Wickliffe Street Siding - Return of a ghost railway

Whites Aviation Photo of the Dunedin tank farms along Wickliffe and Fryatt Street taken on the 31st of March 1955. Photo courtesy of the National Library. A link to the photo can be found here.

New Zealand Railways once had an extensive network of sidings that transported goods to and from the industrial area in Dunedin's harbour basin.

The sidings along Wickliffe and Fryatt Streets served the Shell depot on Wickliffe Street, and the container yard, Caltex depot, bituman siding, wharf, cool store and New Zealand Cement Holdings on Fryatt Street.

Over time the private siding traffic dried up until only the container yard was still served by shunts. This traffic came to an end in the late 2000's.

DSC 2462 shunts the container yard on Fryatt Street. 7 September 2008. Photo by Geoffery White. A link to Geoffery's Flickr page can be found here.

The siding was later disconnected from the rest of the network near the ANZAC Avenue over bridge and was left to slowly rust away.

In mid November, I heard talk of the Wickliffe siding being rebuilt and track being relaid. Being curious, I decided to pay the old siding a visit.

Map of the Wickliff Street Siding.

Speculation is rife amongst the railfan community about what is happening with the siding. Some say it will be used for log trains running from a new inland log port on the Taieri, while others say it is getting rebuilt with government funding because a new section of the Aka Otakou - The Otago Vine cycle and walking trail that links Port Chalmers with Portobello around Otago Harbour crosses the old siding. Either way it is good to see some siding track being relaid.

On my visit work was definitely underway on the relaying and refurbishment of the siding.

Repurposed track relaid alongside the Main South Line. Dunedin Railway Station can be seen in the distance. 18/11/2023.

The siding track running alongside the old NZR permanent way workshop. 18/11/2023.

 

The siding track diverging from the Main South Line to run along Wickcliff Street. 18/11/2023.

The location of the new crossing with the Te Aka Otakou - The Otago Vine cycle and walking trail. The popular Emersons Brewery can be seen in the upper left of the photo. 18/11/2023.

The Wickliffe Street Siding crosses the entrance to the Z Energy Fuel Terminal. 18/11/2023.

Looking east along the siding and the points at the western end of the short loop. 18/11/2023.

Looking west along the siding and the points at the eastern end of the short loop. 18/11/2023.

The location of the current crossing with the Te Aka Otakou - The Otago Vine cycle and walking trail. A new section of the trail is being built alongside the far end of the fuel terminal and the Main South Line. 18/11/2023.

Looking east from the Te Aka Otakou Trail crossing, the siding turns to the left as it begins to run parallel with Fryatt Street. 18/11/2023.

As the siding curves to the left it crosses the entrance and exit to a waste transfer station. The track to the right was the beginning of the siding that followed Fryatt Street to the south. 18/11/2023.

The remains of the former siding along Fryatt Street. 18/11/2023.

The former end of the Wickliffe Siding along Fryatt Street. 18/11/2023.

And the possible end of the new siding beside the Fryatt Street Log Terminal. 18/11/23.

With my photos taken, I left Wickliff Street behind hoping that trains will shortly return to the siding.

And that's about it. 

Living on Borrowed Time - Bridge 194

 
Train 962 Dunedin to Middleton Freight crosses bridge 194 over the Pleasant River at Goodwood on the 15th of January 2023. Photo by Darryl Bond and used with permission. You can find Darryl's fantastic Flickr page here. 

Over my last few trips to Dunedin I spotted some activity around the old wooden bridge at Goodwood. My interest was further raised last week when I saw a large crane on the north side of the Pleasant River. While I couldn't stop to have a look at the time, I managed to get away from the house for short time to explore and see what was happening.

Arriving at Goodwood I turned off State Highway 1 onto Goodwood Road and then on Brooklands Road. It wasn't long until the bridge and the construction site came into view.

Bridge 194 and the construction site. 12/08/2023

Bridge 194 is a traditional New Zealand railways beam bridge made up of three and five pile piers and 12 spans of steel and wooden beams. The bridge carries the Main South Line over the Pleasant River at Goodwood. 

Goodwood is located about halfway between the Otago towns of Waikouaiti and Palmerston and has the claim to fame as the location where the railway line between Christchurch and Dunedin finally met in 1878.

An overhead view of bridge 194.

While the Pleasant River was nice and calm today, the river rapidly rises and floods if the area has any significant rain. Having a closer look at the bridge, you can see that it's taken a beating over it's many decades of service and is due for replacement.

Bridge 194 crossing Pleasant River at Goodwood. 12/08/2023

With easy access and the thought that this bridge and many like it are quickly disappearing, I decided to get some detail shots of the structure.

The Ontrack bridge information sign on pier 9. 12/08/2023.

The piers at the north end of Bridge 194 including the previously replaced pile and pier cap on the nearest pier, pier 7. 12/08/2023.

Another view of pier 7 with its replacement pile and pier cap. 12/08/2023.

Pier 9 with its steel rings around the center pile. 12/08/2023.

A closeup of piles on pier 9 with the different stamped numbers and markings. 12/08/2023.

The battered and repaired pier 10 on Bridge 194. 12/08/2023.

Brooklands Road passing under the southern end of Bridge 194 looking towards the west. 12/08/2023.

    A detail shot of eastern sides of pier 11 and the southern abutment. 12/08/2023.

A detail shot of the western sides of pier 11 and the southern abutment. 12/08/2023.

Detail shot of the pier cap, bearers, timber beams and sleepers on pier 11. 12/08/23.

Ontracks bridge identification sign and the old 194 bridge number plate on the south abutment. 12/08/2023.

To help get construction material to Goodwood, KiwiRail ran a special train made up log wagons carrying pile casings to the HEB Construction site.

DC 4323 arrives at Goodwood with a special train carrying pile casings. Photo courtesy of the KiwiRail Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/KiwiRailNewZealand  

The first of the pile casings is prepared to be lifted from the special train. Photo courtesy of  the KiwiRail Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/KiwiRailNewZealand 

Pile casings for the new bridge at Goodwood being unloaded. Photo courtesy of the KiwiRail Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/KiwiRailNewZealand

While it's sad to see traditional NZR infrastructure like this bridge disappearing, it is good to see money being invested to improve and upgrade Aotearoa's rail network.

Since I pass this site a lot, I'll make sure to keep you up to date with the challenging work of building a new railway bridge while keeping the line open for traffic. 

And that's about it.

Station Profile - Eskdale

 

Back in early October 2022 I headed to the Hawkes Bay for a short holiday. While travelling across the Napier to Taupo Road I stopped off at Eskdale. Eskdale holds a very special place for me as I spent many summer holidays as a young lad at the nearby camping ground. Never in my wildest dreams could I imagine that only five months later Eskdale would be a scene of devastation due to flooding caused by Cyclone Gabrielle. 

Opened on the 23rd of July 1923, Eskdale is located north of Napier at the 197km post on the Palmerston North to Gisborne Line (PNGL). 

In its day it was a busy little country station serving the local rural community and was a crossing place for passenger and goods trains heading to Gisborne and returning to Napier and points south.

Opening of the Eskdale Railway Station sometime in the early 1920's. Photo courtesy of the Old Hawkes Bay Facebook page www.facebook.com/groups/oldhawkesbay

Originally, Eskdale's track layout comprised of the main, a crossing loop, a siding, a goods siding and a back shunt for the stock yard. Buildings comprised of a station building, goods shed, loading bank, water tanks and stock yard. 

Eskdale Railway Station in 1924 looking east towards Napier. France House can be seen in the middle left of the photo. Photo by Albert Percy Godber. Photo courtesy of the National Library. natlib.govt.nz

The Esk Valley and Eskdale are no strangers to natural disasters. At 10:47am on the 3rd of February 1931, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Hawkes Bay. The earthquake killed 256, injured thousands and devastated the Hawkes Bay. Transport infrastructure including the railways were significantly damaged and the station was closed due to earthquake damage. At the time of the 1931 earthquake, the railway line to Gisborne was still under construction and had not yet reached Wairoa. 

Eskdale River Bridge following the 1931 Hawkes Bay Earthquake. Photo taken by John Cormick. Photo courtesy of MTG Hawkes Bay collection.mtghawkesbay.com

The station reopened on the 23rd of August 1937 only to be significantly damaged by flooding in April 1938.

Eskdale Railway Station following the 1938 flood. Photo courtesy of the Old Hawkes Bay Facebook page www.facebook.com/groups/oldhawkesbay

The line from Napier to Gisborne was finally completed and opened for traffic in 1942.

J class 4-8-2 Steam Locomotive 1234 leads a Gisborne bound goods train away from Eskdale. The photo was from the New Zealand Railways Publicity Branch in 1956. Photo courtesy of the Knowledge Bank - Hawkes Bay Digital Archives Trust. Knowledge.org.nz 

DC 4070 arrives at Eskdale with a Napier bound Goods Train 961 on the 10th of June 1980. Photo by P. Kerwin. Photo courtesy of the Old Hawkes Bay Facebook page   www.facebook.com/groups/oldhawkesbay 

Eskdale was closed to all traffic on the 30th of March 1985 but remained in use as a crossing loop and for the storage of written off wagons. Most of the old infrastructure including the goods shed, station building and signals were removed around this time. Later on the siding, goods shed siding and back shunts were removed leaving only the station platform, shelter station and loop siding.

As children, my brother and I often went on holiday with my grandparents at the Hawkes Bay Caravan and Camping Club camping ground at Eskdale. I remember badgering grandad to take me to the station. One day we finally did get to walk to the station. Memories are a bit blurry but I do recall seeing an old white four wheel wooden insulated wagon on one of the sidings. It was only later I found out that this wagon was W1152, a W class wooden insulated meat wagon. W1152 was refurbished in the early 1980's and painted in a special livery to mark the centenary of the first frozen shipment of meat from the Port of Napier.

Insulated 4 wheel meat wagon W1152 in a faded special Nelson Brothers Tomoana Freezing Works livery at Ormondville. Courtesy of the NZR in OO page nzr.lolshame.com

Since this wagon holds such a special place in my memory I might do a post dedicated to this old wagon.

Freight trains continued to use the line until March 2012 when a storm caused four large washouts north of Wairoa. The line was then effectively mothballed until late 2019 when log trains resumed running between Napier and Wairoa. Initially the log trains ran in the weekends but as demand grew these services began running on weekdays. 

DFB 7282 with an empty log train at Wairoa sometime in 2020. Photo courtesy of Radio New Zealand and KiwiRail. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/431140/wairoa-napier-log-trains-get-back-on-track

While returning from a short holiday in Napier I was able to stop at Eskdale to photograph it as it was prior to Cyclone Gabrielle.

The PNGL line looking eastwards towards Napier from the eastern end of the Eskdale Siding. 5/10/2022.

The points at the Napier end of the Eskdale Siding. The sign gives the location and identifies that the loop is a siding with manually operated points. 5/10/2022.

The points for the Eskdale siding at the Napier end of the siding looking west towards the station shelter. 5/10/2022.

The 197 Kilometer marker post at Eskdale. This marker is 197km's from the start of the Palmerston North to Gisborne Line at Milson Junction in Palmerston North. 5/10/2022.

The Napier end of the siding. The siding is overgrown and doesn't see any use. An open derailer can also be seen. 5/10/2022.

Looking West towards the Shaw Road railway crossing. 5/10/2022.

Shaw Road Railway Crossing looking south towards State Highway 5, the Napier to Taupo Road. 5/10/2022.

Shaw Road Railway Crossing looking north. The railway crossing provides access to Hukarere Girls College and Eskdale Park. Shaw Road was named after Hazel and Les Shaw who ran France House at this location. 5/10/2022.

The PNGL looking east from Shaw Road towards Napier. 5/10/2022.

Looking west from the Shaw Road railway crossing towards the Eskdale station shelter. 5/10/22.

Eskdale yard looking towards the Shaw Road railway crossing. 5/10/2022.

Eskdale yard looking towards the station shelter. 5/10/2022.

Due to its location near a good swimming river and proximity to Napier and Hastings, Eskdale become a popular destination for picnic trains for railway workers and freezing works staff. The station had also become a popular stop for excursion trains.

The current shelter station and railway precinct has been restored and well looked after by local railway enthusiasts. Much of the work was lead by Spud Langley who has been responsible for restoring many railway structures around rural Hawkes Bay. An article about Spud and his work can be found here. 

Eskdale Station. 5/10/2022.

A marker post showing the distance by rail from Eskdale to Napier and Gisborne. 5/10/2022.

The Eskdale Station Shelter. Napier end. 5/10/2022.

Eskdale Station Shelter from the front. 5/10/2022.

Eskdale Station Shelter. Gisborne end. 5/10/2022.

The western end of the Eskdale yard looking towards the station shelter. Another open derailer on the siding. 5/10/2022.

Eskdale yard looking towards Waipunga Road railway crossing at the Gisborne end of the yard. The western end of the old yard is now used by roading contractors to store metal chip. 5/10/2022.

The siding looking towards Waipunga Road railway crossing at the Gisborne end of the yard. 5/10/2022.

The siding points at the Gisborne end of the siding. 5/10/2022.

The points for Eskdale siding at the Gisborne end of the yard. This view is looking towards the station shelter. 5/10/2022.

Something that can still be seen around New Zealand is the short fencing made of old rails . These fences were located at both sides of a railway crossing and were used alongside cattle stops to stop livestock from getting onto the railway right of way. 5/10/2022. 

Waipunga Road railway crossing looking towards the Napier Taupo Road. 5/10/2022.

On the Gisborne side of the Waipunga Road railway crossing I found this sign on the lineside. Its not one I've seen before. 5/10/2022.

The PNGL looking west towards Gisborne from the Waipunga Road railway crossing. 5/10/2022.

In the early hours of Tuesday the 14th of February 2023, flooding ripped through the Esk Valley resulting in death and destruction in the quiet community of Eskdale. The flooding was the result of huge amounts of rain that fell in the area as Cyclone Gabrielle moved its way along the East Coast of the North Island.

Sadly the railway was also severely effected with the railway yard covered in thick deposits of silt and parts of the platform washed away.

The Eskdale Railway Shelter following Cyclone Gabrielle and flooding in the Esk Valley. Photos by Geoff Mackley and Matthew Davison. Photos courtesy of the Railways and Tramways of New Zealand Facebook page Railways and Tramways of New Zealand

Rail infrastructure across the Hawkes Bay was significantly damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle with many slips, embankments washed away and numerous bridges damaged or destroyed. It's unlikely trains will be rumbling by the small green and cream station shelter in Eskdale for sometime to come.