Makatote Tramway
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The Makatote Tramway was from the late 1920s to 1940 a long
bush tramway A bush tram and line-side log hauler owned by the Tamaki Sawmill Co., Raurimu. Photographed by Albert Percy Godber circa 1917. In New Zealand railway terminology, a bush tramway is an industrial tramway, most commonly used for logging. They ...
network near Makatote in the central North island of
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
with a
gauge Gauge ( ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, especia ...
of using metal and wooden rails. It was operated by Dinwoodie's Timber Company with probably less than 10 employees.


Route

The Makatote Tramway lies east of
State Highway 4 Route 4, or Highway 4, may refer to several highways in the following countries: International * AH4, Asian Highway 4 * European route E04 * European route E004 * Cairo – Cape Town Highway Albania * SH-4 road in Albania from Durrës to Ka ...
approximately south of the village
National Park, New Zealand National Park (officially Waimarino) is a small town on the North Island Volcanic Plateau, North Island Central Plateau in New Zealand. Formerly known as National Park Village, it is the highest urban township in New Zealand, at 825 metr ...
on the western boundary of the
Tongariro National Park Tongariro National Park (; ), located in the central North Island, is the oldest national park in New Zealand and the sixth national park established in the world.Department of Conservation"Tongariro National Park: Features", retrieved 21 April ...
. The track consisted of two main branches of tramlines extending in easterly and northeasterly direction. Both wooden and metal rails can still be found throughout the site. Several pits and water races were installed to serve the steam-powered log haulers and to meet the fire safety requirements of the tramway license.Heritage New Zealand
''Makatote Tramway.''
List No 7668. Retrieved on 29 April 2018.


Main Branch

Only a small number of sleepers and rails of the ''Main Branch'' are still in situ today, but the route can be clearly distinguished. The wooden tramway of the Main Branch was constructed from approximately
tōtara ''Podocarpus totara'' (), commonly known as the , is a species of Podocarpus, podocarp tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island, South Island and rarely on Stewart Island, Stewart Island / Rakiura in lowland, ...
rails, laid onto rough-sawn logs of various diameters. The rails were attached to the wooden sleepers by large metal spikes, some of are still in place along the tramway. The sleepers are spaced apart and the gauge of the rails is approximately similar to the
Wellington tramway system The Wellington tramway system (1878–1964) operated in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. The tramways were initially owned by a private company but were purchased by the city and formed a significant part of the city's transport system. ...
. A bogey wheel is also still on site near the main branch, shortly before a junction where it splits into the Left-hand and Right-hand Branches.Joanna Wylie
''The history and archaeology of the Makatote Tramway, Erua.''
New Zealand Historic Places Trust, Wellington
Download PDF file
. Also in
''Archaeology in New Zealand''
September 2006; Volume 49, Number 3: p.213-226, .


Left-hand Branch

The Left-hand Branch runs from the Main Branch Junction northwards and has several side branches to the east and west. The second side branch to the west is particularly interesting because of its preserved rails, bearers and sleepers, and even a points change. It runs towards a skid site and log hauler, which is embossed with the name S. Luke and Co Ltd, Wellington, one of the 13 principal log hauler manufacturers in New Zealand. The log hauler has a significant fatigue crack in the side, which was crudely repaired on site, but subsequently taken out of service. The Left-hand Branch then splits into two branches at the former boundary between Lots 10 and 11. The Left Left-hand Branch has more in situ sleepers, rails and bearers than the Left-hand Branch, and has two skid sites, a causeway and a bridge crossing. The Right Left-hand Branch runs from the junction towards east. It crossed two bridges and consisted mainly of intermittent sections of
corduroy road A corduroy road or log road is a type of road or timber trackway made by placing logs, perpendicular to the direction of the road over a low or swampy area. The result is an improvement over impassable mud or dirt roads, yet rough in the best ...
s, but there is a small length of wooden tramway at the very end of the branch, which lead to a skid site and associated draglines. There is also a junction partway along the Right Left-hand Branch with a branch in northerly direction.


Right-hand Branch

The Right-Hand Branch runs eastwards up a slight incline from the junction, where exotic trees have since been planted on either side of the track. It then runs north-eastwards towards a skid serving some draglines. It is partially overgrown, but continuous lengths of wooden rail, including a section of double tramline, are present, and there are metal rails further along the branch. There were also several bridges and side branches with skid sites and draglines, including two to the south that crossed the stream. Recorded artefacts include numerous bogey wheels.


Licences

The tramway license allowed the Dinwoodie Timber Company Limited "to occupy the land specified in the Schedule hereto as a tramway route for the purpose of using and maintaining a tram-line and running a tram thereon," An attached plan showed the extent of the existing tramway, which crossed the
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Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kūiti and 55 km west of T ...
Road (now State Highway 4) to join the
North Island Main Trunk The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...
railway. The license did not allow for any other use of the land such as felling of trees for maintenance of the tramline, this was to be assessed and charged for. The Forest Service reserved a strip of native bush along the road for scenic purposes, when it sold the licence for timber harvesting. Dinwoodie was required to provide free carriage of young trees and materials for replanting for the
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, when unloaded trolleys were returning to the bush. The State Forests Service planted
Western Red Cedar ''Thuja plicata'' is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the family Cupressaceae, native to the Pacific Northwest of North America. Its common name is western redcedar in the U.S. or western red cedar in the UK, and it is also called pacific re ...
and
Lawson's Cypress ''Chamaecyparis lawsoniana'', known as Port Orford cedar or Lawson's cypress, is a species of conifer in the genus '' Chamaecyparis'', family Cupressaceae. It is native to Oregon and northwestern California, and grows from sea level up to in t ...
along the tramway in the 1930s as part of an experimental high-altitude planting programme. They cannot be harvested without damaging the historical and archaeological remains of the tramway and are now slowly being overgrown by native vegetation.


Liquidation

Thomas Dinwoodie closed down his milling operations in 1940. The Dinwoodie Timber Company's assets put on the market in a liquidation sale held on the site on 17 January 1941. Perham Larsen and Co belonging to the Carter group, considered exploiting the area, but declined due to economic considerations.


Historic Place Category 2

The route of the track north of the Makatote River, the structures and features relating to the sawmilling operations, including skid sites, a log hauler, water pits, bogie wheels and a range of metal artefacts are listed as Historic Place Category 2. The site also includes four affiliated house sites on clearings in the bush extending southerly to the area where State Highway 4 winds downwards into the Makatote gully.''Notification of Archaeological Site: Makatote Tramway, Erua.''
In
''New Zealand Gazette'', 13 April 2006, p. 930.
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See also

nearby
Makatote Viaduct The Makatote Viaduct (Bridge 179) takes the North Island Main Trunk, North Island Main Trunk railway (NIMT) across the Makatote River in New Zealand. It is from Wellington, at the foot of Mount Ruapehu, Ruapehu, in northern Manawatū-Whanganui ...


References

{{coord, -39.2563, 175.3937, region:NZ_type:railwaystation, display=title, name=Ongarue Spiral 4 ft 1 in gauge railways Logging railways in New Zealand Rail transport in Manawatū-Whanganui Railway companies of New Zealand Ruapehu District