Conns Creek Branch

The Conns Creek Branch was a 2.7 kilometre (1.7 mile) branch line railway in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. It diverged from the Seddonville Branch at Waimangaroa and followed the southern bank of the Waimangaroa River to the line's terminus at Conns Creek at the foot of the Denniston Incline. The line operated from 1877 until 1967 and existed for the sole purpose of conveying coal from mines to the port of Westport.

Construction of the Seddonville Branch railway from Westport to Seddonville had begun in 1874. In September 1875 the Wellington Coal Mining Company called for tenders for a private line from a junction with the Seddonville branch at Waimangaroa to a site 1.6 kilometres (1 mile) up the Waimangaroa River adjacent to the company's mine. The Seddonville Branch was completed as far as Waimangaroa on 5 August 1876 and the first portion of the Conns Creek Branch - as far as the Wellington Mine - opened in 1877. A bridge across the river connected the then terminus of the branch on the south bank with the Wellington Mine on the north bank.

In 1877, good quality coal was found high on the Mount Rochfort Plateau and the Westport Colliery Company was formed to exploit it. Tenders to extend the Wellington Coal Mining Company's railway by 1.1 kilometres (0.7 miles), and build the Denniston Incline, closed on 30 April 1878. The extension to the new terminus at Conns Creek at the foot of the Denniston Incline was ready for running in February 1879, and in April 1880 the Denniston Incline began operation.

Ownership of different parts of this short branch line changed many times.

The lower 1.6 kilometre (1 mile) section from Waimangaroa was owned by the Wellington Coal Mining Company from the line's opening in 1877 until 1880, when the company folded. The line was then bought by the Koranui Coal Mining Company, which was building the Koranui Incline from the north bank of the Waimangaroa River, adjacent to the Wellington Mine, up Simms Spur to access its mine on Mt Frederick. This lower part of the line was bought by the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand on 1 August 1885, and then by the Westport Coal Company (which operated the nearby Denniston Incline) in February 1887. Prior to 1887, the Westport Coal Company had to pay high fees to carry coal over this part of the line, first to the Wellington Coal Mining Company and Koranui Coal Mining Company, then to the Union Steam Ship Company; ownership released the company from this difficulty.

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