Piako County Tramway
| Piako County Tramway | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Butler’s Spur Incline, Piako County Tramway. The maximum gradient was 1 in 2. | |
| History | |
| Opened | 1884 |
| Closed | after 1924 |
| Technical | |
| Track length | 3.7 km (2.3 mi) |
| Track gauge | 2 ft 9 in (838 mm) |
| Highest elevation | 430 m (1,410 ft) |
The Piako County Tramway was built in 1882-83, just south of Te Aroha. It was a 2 mi 22 ch (3.7 km) long,[1] horse powered tramway.[2] It carried quartz from gold mines in the Kaimai Range to water-powered batteries in the Waiorongomai Stream valley below.[1]
It was built to the rare 2 ft 9 in (838 mm) gauge, thought to be that used on bush tramways in the Waitawheta and neighbouring valleys.[3]
A & G Price's first locomotive was built for the line, but proved too large for the curves and was sold for less than half its cost in 1885.[4] It was later used for log haulage on Smyth Bros tramway at Kennedy's Bay.[5]
The line included 3 self acting inclines, the longest being 400 m (1,300 ft) up a 1 in 4 gradient.
Repairs ceased in 1924 and by 1932 the line was overgrown and unusable.[1]
During the 1950s and 1960s, some rails were sold to local contractors, but in 1966 permission to remove rails was refused and in 1976, council scheduled the tramway as of historical and scientific interest.[1] The tramway was listed as Category 1 in 1997.[3]
DOC has restored parts of the tramway, now used by Waiorongomai Valley tramping tracks.[6]
Waiorongomai
[edit]Waiorongomai was a small mining village, about south east of Te Aroha,[7] founded in 1880. By 1883 it had a post office, 3 hotels and a school.[8] In 1906 it had a population of 131.[9] By 1959 only a few houses remained.[7]
Quartzville
[edit]Quartzville was a small settlement near the top of the tramway, which had shops and a post office in the 1880s.[10] The post office closed in 1890.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Hart, Philip (2016). "The Piako County Tramway at Waiorongomai" (PDF). ISSN 2463-6266.
- ^ "Page 7 Advertisements Column 3". Te Aroha News. 1886. p. 7. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
- ^ a b "Piako Tramway". www.heritage.org.nz. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
- ^ "Thames Valley Gazette". Waikato Times. 17 October 1885. p. 2. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
- ^ "Owners". www.trainweb.org. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
- ^ "Piako County Tramway". www.doc.govt.nz. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
- ^ a b "Waiorongomai, Waikato". NZ Topo Map. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
- ^ "Ohinemuri - Waiorongomai". www.ohinemuri.org.nz. 16 June 1972. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
- ^ "THE NEW ZEALAND OFFICIAL YEAR-BOOK, 1908". www3.stats.govt.nz. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
- ^ Philip Hart (5 June 2023). "Living in the bush and at Quartzville". University of Waikato.
- ^ "New Zealand Herald". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 10 January 1890. Retrieved 17 December 2024.