HOME





Kapuni Branch
The Kapuni Branch, formerly known as the Opunake Branch, is a branch railway in North Island, New Zealand. It opened in 1926, and ran 36.4 km across the southern slopes of Mount Taranaki to link the rural town of Ōpunake with the Marton–New Plymouth Line 2 km north of the small rural settlement of Te Roti, equidistant between Eltham, New Zealand, Eltham and Hāwera. With the decline of rural freight, part of the line was closed in 1976, but the 10.9 km section to Kapuni was retained and upgraded to service traffic to the Kapuni natural gas field. Early Surveys When the plains of South Taranaki were being laid out, provision had been made for a railway line between Eltham and Ōpunake and a railway reserve set aside in an almost straight line between these centres. However, initial route surveys conducted in 1908 concluded that this reserve was “a little too far to the north to serve the country generally in the most efficient manner” and new surveys were ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

KiwiRail
KiwiRail Holdings Limited is a New Zealand state-owned enterprise (SOE) responsible for rail operations in New Zealand and operates inter-island ferries. Trading as KiwiRail and headquartered at 604 Great South Road, Ellerslie, New Zealand, Ellerslie, KiwiRail is the largest Rail transport in New Zealand, rail transport operator in New Zealand. KiwiRail has business units of KiwiRail Freight, Great Journeys New Zealand and Interislander. The company was formed in 2008 when the government renationalised above-rail operations (having previously renationalised the network in 2004) and inter-island ferry operations, then owned by Toll Holdings. In 2021, the government launched the New Zealand Rail Plan, with funding for rail projects to come from the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF), and with KiwiRail remaining an SOE but paying Track Access Charges (TACs) to use the network. History Background Prior to the establishment of KiwiRail, rail transport in New Zealand has been under ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

New Zealand DB Class Locomotive
The New Zealand DB class and DBR class locomotive is a type of diesel-electric locomotive built for service on New Zealand's rail network. They were built by General Motors Diesel (GMD) of Canada as a narrow-gauge version of the EMD G8 model, with seventeen locomotives constructed. Ten of these were later rebuilt into the DBR class. Introduction The DB class was introduced to the rail network in 1965-1966 as a result of a requirement for a modern locomotive that could operate on the North Island lines that the DA class was excluded from due to their weight and axle load. They were ordered at the same time as the final DA order was placed. While these were mainly branch lines, it also applied to the East Coast Main Trunk line, particularly the section beyond Paeroa through the Karangahake and Athenree gorges until the opening of the Kaimai Tunnel on 12 September 1978. The class was virtually indistinguishable externally from the DA class, being of the same basic design and ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Mount Egmont Branch
The Mount Egmont Branch was a short but steep branch railway line in Taranaki, New Zealand, built to supply rail ballast for the Taranaki and Whanganui districts from a quarry on Mount Taranaki (known as Egmont during the line's lifetime). Although officially known as a branch, the line was more akin to an industrial siding, with only ballast being carried. Construction A "Mount Egmont branch" line of about 9 miles (14 km) was authorised by the ''Railways Authorisation Act, 1904''. The branch left the Marton–New Plymouth Line at Waipuku, 9 km north of Stratford. Work started in 1906, and the first 9.6 km section was handed over to the New Zealand Railways Department by 1 April 1908. The line was extended to about 11 km from the main line by 1912–13, but an upper quarry extension to an elevation of 930m (which would have made it the highest line in New Zealand by over 100m) was not proceeded with. As the readily available rock was worked out by 1937 an ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Waiau Branch
The Waiau Branch was a branch line railway in the northern Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Known as the Great Northern Railway for its first few decades of life, the Waiau Branch was seen as part of a main line north but was ultimately superseded by a coastal route. Opened in stages from 1882 to 1919, the line closed in 1978 but a portion has been retained as the Weka Pass Railway. Construction During the 1870s, significant debates motivated by regional interests took place regarding the most desirable route for a railway from Canterbury to the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast, Nelson, New Zealand, Nelson, and Marlborough Region, Marlborough. A number of these plans involved lines that would have in some way incorporated the route of what became the Waiau Branch, and when it was built, it was seen as an integral part of the Main North Line, New Zealand, Main North Line. Despite an 1879 report favouring a coastal route via Kaik ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Urea
Urea, also called carbamide (because it is a diamide of carbonic acid), is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two Amine, amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest amide of carbamic acid. Urea serves an important role in the cellular metabolism of nitrogen-containing compounds by animals and is the main nitrogen-containing substance in the urine of mammals. ''Urea'' is Neo-Latin, , , itself from Proto-Indo-European ''*h₂worsom''. It is a colorless, odorless solid, highly soluble in water, and practically non-toxic ( is 15 g/kg for rats). Dissolved in water, it is neither acidic nor base (chemistry), alkaline. The body uses it in many processes, most notably metabolic waste#Nitrogen wastes, nitrogen excretion. The liver forms it by combining two ammonia molecules () with a carbon dioxide () molecule in the urea cycle. Urea is widely used in fertilizers as a source of nitrogen (N) and is an important ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Natural Gas
Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium. Methane is a colorless and odorless gas, and, after carbon dioxide, is the second-greatest greenhouse gas that contributes to global climate change. Because natural gas is odorless, a commercial odorizer, such as Methanethiol (mercaptan brand), that smells of hydrogen sulfide (rotten eggs) is added to the gas for the ready detection of gas leaks. Natural gas is a fossil fuel that is formed when layers of organic matter (primarily marine microorganisms) are thermally decomposed under oxygen-free conditions, subjected to intense heat and pressure underground over millions of years. The energy that the decayed organisms originally obtained from the sun via photosynthesis is stored as chemical energy within the molecules of methane and other ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Lactose
Lactose is a disaccharide composed of galactose and glucose and has the molecular formula C12H22O11. Lactose makes up around 2–8% of milk (by mass). The name comes from (Genitive case, gen. ), the Latin word for milk, plus the suffix ''-ose'' used to name sugars. The compound is a white, water-soluble, non-Hygroscopy, hygroscopic solid with a mildly sweet taste. It is used in the food industry. Structure and reactions Lactose is a disaccharide composed of galactose and glucose, which form a β-1→4 Glycosidic bond, glycosidic linkage. Its systematic name is β-D-galactopyranosyl-(1→4)-D-glucose. The glucose can be in either the α-pyranose form or the β-pyranose form, whereas the galactose can have only the β-pyranose form: hence α-lactose and β-lactose refer to the anomeric form of the glucopyranose ring alone. Detection reactions for lactose are the Alfred Wöhlk, Wöhlk and William Fearon, Fearon tests. They can be used to detect the different lactose content o ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Railway Turntable
A railway turntable or wheelhouse is a device for turning railway rolling stock, usually locomotives, to face a different direction. It is especially used in areas where economic considerations or a lack of sufficient space have served to weigh against the construction of a Wye (rail), turnaround wye. Railways needed a way to turn steam locomotives around for return journeys, as their controls were often not configured for extended periods of running in reverse; also many locomotives had a lower top speed in reverse. Most diesel locomotives, however, can be operated in either direction, and are considered to have "front ends" and "rear ends" (often determined by reference to the location of the crew cab). When a diesel locomotive is operated as a single unit, the railway company often prefers, or requires, that it be run "front end" first. When operated as part of a multiple unit locomotive consist, the locomotives can be arranged so that the consist can be operated "front end ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Matapu
Matapu is a locality located in South Taranaki District within the southern Taranaki Region of New Zealand. Hāwera is to the south-east, Eltham to the north-east, Kaponga to the north-west and Manaia to the south-west. Marae Matapu has three marae, associated with Ngāruahine hapū. * Aotearoa Marae and its Ngākaunui are affiliated with Ōkahu-Inuāwai. * Te Aroha o Tītokowaru Marae and Te Aroha meeting house belong to Ngāti Manuhiakai. * Kanihi or Māwhitiwhiti Marae and Kanihi meeting house are affiliated with Kanihi-Umutahi. In October 2020, the Government committed $1,259,392 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade Aotearoa Marae and 7 other Ngāti Raukawa marae, creating 18 jobs. Education Matapu School is a coeducational full primary (years 1–8) school with a decile rating of 7 and a roll of 75. In 2005, Okaiawa Okaiawa or Ōkaiawa is a rural community in South Taranaki, New Zealand. It is located about 14 kilometres north-west of Hāwera, north of S ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]