Glen Afton Branch
| Glen Afton Branch then Rotowaro Branch |
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|---|---|
1955 Glen Afton, showing coal mining area, view to Pukemiro Collieries coal processing plant with railway in valley. Whites Aviation Ltd :Photographs. Ref: WA-38779-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington. [1]
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| Overview | |
| Status | Closed beyond Rotowaro |
| Termini |
Huntly Glen Afton |
| Stations | Huntly Town, Huntly West, Weaver's Crossing, Mahuta, Rotowaro, Pukemiro, Glen Afton |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1911 |
| Closed | 1977 |
| Owner | New Zealand Railways Corporation |
| Operator(s) | New Zealand Railways Department |
| Character | Rural |
| Rolling stock | None |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 7.97 km (4.95 mi) |
| Number of tracks | Single |
| Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) |
The Glen Afton Branch was a branch railway line of 7.9 km (originally 14.1 km) in the Waikato in New Zealand, built to serve coal mines in the Awaroa district west of Huntly at Rotowaro, Pukemiro and Glen Afton. Rotowaro is Māori for "coal lake".
When handed over from Public Works to NZR in 1915 it was called the Awaroa Branch, but was also known as the Glen Afton Branch to about 1974, then as the Rotowaro Branch to 3 November 1988, then as the Rotowaro Industrial Line. By 2014 it was again named the Rotowaro Branch.
The first 5 km was authorised in 1910, and required a road-rail bridge over the Waikato River, with an extension which carried the railway over the main highway. The bridge, constructed from 1911 to October 1914, had 10 spans of Australian hardwood (8 of 30.5m and 2 of 12.2m) on steel and reinforced concrete piers. The nearby Wilton Collieries Co complained that they too did not have public money put into building their line and river bridge. The bridge was damaged by dynamite during the 1951 Waterfront dispute. In November 1959 a separate road bridge was opened.
The first 5 km of track opened about 1911.
This seems to be confirmed by a 1914 report saying the Huntly-Awaroa line is complete over the first 3 mi (4.8 km) section, "well advanced" by co-operative labour over the next 2 1⁄2 mi (4.0 km) and "fair progress" with 5 small contracts to a proposed station 7 1⁄4 mi (11.7 km) from Huntly, "where coal from the Pukemiro collieries will be delivered for transport. An addition is being made to the combined bridge over the Waikato river to carry it over the Main South road. It is hoped by the end of the ensuing summer to have the rails laid to the junction with the Pukemiro collieries line. As the works now in hand draw to a close, it is proposed to continue operations on this line in the direction of the Burnt bridge. The expenditure upon the railway and bridge during last financial year amounted to £16,503, and for the current year a vote of £30,000 is proposed." In 2015 prices £46,503 would be equivalent to $6.8m.
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Wikipedia