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.
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.
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.
As children, we 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 up to the nearby station and one day, probably to get some peace and quiet, he caved in and we walked up the road to explore the station. I recall seeing an old white four wheel wooden wagon parked on one of the sidings. It was only later I found out that this wagon was W1152, a W class wooden insulated meat wagon.
Insulated 4 wheel meat wagon W1152 with its faded special Nelson Brothers Tomoana Freezing Works livery at Ormondville. Courtesy of the NZR in OO page nzr.lolshame.com
While putting together the post on Eskdale, I remembered this wagon and looked into its past to found out the reason for its historic livery and why it was still sitting on an old siding at Eskdale in the late 1980's.
In 1882, the Dunedin arrived in London after departing Port Chalmers with a load of frozen sheep and lamb carcasses. This first shipment of frozen meat was the beginning of New Zealand's refrigerated meat industry. Wanting to be a part of this growing industry, William Nelson, often described as 'the father of the Hawkes Bay', formed Nelson Brothers and Co with his brother Fredrick Nelson and their partner James Williams in 1883.
The first shipment of 9000 frozen sheep carcasses from the Nelson Brothers and Co freezing works at Tomoana departed the Port of Napier in late March 1884 on board the New Zealand Shipping Company ship Turakina bound for the United Kingdom.
An excerpt from the Hawkes Bay Herald from the 2nd of April 1884 with the departure notice and manifest of the New Zealand Shipping Company's Ship 'Turakina'. Courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand's Papers Past website. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
To mark the centenary of this first shipment of frozen meat from the Hawkes Bay to the UK, Weddel Crown, the then owner of Tomoana freezing works organised a special train to run from Tomoana to the Port of Napier on the 31st of April 1984. The port also held an open day to celebrate the occasion.
Tomoana Freezing Works in the Early 1990's. Courtesy of Hawkes Bay Today.
Recognising the importance of this historic event, Weddel overhauled Tomoana's 1932 built steam locomotive Bagnell Number 2475 and refurbished W1152 and another W wagon for the trip. Both the W wagons were painted in a special Nelson Brothers Tomoana livery.
Tomoana Freezing Works Steam Locomotive Bagnell No 2475 at Tomoana with Terry McLachlin at the controls. Photo courtesy of the Hawkes Bay Knowledge Bank. knowledgebank.org.nz
The train carried 100 lamb carcasses in the two W class insulated wagons and 100 passengers including representatives from Weddel Crown and the Port of Napier.
An article in the June 1984 edition of Weddel Crown's quarterly company newsletter Weddel's World. Article courtesy of Hawkes Bay Knowledge Bank. knowledgebank.org.nz
Unfortunately the Bagnell couldn't run the train alone so New Zealand Railways shunting locomotive DSG 3277 was attached to haul the special train from Tomoana to the port. The 17 kilometre trip took 2 1/2 hours including a water stop at Clive.
The centennial trains prepares to depart from Tomoana for the Port of Napier on the 31st of March 1984. Photo by MJ Walmsley and courtesy of Hawkes Bay Knowledge Bank. knowledgebank.org.nz
The centennial train near Clive. Photo by MJ Walmsley and courtesy of Hawkes Bay Knowldege Bank. knowledgebank.org.nz
Arriving at the Port of Napier, the 100 carcasses were unloaded by hand as they had been in 1884.
W 1152 was saved from the rotten row at Eskdale and is now with the Ormondville Rail Preservation Group at their historic Ormondville railway station precinct. A link to their website can be found here. I haven't been able to identify the other W class wagon and its fate. Sadly, it was probably scrapped.
Bagnell steam locomotive number 2475 was also saved and is in the care of the Mainline Steam Heritage Trust. This locomotive is currently at the Glenbrook Vintage Railway. A link to the Mainline Steam Heritage trust's website can be found here .
After failing to secure additional bank funding, Weddel New Zealand collapsed and the Tomoana freezing works closed in 1994, 110 years after sending its first shipment of frozen meat to the United Kingdom.
Ngapuna is located 70km from the junction at Wingatui and was the first station past Middlemarch on the Otago Central Railway. It is now a stop on the Central Otago Rail Trail.
In the early days of European settlement, the Strath Taieri was developed for dairying but later transitioned to sheep and beef farming, which remains the primary industry in the area.
To help open up the interior of Otago and assist farmers in transporting their goods to market, construction of a railway between Wingatui and Cromwell began in 1877. Ngapuna Station opened on the 12th of July 1894.
The station was originally named 'Springs' after the fresh water spring in the area, however in 1910, the local Maori translation, 'Ngapuna' (The Spring) was adopted.
Ngapuna was a simple station consisting of a station shelter, a short siding with a low loading bank and a backshunt with stock yard.
The loop had a capacity of 10 wagons while the backshunt had capacity for 16 wagons.
A memo dated the 14th of July 1914 from the Dunedin District Engineer for improvements to Ngapuna's station yard. Archives New Zealand - Dunedin Office.
The main traffic at Ngapuna was livestock, wool, lime and manure. Ngapuna provided a vital transportation link for local farmers who received lime to fertilise their farms and shipped large numbers of sheep, lambs and cattle to Burnside and other freezing works in Otago and bales of wool to the large wool stores in Dunedin.
Ngapuna looking towards Hyde. Photo from the G.W. Emerson Collection and can be found at the Otago Central Rail Trails Trust Railtales website here.
Steam locomotive Ab 782 shunts the stock siding at Ngapuna before continuing its journey to Middlemarch and onwards to Dunedin. This photo is from the G.W. Emerson Collection and can be found at the Otago Central Rail Trails Trust Railtales website here.
Such was the number of animals shipped from Ngapuna, the stockyards were often not large enough for the traffic. Mobs of sheep and herds of cattle were often held on Ngapuna Road while the stock in the two pens were loaded onto wagons. This caused some angst amongst local farmers who requested improvements to the stockyards.
A memo dated the 27th of November 1963 between the District Traffic Manager and the District Engineer requesting alterations to the existing stock yard at Ngapuna. Archives New Zealand - Dunedin Office.
By the late 1970's, the New Zealand Railways were losing livestock traffic to road haulage which provided a more efficient farm to works service. With the siding needing costly repairs and livestock traffic declining, a proposal was made to close Ngapuna.
A letter from the District Traffic Manager to the Strath Taieri Branch of Federated Farmers advising them of the proposed closure of Ngapuna. 25 July 1979. Archives New Zealand - Dunedin Office.
The Strath Taieri Branch of Federated Farmers and the Silverpeaks County Council were quite vocal in their opposition to the proposed closure of the station. At the time New Zealand was in the midst of the second oil shock. Local farmers wanted the siding to remain in case the oil crisis worsened, road transport became uneconomic and they needed the railways to transport their livestock and deliver their lime.
Memo from the Dunedin District traffic Manager to the Chief Traffic Manager following the meeting between representatives from the Federated Farmers, NZR and Silverpeaks County Council to discuss the closure of Ngapuna. 8 November 1979. Archives New Zealand - Dunedin Office.
Despite the opposition, Ngapuna was closed to all traffic on the 23rd of December 1979. All the facilities remained but the mainline turnouts were removed. In 1981, the station shelter and stockyards were sold and the remaining siding tracks lifted.
Following the completion of the Clyde Dam, the last major traffic source on the line disappeared and the Otago Central Railway was closed on the 30th of April 1990. Demolition of the line started in December 1990 and was completed in December 1991. The section between Wingatui and Middlemarch remains in use as a tourist railway operated by Dunedin Railways. The railway right of way between Middlemarch and Clyde was converted into a cycle trail and is now a hugely popular tourist attraction.
With the promise of fine weather I visited Ngapuna on Saturday the 8th of April 2023. This station has always been a favourite of mine due to it's rural scenery and because the small station shelter has been returned to its rightful place.
Ngapuna railway station can be accessed by road either by turning off at State Highway 87 Hyde - Middlemarch Road onto Ngapuna Road at Rock and Pillar or turning off State Highway 87 Hyde - Middlemarch Roadonto Ngapuna Road north of Middlemarch. Better still, cycle the 6km from Middlemarch on the Otago Central Rail Trail.
At Ngapuna you will be greeted by a well kept station precinct including the old railway fence and gate.
Ngapuna Railway Station. 8/4/23.
I made my way to the Middlemarch end of the station area and began to work my way north. The first piece of infrastructure I came across was a stone culvert. These stone culverts were common all along the Central Otago Railway and most are still in place along the rail trail. A true credit to the stonemasons that built them.
A stone culvert at the Middlemarch end of the station. 8/4/23.
Next I came across a concrete marker peg. This is the 70 kilometer marker showing this location is 70 kilometers from the junction at Wingatui. This concrete marker looks very new and is unlikely to be the original.
The 70Km marker peg at Ngapuna. 8/4/23.
A little further north of the marker peg was the remains of the old wooden low level loading bank. This loading bank was next to the short siding and the remaining part is still in very good condition.
The remains of the low loading bank at Ngapuna. 8/4/23.
Looking past the low loading bank towards Middlemarch. 8/4/23.
Next up was the station shelter. The 14 foot by 9 foot station shelter at Ngapara is a standard NZR design and has been restored to a high standard. The station shelter was sold and removed in 1981. It was later returned to the station site after the old railway line was turned into a rail trail. I absolutely love this building.
A 3/4 shot of Ngapuna Station Shelter. 8/4/23.
The front of the Ngapuna Shelter Station. 8/4/23.
Another 3/4 shot of Ngapuna Station Shelter. 8/4/23.
The Hyde end of the Ngapuna shelter. 8/4/23.
Rear of the station shelter showing the wires securing the shelter to the fence. The Strath Taieri can have some very strong winds so protecting and securing light structures are a must. 8/4/23.
The Middlemarch end of the Ngapuna shelter station. 8/4/23.
The interior of the shelter remains in good condition but you can tell starlings love to nest inside. Its good to know this building still provides shelter to cyclists when its wet and windy.
Interior of the station shelter. 8/4/23.
The Otago Central Railway Trail Trust are very good at installing information boards along the length of the rail trail and Ngapuna is no different. An information board in the shelter describes the history of skiing on the Rock and Pillar Range.
The Rock and Pillar Skiing information board inside the Ngapuna station shelter. 8/4/23.
Ngapuna Station looking towards Hyde, 8/4/23.
Ngapuna Station looking towards Middlemarch. 8/4/23.
To the north of the station was the former location of the stockyards and backshunt. The flat area where they were located is still visible.
Location of the former backshunt and stockyard. 8/4/23.
With the low cloud and fog clearing I was able to use my drone to get some overhead views of Ngapuna.
Ngapuna Railway Station. 8/4/23.
Ngapuna Railway Station and the rail trail as it heads towards Middlemarch. 8/4/23.
I was also able to get my first flyovers of a forgotten station.
Flyover from the Middlemarch end to the Hyde end of Ngapuna Station. 8/4/23.
Flyover from the Hyde end to the Middlemarch end of Ngapuna Station. 8/4/23.
This was the first time I've used a drone to capture overhead photos and video for one of my blog posts. The versatility of these machines is incredible and I'm looking forward to getting some different views of stations and railway infrastructure.
With time ticking and my work phone starting to ring it was time to leave but not before I got this last shot of the Ngapuna station shelter with the tops of the Rock and Pillars breaking through the low cloud.
Ngapuna station shelter with the Rock and Pillar Ranges. 8/4/23.
And that's about it.
Information for this station profile came from the Dunedin Office of Archives New Zealand, the Otago Central Rail Trail Trust website which can be found here.
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