There are lots of rail lines that used to go places in this country, but don't anymore. This subject came to mind from reading posts on Jayne's blog at Our Great Southern Land. Jayne put me onto Lost and Found, with details of some of the Aussie faded lines.
Here's some NZ ones.
The Fairlie Branch, 1864-1968. A small part of the line is preserved at Pleasant Point, and used by the local rail society there each summer. I've had the pleasure of riding on that stretch in a Ford railcar. The second link has photos of what remains of the line today.
The Nelson Railway. The removal in 1955 sparked a sit-in protest by local women, one of whom, Sonja Davies, rose to prominence as a trade union activist.
Central Otago. The line cut through for the rails is now a cycleway. Historic photos here. More modern images on this blog post.
Here's some NZ ones.
The Fairlie Branch, 1864-1968. A small part of the line is preserved at Pleasant Point, and used by the local rail society there each summer. I've had the pleasure of riding on that stretch in a Ford railcar. The second link has photos of what remains of the line today.
The Nelson Railway. The removal in 1955 sparked a sit-in protest by local women, one of whom, Sonja Davies, rose to prominence as a trade union activist.
Central Otago. The line cut through for the rails is now a cycleway. Historic photos here. More modern images on this blog post.
Whoa! I think I could lose myself in those histories for many a week!
ReplyDeleteThat book "Discovering New Zealand's ghost railways" looks delicious reading ;)
Thanks for the mention :)