Dunedin Railways

Dunedin Railways (formerly the Taieri Gorge Railway) is an operator of a railway line and tourist trains based at Dunedin Railway Station in the South Island of New Zealand. The railway is a council-controlled trading organisation[1] (formerly known as a local authority trading enterprise) owned jointly by the Dunedin City Council and the Otago Excursion Train Trust.

Dunedin Railways

Train travelling through the Taieri Gorge
Overview
Headquarters	Dunedin, New Zealand
Locale	Eastern Otago, New Zealand
Dates of operation	1991–
Predecessor	New Zealand Railways Corporation
Technical
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Other
Website	www.dunedinrailways.co.nz

History

Formation

Taieri Gorge Limited logo, formerly used as the logo for Taieri Gorge Railway Ltd.

The Otago Excursion Train Trust was formed in 1978 to operate excursions on the Otago Central Railway line, running its first train in October 1979.[2] The services grew in popularity and the Trust realised by the 1980s that it had great tourist potential.[2] New carriages were acquired with the "Taieri Gorge Limited" launching in February 1987.[2]

On 19 December 1989 the New Zealand Railways Corporation announced the closure of the Otago Central railway line beyond Taieri owing to a lack of freight traffic following the completion of the Clyde Dam.[3] Dunedin City Council then stepped in, purchasing the line as far as Middlemarch and five locomotives,[3] which were then leased by the Trust to run its trains. The Trust continued to operate the Taieri Gorge Limited, now with its own locomotives (DJ class locomotives withdrawn by NZR in the same year), but needed a further $1m to fund its operations. A community appeal in 1990 raised $1.2m.[2] The line beyond Middlemarch was lifted during 1991, and the trackbed handed over to the Department of Conservation in 1993. It is now the Otago Central Rail Trail, a major cycling tourist attraction in the area.

On 8 March 1995 the Dunedin City Council (through its holding company Dunedin City Holdings Limited) and the Trust incorporated a new company, Taieri Gorge Railway Limited.[4] Dunedin City Holdings has a majority of shares (72.03%) and the Trust holds the balance of the shares (27.97%). The company operates as a Council-controlled organisation (formerly known as a Local-authority trading enterprise) under Part 5 of the Local Government Act 2002. This was due to the need to raise more capital to finance the expansion of the Trusts operation. Dunedin City Council then sold the railway line to the new company, and the Trust sold its locomotives, carriages and other assets to the new company.[2][4] The company is governed according to its constitution by a board of directors comprising six people. Two of these people are selected by Dunedin City Holdings Limited, two by the Otago Excursion Train Trust and two jointly by both shareholding parties. On 1 December 2017, the company legally changed its name to Dunedin Railways Limited.[5]

Taieri Gorge Limited

The Taieri Gorge Limited is New Zealand's longest tourist railway and stretches along the former Otago Central Railway from the 4 km peg on the Taieri Branch, 18 km west of Dunedin, to Middlemarch, a distance of some 60 kilometres. Between Dunedin and the start of the line its trains operate on KiwiRail's Main South Line via a running rights agreement.

The line travels through spectacular scenery along the banks of the Taieri River, through numerous tunnels and climbing along the Taieri Gorge to the Strath Taieri. It crosses a dozen viaducts, including the southern hemisphere's largest wrought iron structure, and passes through ten tunnels.[6]

At Wingatui railway station, the original building and signal box from 1914 has been restored and is one of the best remaining island platform stations in New Zealand.[7] After the line passes through the 437 metres (1,434 ft) long Salisbury Tunnel, the longest on the line, it crosses Mullocky Gully over the 197 metres (646 ft) long Wingatui Viaduct, the largest wrought iron structure in New Zealand since it was built in 1887.[8] The 47m tall viaduct's riveted lattice structure rests on seven concrete and masonry piers.

Shortly after the Wingatui Viaduct, the route emerges from Mullocky Gully to join Taieri Gorge, and from then on follows that gorge above Taieri River to just east of Pukerangi. On the way the line passes former stations Parera, Mount Allen, Little Mount Allen, and Christmas Creek, crossing two curved viaducts at the latter two locations. Hindon, still operating as a crossing station, is typically one of the stopping points on the trip. Just before the station, the railway tracks share a combined road-rail bridge with Hindon Road, a local backroad.

Another popular stopping point for photo opportunities is the Deep Stream viaduct. Here the line slowly starts to climb higher and out of the gorge, passing over the Flat Stream viaduct, and "The Notches", a section of short bridges and cuttings through several rocky outcrops, on its way to Pukerangi. Between Pukerangi and Middlemarch, the railway only once more comes close to the Taieri River, where it crosses Sutton Creek over another combined road-rail bridge.

The train operates daily to Pukerangi and on summer Fridays and Sundays to Middlemarch.

DJ class locomotive in service with Dunedin Railways at Pukerangi.

DE class locomotive on the railway.

Seasider and Dunedin Silver Fern

Dunedin Railways also operates the Seasider tourist train along the coast to Palmerston, north of Dunedin, with bus connections to the Taieri Gorge Limited at Middlemarch. Following the withdrawal of the Southerner by Tranz Scenic in 2002, it is the only passenger train on the Main South Line.

In 2012 Dunedin Railways leased one of the Silver Fern class railcars from KiwiRail for use on the same route as the Seasider.

Rebranded Dunedin Railways

On 23 October 2014 the Taieri Gorge Railway announced that it would be changing its name to Dunedin Railways. For 35 years the Taieri Gorge Railway and the Otago Excursion Train Trust had taken tourists on scenic rail excursions up the Taieri Gorge to Middlemarch and more recently up the coast, north of Dunedin on the Seasider. The reason for the change was so that tourists can link the train trips to Dunedin and it makes it much clearer what the railway is.[9] AO 77 was the first carriage to be repainted into their new blue livery with their name on the sides in October 2014. This was followed by A 3022 and AG 239. In September 2015 A^L 1695 was repainted into their yellow version of livery.

Mothballing

On 20 April 2020 the company announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, it mothballed its track and equipment.[10] The company said up to 80% of its revenue came from international tourists. The mothballing could affect up to 51 jobs.[10][11]

Financial performance

In the financial year to June 2017, Dunedin Railways had revenues of $6.578m and expenses of $6.387m, and turned a profit of $137,000.[12]

Locomotives and railcars

The railway owns eight former New Zealand Railways D^J class locomotives, six of which are currently operational and certified for mainline operation. They are painted in a variant of the modified New Zealand Railways scheme carried by the class in the 1980s, where the low nose sides are painted blue instead of yellow and grey cab front. A seventh, DJ3021 (ex-D^J 1202), was stored in the Middlemarch goods shed pending future restoration after it was purchased from its former home at Ranfurly station where it was statically displayed. It is now stored in Dunedin awaiting restoration. The eighth, DJ3044 (D^J 1204) was acquired from Mainline Steam in 2012 as a source of spare parts and has been dismantled, although most of the components remain intact. Both were painted in the modified blue scheme and were in as withdrawn condition.

TGR also operates one D^E class locomotive, D^E 504 (TMS DE1337).[13] This locomotive was acquired from Otago Polytechnic (who had acquired it from New Zealand Railways Corporation) in the early 1990s and is not mainline certified, instead of being based at the TGR works depot at the 4 km peg. It previously carried a modified International Orange scheme but was repainted in 2006 to its original livery of Carnation Red with the addition of "wasp stripes" on the headstocks as it would have carried in the 1970s.

In 2013, Dunedin Railways leased Silver Fern railcar RM24 from KiwiRail and currently operates this on trips between Dunedin and Waitati. The railcar was returned to KiwiRail in 2019.

Dunedin Railways formerly operated a shunting locomotive, T^R 111 at their Dunedin depot as their resident shunting locomotive. This locomotive was obtained by the Otago Excursion Train Trust in 2009 from enthusiast Reid McNaught, who had leased the locomotive to Dunedin Railways since 2006. It was sold to the Canterbury Railway Society in July 2015.

Carriages

47' 6" wooden body carriages

47" 6' foot carriage at Hindon.

All trains as of January 2017 include some of Dunedin Railways five former New Zealand Railways 47" 6' foot wooden-clad carriages. These cars are known as "Scarrett'" heritage carriages and were built between 1912 and 1923 with open platform ends, gangways and 37 seats. Dunedin Railways has started retiring these carriages largely to provide bogies for their 56-foot carriage stock, which did not have their own bogies when they were purchased. Two of the 47-foot cars have been sold, while two were scrapped circa 1978. One carriage, A 1254, is owned by the Ocean Beach Railway (OBR) and is leased to Dunedin Railways. This carriage will be returned to the OBR at the conclusion of its lease.

50-foot carriages

Dunedin Railways has currently three steel-clad and one wood-clad NZR 50-foot carriages, formerly used on Dunedin suburban trains and express passenger trains. The steel-clads have 30-37 seats, enclosed vestibules and covered gangways and were built by New Zealand Railways Department in 1931–40.[13] One of these is an AL class car-van with a small luggage compartment at one end while the other two are A class carriages. Steel-clad cars, A class 50159 and 50223 were sold to the Weka Pass Railway in 2008 and AL 50090 was sold to the Midland Rail Heritage Trust in 2013. The wood-clad carriages are A 1327, built in 1913, with open vestibules and non-covered gangways.

Jungle Gym panorama carriages

Dunedin Railways has three all-steel air-conditioned panorama carriages with open platform ends and open gangways, known locally as "Jungle Gyms" due to the nature of their framework when under construction. These were designed and built by the OETT in 1987–92, with a "very distinctive shape to fit the tunnels".[13] Two of these carriages were built on Z class "roadsider" freight van underframes while the third was built on the underframe of guard's van F 529.

In-house built panorama car at Dunedin Railway Station.

56-foot carriages

In September 2007, the Taieri Gorge Railway announced that it had purchased 12 NZR 56-foot carriages formerly used on the Wairarapa Connection. The first of these, A 2325, was prepared at a cost of $45,000 and was ready in September 2008. The company anticipated having three carriages in service by the end of 2008, and all 12 by 2013.[14] The upgrade included new seating, carpets, toilets and external paint. The railway intends to refurbish three carriages each year.[15] As of December 2015, only five out of the twelve carriages have been restored. Two of these carriages have since been disposed of.

In 2012, panoramic window car AO 77 was leased from KiwiRail. It has since been repainted in Dunedin Railways' blue livery, and is now under their ownership. Privately-owned A 3022 is leased from its owners since 2013. In 2018, Dunedin Railways purchased six big-window AO/ASO class carriages from KiwiRail. Two of these have since been converted to all-steel framing and reclassified as ADR.

Former NZR 56-foot carriage at Dunedin Railway Station.

Dunedin Railways branded AO class carriage at Dunedin Railway Station.

Dunedin Railways AG class observation van at Dunedin Railway Station, 20 May 2016.

Vans

Guards and observation vans

Key:	In service	In service, Mainline Certified	Under overhaul/restoration	Stored	Static display	Scrapped

Original class and number	TMS class and number	Dunedin Railways class and number	Type	Builder	Year built	Arrived	Notes
F 587	F 2340	XPC 534	50' 0" wooden body, guards' van	NZR Otahuhu Workshops	1937	1985	Entered NZR service on 29 May 1937. Withdrawn on 12 October 1985 and was sold to Dunedin Railways later that year.
F^M 55	FM 733 AG 118		N/A	Mitsubishi	1977	N/A	Entered NZR service on 18 June 1977. Reclassified as AG 118. Leased from KiwiRail. Fitted with X25330 bogies and is used to supply head-end power to carriages.
Unidentified FM	AG 239		50' 0" steel-panelled guards' van	N/A	N/A	2013	Owned by John and Rolf Christensen. Repainted in the Dunedin Railways brand. Observation van.

Plough vans

Key:	In service	In service, Mainline Certified	Under overhaul/restoration	Stored	Static display	Scrapped

Original class and number	TMS class and number	Builder	Year built	Arrived	Notes
F 96	EP 65	N/A	1921	2001	Entered NZR service in 1931. It was reclassified and renumbered as E^P 2507 in 1941. Renumbered as EP 65 in 1978. Withdrawn by Tranz Rail and purchased by Dunedin Railways in 2001.

Wagons

Key:	In service	In service, Mainline Certified	Under overhaul/restoration	Stored	Static display	Scrapped

Original class and number	TMS class and number	Type	Builder	Year built	Arrived	Notes
E 8600	MC 4506	Low side	N/A	N/A	N/A
J^C 5219	ER 410	Wheel wagon	NZR Hillside Workshops	1952	N/A	Entered NZR service in 1952. It was reclassified as N^B 529 in 1975. It was then reclassified as ER 410. Owned by the Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.
K^P 3094	KP 2332	Box	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries	N/A	N/A
K^s 5281	Ks 20116 KST 6191	Box	NZR Addington Workshops	1973	N/A
L^C 43228	LC 56995	High side	Hurst Nelson	1963	N/A
L^C 44400	LC 69496	High side	Hurst Nelson	1967	N/A
L^PA 1059	LPA 666	High side	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries	1973	N/A	Owned by the Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.
N^A 1806	NA 3873 NAK 6283	Flat deck	NZR Addington Workshops	1977	N/A
Unidentified N^AK	Unidentified NAK	Flat deck	N/A	N/A	N/A
U^B 1391	UB 3732	Flat deck	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unidentified U^BM	Unidentified UBM	Motor car wagon	N/A	1963	N/A	Rebuilt from a 1950s pax car.
U^C 808	UC 225	Tank	NZR Petone Workshops	1937	N/A
U^C 1213	UC 1161	Tank	N/A	1963	N/A	Built for Shell Oil Company.
U^C 1295	UC 2269	Tank	N/A	1963	N/A	Built for British Petroleum.
U^D 1502	UC 49	Wheel wagon	N/A	1963	N/A	Reclassified as EWW 33. Owned by the Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.
U^G 88	EA 508	Weed sprayer	N/A	1931	N/A	Entered NZR service in 1931. It was reclassified and renumbered as E^A 3163 in March 1959. Renumbered as EA 508 in 1978. Withdrawn in October 1989.
U^R 1801	UR 12	Flat deck	NZR Addington Workshops	1958	N/A
U^R 1931	UR 1316	Flat deck	NZR Hutt Workshops	1958	N/A
U^R 2031	UR 3746	Flat deck	NZR Otahuhu Workshops	N/A	N/A
U^S 3093	US 90	Flat deck	NZR Otahuhu Workshops	1963	N/A
V^R 51	VR 567 EVS 23	Insulated meat	N/A	1964	N/A
X^A 2117	E 4827 E 243	Wheel wagon	N/A	1937	N/A	Entered NZR service in 1937. It was reclassified and renumbered as E 4059 in June 1972.
Y^B 586	YB 1339 E 7839	Ballast	NZR East Town Workshops	N/A	N/A
Y^B 597	YB 1420 E 7772	Ballast	N/A	N/A	N/A	Huntly to Westfield Coal Traffic.
Y^C 732	YC 372	Ballast	NZR East Town Workshops	N/A	N/A	Owned by the Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.
Y^C 759	YC 648	Ballast	NZR East Town Workshops	N/A	N/A	Owned by the Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.
Y^C 798	YC 1267	Ballast	NZR East Town Workshops	N/A	N/A	Owned by the Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.
Y^C 827	YC 1590	Ballast	NZR East Town Workshops	N/A	N/A	Owned by the Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.
Y^D 1005	YD 69	Side tip	Differential Car Company	N/A	N/A	Under Restoration.
Y^D 1048	YD 530	Side tip	Differential Car Company	N/A	N/A
Y^H 964	YH 166	Ballast	N/A	N/A	N/A
Y^H 969	YH 212	Ballast	N/A	N/A	N/A
Y^H 1004	YH 598	Ballast	N/A	N/A	N/A	Owned by the Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.
Z 334	Z 849	Box	N/A	N/A	N/A	Renumbered XPC 615 under Dunedin Railways ownership. Formerly used as a luggage vwagon on passenger trains. Now for sale.
Z 362	Z 1083	Box	N/A	N/A	N/A	Renumbered XPC 602 under Dunedin Railways ownership. Used as a luggage wagon on passenger trains.
Unidentified Z^A	ZA 4508	Box	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unidentified Zl	ZL 462	Box	N/A	N/A	2012	Fitted with an 80 kVA generator. Used on passenger trains.
Unidentified Z^P	ZP 1176	Box	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries	1968	N/A
Z^P 737	ZP 1460 ZP 10944	Box	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries	1968	N/A
Z^P 1061	ZP 5035 ZP 14502	Box	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries	1968	N/A

Freight haulage

In the early 2000s the TGR investigated the possibility of introducing log haulage between Mount Allan and Port Chalmers at the end of the Port Chalmers Branch. However, on 12 June 2007 it was announced that a cost difference of NZ$5 million existed between road and rail haulage in favour of road, and potential government subsidies were insufficient to close the gap. The announcement was met with disappointment by the Dunedin City Council, which favourably viewed the rail option as it was more environmentally friendly and would have reduced traffic congestion.[16]

It has since been worked out that with extra damage caused by the logging trucks on the Mosgiel to Port Chalmers road that it would have been cheaper to perform the operation by rail, but despite pleas by the local council, Wenita, the relevant company, said it had invested too much in the road option to change its plans.[17]

The route's loading gauge restricts the maximum size of rolling stock that can operate on the railway; some freight wagons cannot use the line.[13]

See also

• Rail transport in New Zealand
• Otago Central Rail Trail

References

1. "Policies" (PDF). Dunedin City Council Community Plan 2009/10 – 2018/19. 2, section 4. Dunedin City Council. 2009. p. 291. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
2. "Our Story". Dunedin Railways. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
3. "Otago Central Railway Closure". New Zealand Railway Observer. New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society. 46 (4): 165. Summer 1989–90. ISSN 0028-8624.
4. "Companies Office - Taieri Gorge Railway Limited". Retrieved 6 November 2014.
5. "Dunedin Railways Limited". Companies Office. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
6. Taieri Gorge Railway - 2006-2007 Times & Destinations - Leaflet by Taieri Gorge Railway Limited, March 2006
7. "Wingatui Station". Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
8. "Along the way - Taieri Gorge Railway". Taieri Gorge Limited. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
9. "New Look for Railway Operation". Otago Daily Times. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
10. Dunedin Railways (20 April 2020). "Statement on the future of Dunedin Railways". Scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
11. "Taieri Gorge track to be mothballed, 51 jobs likely to go". Otago Daily Times. 20 April 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
12. "Dunedin Railways Interim Report to 31 December 2017" (PDF). Dunedin City Council. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
13. 'technical information' Archived 16 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine on TGR website, retrieved 2009-05-10
14. Stevens, Sam (13 September 2008). "New Taieri Gorge carriage on display". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 14 September 2008.
15. New Zealand Railway Observer, December 2008-January 2009
16. Simon Hartley, "Costs Rule Out Rail in the Long Run" Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Otago Daily Times, 12 June 2007.
17. "Promoting sustainability in New Zealand's rail system" (PDF). New Zealand Transport Agency. Retrieved 12 May 2020.

Bibliography

• Bowden, David. Great Railway Journeys in Australia and New Zealand. Oxford, England: John Beaufoy Publishing. pp. 152–155. ISBN 978-1-909612-94-5.
• Cunningham, Gerald (2011). The Taieri Gorge Railway: Guide to the Taieri Gorge and Seasider Rail Trips. Albany, Auckland: David Bateman Ltd. ISBN 978-1-86953-815-6.
• Dangerfield, J. A.; Emerson, G. W. (2010). Over The Garden Wall: The Story of the Otago Central Railway (4th ed.). Dunedin: The Otago Railway & Locomotive Society Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-473-17363-0. (soft-bound); 978-0-473-17362-3 (hard-bound).
• Hurst, Tony (2008). The Otago Central Railway: A tribute (5th expanded ed.). Wellington: Transpress. ISBN 978-1-877418-05-1.

External links

• Dunedin Railways
• Taieri Gorge Railway Photo gallery (private website)
• Otago Central Branch Railway (from private website 'Railways of New Zealand')
• Taieri Gorge Railway - New Zealand (well-edited YouTube video of the journey)