridge, KiwiRail also upgraded the approaches on both sides of the bridge including new concrete sleepers, rail and ballast..

The approach to the new bridge looking south towards the former Goodwood Station site.

It is obvious the HEB Construction and KiwiRail took great care to rehabilitate the former construction yard and return the ground and the river back to its previous condition. 

The former construction yard area.

It has been fascinating watching HEB Construction and KiwiRail go about building this new bridge. Everyone involved should be congratulated and be proud of their mahi in upgrading infrastructure on the MSL so it can keep doing what it does best, moving freight and hopefully people long into the future.

And that's about it.

Alliance Lorneville's Private Siding

About 10km north of Invercargill is the small village of Lorneville. Lorneville is an agri business hub with a number of businesses that support the Southland farming sector. It is also home to one of the largest meat processing plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, Alliance Lorneville. The plant processes sheep, cattle and deer and employs around 2000 people.

Alliance Lorneville, Lorneville, Southland

Alliance Freezing Company (Southland) Limited was formed in 1948 by a group of Southland farmers. Alliance is now one of the largest meat processers in the country with six meat processing plants in the South Island and two in the North Island.

In the early 1960's Alliance built a new freezing works at Lorneville. At the time it was said to be the first freezing works constructed in New Zealand since the 1930's. To serve the plant, Alliance built a private siding from Lorneville on the former Kingston Branch to their plant, a distance of approximately two kilometers.

Map of private siding to Alliance Lorneville from the Lorneville Station Yard.

The private siding was originally operated by A&G Price shunter number 185. This small 4 wheel shunting locomotive was similar in design to Tr shunting locomotives built by Price for the New Zealand Railways. 185 was built in 1958 and worked the siding until it was replaced in the 1980's and became a stand by locomotive. The locomotive was purchased by the Ocean Beach Railway in December 1993 and has now been restored to its original blue livery.

Ex Lorneville freezing works shunting locomotive number 185 in preservation at the Ocean Beach Railway. It wears the black and yellow stripe livery it wore in its final days at Lorneville.

With 185 starting to show its age after years of hauling heavy trains of meat around the freezing works and down the siding, the locomotive was replaced with two ex NZR DS 0-6-0 diesel shunting locomotives.

Ex NZR diesel shunter DS201. This locomotive replaced number 185 in working the Lornville private siding. Photo by Charlie Watson.

Since the early 2000's the siding has been the domain of DSC shunting locomotives. In 2002, Alliance purchased DSC2421 from Tranz Rail. The locomotive was sent to Hutt Workshops in Lower Hutt for a mechanical tidy up and a repaint into Alliance's yellow and grey livery.

DSC 2421 in Alliance Livery. 

DSC2421 worked the siding until the 2020's when it was replaced by leased DSC's from KiwiRail. In August 2022, DSC 2421 was trucked to Oamaru Steam and Rail for an overhaul. This locomotive is currently still in Oamaru.

DSC2421 with Harry Andrew at the Oamaru Steam and Rail yard. Photo courtesy of Oamaru Today.

The private siding starts at a set of points at the south end of the Lorneville yard. The siding passes an engine limit board as it curves to the right and heads west.

The private siding points with the exchange sidings at Lorneville yard in the background. The private siding is on the left. Photo taken facing north.

The private siding curves to right past the engine limit board. The line to the left comes off the Wairio Branch to the far left and provides access to the Lorneville yard and exchange sidings.

A photo of number 185 approaching Lorneville station with three loaded V or VB insulated bogie wagons on the same curve on the 12th of May 1964. Photo courtesy of Southland's Ghost Railways Facebook Page. Southland's Ghost Railways page can be found here.

The siding then heads west up a grade towards the Steel Road railway crossing.

Looking down the line from the Steel Road railway crossing towards Lorneville station.

Steel Road railway crossing.

Having a look at the steel road railway crossing I saw that this crossing still had the traditional crossing bells. There wouldn't be many crossings in New Zealand that still has bells ringing out when a train passes. 

The traditional style of railway crossing lights and bells at the Steel Road railway crossing.

The line continues west from the railway crossing alongside Crowe Road before arriving at a small loop.

Looking west from Steel Road railway crossing along Crowe Road towards the short loop.

Points at the eastern end of the loop.

The short loop alongside Crowe Road.

The cross over at the western of the loop.

At the western end of the loop there is a cross over where one line veers to the right, across Crowes Road and into the freezing works site. This siding leads to a large cool store on the eastern boundary of the freezing works.

The line to the cool store crossing Crowe Road into the freezing works.

The cool store at the Lorneville Freezing Works.

The original siding continues heading east for a short distance before curving to the right to cross Crowe Road and enter the freezing works site.

Lorneville Freezing Works Sidings. The locomotive shed and the nose of a DSC shunter can be seen in the distance.

As the siding continues into the Lorneville site there are a number of sidings branching off including one into a basic locomotive shed. As I wasn't authorised to enter the Alliance site, I stayed on the public side of the fence and could only look in and wonder where all the sidings went to.

While I was visiting I didn't see any trains operating but I believe that a shunting service from Invercargill comes out to the Lorneville exchange sidings in the morning and afternoon to pick up and set out wagons for the private sidings. I'm not sure if the DSC's run a shunt on the siding at set times or just as required. Oh to be trackside in the 1980's to watch 185 or DS201 haul a train of UK wagons loaded with TBC insulated containers with their large New Zealand railways logos down the siding.

And that's about it.

Ashburton Model Train Show 2024

An Swiss Railways Ce 6/8 'Crocodile' locomotive hauls an auto train, a steam hauled passenger train and a railcar on Sam Cassels HO scale Marklin Mountain Village layout.

Weekends free of work commitments are few and far between, but through some fluke a rare free weekend lined up with the Ashburton Model Train Show. The show was held on the 6th and 7th of July at the Tinwald Memorial Hall.

Like most small community shows this one had a number of layouts of differing quality and a few hobby supply and second hand train stalls. When we arrived at around 10am on Saturday, the show was already busy with a good number of families making their way around the layouts.

First up was Wrexton, an N gauge British layout operated by the Garden City Model Railroad Club. This was a great layout with a double track main line, passenger station and yard. The layout kept spectators happy with a good range of trains passing by on the mainline. The detail on this layout was great and really showed off the benefits on N scale.

Mountain Village is an HO scale Marklin layout. Sam Cassel, the builder of the layout has packed a lot of action into a small footprint to produce an excellent exhibition layout. Spectators are kept entertained as trains loop and climb across each other and also stop at the station. This layout had a great range of locomotives, freight wagons and passenger cars and was fun to watch. The legendary electric 'Crocodile' locomotive was a personal favourite as it hauled a rake of car wagons around the layout. 

The HO scale Cajon Valley and Red Mine layout is a regular at model train shows across the South Island. This simple little layout packs a lot into a small space and is a personal favourite of mine.

The line has heaps of details and a 'what can you find' encourages everyone to look closely in and around the layout. An awesome layout that I look forward to seeing again in the future.

Zuggarnitur is a wonderful German Z scale layout. This is the second time I have seen a Z scale layout and it is seriously small. How the manufacturers are able to make mechanisms for these locomotives is an incredible example of engineering. 

One layout that I didn't get the name of was an N scale American outline exhibition layout. Like Wrexton, this layout had a double track mainline which offered plenty of action with many long freights and fast AMTRAK passenger trains. My favourite part of this layout was the rock work alongside a yard down one side of the layout.

OO scale Pendarves Castle was another small layout with an excellent model of Pendarves Castle. The Eurostar zipping around the small loop at high speed kept things interesting!

N gauge modular layout Falcalfe was another excellent exhibition layout designed to keep the interest of spectators. While the layout was of British outline, there was a range of trains running to keep the punters happy. This was a great layout with a number of different scenes. I really enjoyed the high quality construction of the cardboard kits on this layout.

Alongside the layouts was a model engineers stand with a range of static models including this beautiful live steam model of 0-6-0 locomotive Ym82.

My favourite layout of the show was Rawdon. This layout is an N scale layout representing a New Zealand Railway station somewhere on the West Coast of the South Island. This excellent layout was made up of a typical NZR track plan of main, passing loop and siding. The station yard also had a goods shed and coal mine sidings. This layout perfectly captured the feeling of a small town on the West Coast!

One of the really good things about this show was the number of interactive displays. Small kids were have a great time playing with toy trains on a large mat while older ones were able to operate a DCC switching layout using a smart phone. The organising committee should be congratulated for this initiative to get new people into our hobby.

Overall, this was a good solid show with enough to keep the public and enthusiasts happy. My highlight was the pride that the people that were displaying had in their layouts. From the outside looking in, it would feel daunting to put your work out there for all to see including the rivet counters. My thanks to the organisers and all the exhibitors for a good show.

And that's about it.