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Ngapara
Ngapara is a locality in the north Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located in a rural setting 25 km inland from Oamaru. The name of Ngapara is derived from the Māori word for the "tables" or plateaus of limestone in the area. Economy Agriculture is the most important economic activity, with farming activity consisting primarily of sheep husbandry and growing cereal crops such as wheat. A flour mill was established in the town in 1898. Heavier industrial activity has also taken place around Ngapara, including mining for lignite coal and limestone. In recent years due to the dairy boom happening around New Zealand, there has been an increase in the number of dairy farms in the surrounding area. This is aided by the installment of the Tokarahi Irrigation Scheme in 2006. This scheme has provided a much needed source of water to farmers of the area. Railway From 1 April 1877 until 31 July 1959, Ngapara was the terminus of the Ngapara Branch, a branch lin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ngapara And Tokarahi Branches
The Ngapara and Tokarahi Branches were two connected railway branch lines in northern Otago, New Zealand, part of the national rail network. The Ngapara Branch opened in 1877 and almost all of it closed in 1959; the remaining few kilometres, called the Waiareka Industrial Line, were removed in 1997. The Tokarahi Branch branched off the Ngapara Branch. It operated from 1887 until 1930 and was originally known as the Livingstone Branch, though it never progressed beyond Tokarahi to Livingstone. In early 2008 there is a proposal to reinstate the first 4.5 km of the Ngapara Branch. Construction In the early 1870s, residents in the Waiareka Valley inland from Oamaru started petitioning for a railway connection to the coast to provide easier access to farmland and to export agricultural produce and limestone. The provincial government granted approval for a line to Ngapara in 1872, with construction commencing during the first half of 1874. The Public Works Department be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weston, New Zealand
Weston is a town situated inland from Oamaru, South Island, New Zealand. It is regarded as one of the more affluent towns of the Waitaki District and had a population of 1,050 in the 2018 census. The town is serviced by a local fire station staffed by volunteers, Four Square chain supermarket, Weston Community Church and the local Weston co-educational primary school. As with the surrounding areas in North Otago, agriculture is an important economic activity. Limestone and cement Weston is home to the largest Oamaru stone quarry in New Zealand, supplying New Zealand and exporting much overseas. The quarry lies a further mile inland from Weston along the Weston/Ngapara Road, so its daily operation is not noticed by Weston residents. International cement manufacturer Holcim has gained consent to open a cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waitaki District
Waitaki District is a Districts of New Zealand, territorial authority district that is located in the Canterbury Region, Canterbury and Otago regions of the South Island of New Zealand. It straddles the traditional border between the two regions, the Waitaki River, and its seat is Oamaru. History Waitaki District is made up of the former Waitaki County, Waihemo County and Oamaru Borough, which were amalgamated in 1989. It is governed by the Waitaki District Council. Name During the colonial period, the area was also known as ''Molesworth''. However, the Māori name ''Waitaki'' eventually prevailed. Geography It has a land area of , of which or 59.02% is in the Canterbury Region and or 40.98% in the Otago Region. It is the only district in the South Island that lies in two regions. A major reason for this split was the governance of the Waitaki River, which forms a political boundary between Canterbury and Otago. With major hydro schemes on this river, it was decided to place ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Main South Line
The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton, New Zealand, Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Invercargill via Dunedin. It is one of the most important railway lines in New Zealand and was one of the first to be built, with construction commencing in the 1860s. At Christchurch, it connects with the Main North Line, New Zealand, Main North Line to Picton, New Zealand, Picton, the other part of the South Island Main Trunk. Construction Construction of the Main South Line falls into two main sections: from Christchurch through southern Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury to Otago's major city of Dunedin; and linking the southern centres of Dunedin and Invercargill, improving communication in southern Otago and large parts of Southland, New Zealand, Southland. Construction of the first section of the line began in 1865 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agriculture
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to live in the cities. While humans started gathering grains at least 105,000 years ago, nascent farmers only began planting them around 11,500 years ago. Sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle were domesticated around 10,000 years ago. Plants were independently cultivated in at least 11 regions of the world. In the 20th century, industrial agriculture based on large-scale monocultures came to dominate agricultural output. , small farms produce about one-third of the world's food, but large farms are prevalent. The largest 1% of farms in the world are greater than and operate more than 70% of the world's farmland. Nearly 40% of agricultural land is found on farms larger than . However, five of every six farm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rail Transport In New Zealand
Rail transport in New Zealand is an integral part of Transport in New Zealand, New Zealand's transport network, with a nationwide network of of track linking most major cities in the North and South Islands, connected by inter-island rail and road ferries. Rail transport in New Zealand has a particular focus on bulk freight exports and imports, with 19 million net tonnes moved by rail annually, accounting for more than half of rail revenue. Rail transport played an important role in the opening up and development of the hinterland outside of New Zealand's predominantly dispersed and coastal settlements. Starting with the Ferrymead Railway in 1863, most public railway lines were short, built by Provinces of New Zealand, provincial governments and connected major centres to their nearest seaport (such as Christchurch and its port at Lyttelton Harbour). From the 1870s, the focus shifted to building a nationwide network linking major centres, especially during the The Vogel Era, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turntable (railroad)
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 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 first" no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motive Power Depot
A motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine sheds" or just "sheds". Facilities are provided for refuelling and the replenishing of water, lubricating oil and grease and, for steam engines, the disposal of ash. There are often workshops for day-to-day repairs and maintenance, but locomotive building and major overhauls are usually carried out at locomotive works. (Note: In American English, the term ''depot'' is used to refer to passenger stations or goods (freight) facilities, not to vehicle maintenance facilities.) German practice The equivalent of such depots in German-speaking countries is the '' Bahnbetriebswerk'' or ''Bw'', which has similar functions, with major repairs and overhauls being carried out at '' Ausbesserungswerke''. The number of those was reduced drastically following the changeover from s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road transport. It is used for about 8% of passenger and rail freight transport, freight transport globally, thanks to its Energy efficiency in transport, energy efficiency and potentially high-speed rail, high speed.Rolling stock on rails generally encounters lower friction, frictional resistance than rubber-tyred road vehicles, allowing rail cars to be coupled into longer trains. Power is usually provided by Diesel locomotive, diesel or Electric locomotive, electric locomotives. While railway transport is capital intensity, capital-intensive and less flexible than road transport, it can carry heavy loads of passengers and cargo with greater energy efficiency and safety. Precursors of railways driven by human or an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Branch Line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located on a main line. Branch lines may also connect two or more main lines. Industrial spur An industrial spur is a type of secondary track used by railroads to allow customers at a location to load and unload railcars without interfering with other railroad operations. Industrial spurs can vary greatly in length and railcar capacity depending on the requirements of the customer the spur is serving. In heavily industrialized areas, it is not uncommon for one industrial spur to have multiple sidings to several different customers. Typically, spurs are serviced by local trains responsible for collecting small numbers of railcars and delivering them to a larger yard, where these railcars are sorted and dispatched in larger trains with other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is a type of fossil fuel, formed when dead plant matter decays into peat which is converted into coal by the heat and pressure of deep burial over millions of years. Vast deposits of coal originate in former wetlands called coal forests that covered much of the Earth's tropical land areas during the late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian (geology), Pennsylvanian) and Permian times. Coal is used primarily as a fuel. While coal has been known and used for thousands of years, its usage was limited until the Industrial Revolution. With the invention of the steam engine, coal consumption increased. In 2020, coal supplied about a quarter of the world's primary energy and over a third of its Electricity generation, electricity. Some iron and steel-maki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lignite
Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat content. When removed from the ground, it contains a very high amount of moisture, which partially explains its low carbon content. Lignite is mined all around the world and is used almost exclusively as a fuel for steam-electric power generation. Lignite combustion produces less heat for the amount of carbon dioxide and sulfur released than other ranks of coal. As a result, lignite is the most harmful coal to human health. Depending on the source, various toxic heavy metals, including naturally occurring radioactive materials, may be present in lignite and left over in the coal fly ash produced from its combustion, further increasing health risks. Characteristics Lignite is brownish-bl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
