The Rockies Incline was an inclined tramway on the West Coast of the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

of New Zealand that for ten years from 1925 to 1935 brought coal from the Westport Main Coal Company’s mine on the Millerton-Stockton plateau down to the Westport to Seddonville railway line near sea level.

History

The Rockies Incline was located about south of

Granity Granity is a small town on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, north-east of Westport on State Highway 67. Karamea is further north. The town is on a narrow strip of land between the Tasman Sea to the west and steep, mountains to ...

on the West Coast of the

of New Zealand. It ran from the Westport Main Coal Company’s Westport Main Mine on a flat-topped ridge at the western edge of the Millerton-Stockton plateau and descended a steep escarpment to the coastal plain near sea level – with a total fall of about and a length of about . The mine was commonly known as Rockies Mine, giving its name to the incline. The Westport Main Mine began production just as underground coal mining on the Millerton-Stockton plateau was reaching its peak, in the mid-1920s. Production of coal at Westport Main began in 1925 and largely ended in 1932, with the onset of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, when orders for coal dwindled to almost nothing. A little coal was produced in 1933 and 1935, but the company was then liquidated and the mine and incline abandoned. During its life, the Rockies Incline carried a total of about 187,550 tons of coal.

The area today

There are few traces of the former route of the Rockies Incline visible today. Mining of the Westport Main Mine coal measures resumed in 1993 as an open-cast mine, operated by Rockies Mining Ltd, with coal being carried off the plateau by truck. Mining paused in 2014. To the south-east, on the main part of the Millerton-Stockton plateau, are large open-cast mining areas of the

Stockton Mine Stockton Mine, on the Stockton Coal Field, is New Zealand's largest opencast mining operation. The entrance to the mine is at the former settlement of Stockton. Extent The coal field is situated between 5 and 10 kilometres linear distance ...

operated by Solid Energy.

References

{{Buller District Railway lines in New Zealand Buller District Rail transport in the West Coast Region Coal in New Zealand Railway lines opened in 1925 Railway lines closed in 1935 Closed railway lines in New Zealand

History

The area today

See also

References