39-397: The Castlecliff Branch is a branch line railway 5.88 km long in the Manawatu-Whanganui region of New Zealand 's North Island . It is an extension of the Wanganui Branch from Taupo Quay in central Whanganui and follows the Whanganui River to Castlecliff on the South Taranaki Bight of the Tasman Sea . From its opening on 31 October 1885 until 1 February 1956 when
78-428: 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. 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
117-510: A common sight along railroads in industrial and rural cities alike. As automobile and roadway technology improved throughout the early and mid-20th century, most low volume industry spurs were abandoned in favor of the greater flexibility and economic savings of trucking. Today, railroads remain the most economical way to ship large quantities of material, a fact that is reflected in industrial spurs. Most modern day spurs serve very large industries that require hundreds, if not thousands, of carloads
156-464: A mainline, they tend to have lower maintenance and signaling (train control) standards. Before the rise of the long-distance trucking in the early 1930s, railroads were the primary means of transportation around the world. Industries of the era were commonly built along railroad lines specifically to allow for easy access to shipping. Short (under a mile, oftentimes only several hundred yards) industrial spurs with very small (under ten car) capacities were
195-786: A section of the West Rail line . Discontinued services include the Sha Tau Kok Railway and the Wo Hop Shek Branch . A spur line to Siu Sai Wan has been proposed. Delhi On the Delhi Metro , the Blue Line has a Branch Line with 8 Stations, linking Yamuna Bank to Ghaziabad via Anand Vihar ISBT and terminating at Vaishali. The first section of the Branch opened on 8 January 2010 with Anand Vihar as its terminal with six stations. It
234-523: A subsidy for grain transport, and instead allowed railways to absorb branch line subsidies freely without making effort to improve the profitability of the lines. The term "grain-dependent branch lines" began being used as early as 1978 to refer to the special case of these branch lines in agricultural areas whose viability depended on the economics of grain transport. The Western Grain Transportation Act of 1983 addressed this case specifically, but
273-545: A trunk route from Wellington to Taranaki . However the line's terminus at Taupo Quay was roughly 6 km from Whanganui's port at Castecliff. This led to the formation of the "Wanganui Heads Railway Company" (WHRC) to provide a direct rail link to the port. The WHRC was floated in early 1882, and on 4 October 1882 the WHRC issued notice of its proposal to build the line under the District Railways Act of 1877. In July 1884
312-461: A year. There is an international branch line between Italy and Vatican: the 300-metre Vatican Railway , connecting from the Pisa-Rome railway mainline at Roma San Pietro railway station , to Vatican City station . Many British railway branch lines were closed as a result of the " Beeching cuts " in the 1960s, although some have been re-opened as heritage railways . The smallest branch line that
351-552: Is still in operation in the UK is the Stourbridge Town Branch Line from Stourbridge Junction going to Stourbridge Town . Operating on a single track, the journey is 0.8 miles (1.3 kilometres) long and the train takes around two and a half minutes to complete its journey. In North America, little-used branch lines are often sold by large railroads to become new common carrier short-line railroads of their own. Throughout
390-483: Is to establish a railway precinct in Wanganui as a historical and tourist attraction. The society was formed around 1990 with the express goal of restoring the old Wanganui turntable , which was then facing scrap. SteamRail Wanganui successfully saved the turntable and restored it over a period of three years with the assistance of Steam Incorporated . The first locomotive to use it was Steam Incorporated's K 945 and
429-529: The Bay of Plenty Region , lines were built inland to provide rail access to large logging operations. Today, many of the branch lines have been closed, including almost all of the general-purpose country lines. Those that remain serve ports or industries far from main lines such as coal mines, logging operations, large dairying factories, and steelworks . In Auckland and Wellington , two branch lines in each city exist solely for commuter passenger trains. For more, see
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#1732883553600468-717: The Gladstone Branch in New Jersey; as well as the New Canaan Branch , Danbury Branch , and Waterbury Branch in Connecticut . The Long Island Rail Road also refers to its services as "branches". In Chile, there are a lot of branch lines on its main line, of only a few remain operational. Most only operating in turistic services (like the Antilhue-Valdivia branch line), others have been taken over by other railways (like
507-1013: The Grand Trunk , Canadian National , or Canadian Pacific ) which would acquire formerly independent short line railways for use as branch lines, with the short line often continuing to exist as a subsidiary. For example, when the Canadian Pacific acquired the Algoma Eastern Railway (a short line) in 1930, it soon after abandoned much of the Algoma Eastern mainline, but retained sections close to Algoma Eastern–Canadian Pacific junctions as short branch lines or spurs. The National Transportation Act of 1967 provided government subsidies for branch lines. Western railway development in Canada worked in concert with land settlement and cultivation, as pioneers were settled near railway lines, often on land
546-743: The NZR took over, it was owned by the Wanganui Heads Railway Company, later renamed the Castlecliff Railway Company. From 5 September 2006 services on the branch (named the Castlecliff Industrial Line ) were suspended but the infrastructure remained in place. In 2011 KiwiRail resumed services on part of the line. In 1878, the Foxton and Wanganui Railway was opened. The southernmost portion between Foxton and Longburn became
585-566: The New Zealand Railways Department . They are: The society has a small collection of general freight wagons and "way and works" rolling stock, including fuel tankers, box wagons , and a railway crane . In addition, they possess a passenger wagon rescued from a farmer's field outside Wanganui. It is one of only three built at the Petone Workshops in 1896 and is believed to be the only one of its type to still exist. It
624-761: The North South Line between Jurong East and Choa Chu Kang stations was operated as a separate line, known as the Branch line . It was merged into the North–South Line with the opening of the Woodlands Extension in 1996. The future Jurong Region Line and Cross Island Line will also have branch lines. New Zealand once had a very extensive network of branch lines, especially in the South Island regions of Canterbury , Otago , and Southland . Many were built in
663-672: The South Tseung Kwan O Spur Line to LOHAS Park station , opened in 2009. Earlier, a spur line was built in 1985 on the East Rail line to serve Racecourse station , bypassing Fo Tan station . Also, the Tsim Sha Tsui Extension [ yue ] was built in 2004 on the East Rail line to serve East Tsim Sha Tsui station . However, after the Kowloon Southern Link was completed in 2009, this spur line turns into
702-500: The list of New Zealand railway lines . SteamRail Wanganui SteamRail Wanganui is a railway preservation society based in Wanganui , New Zealand . It owns heritage railway locomotives, rolling stock , and structures in the Wanganui area. It also operates occasional excursions in conjunction with other societies and provides a base for excursions passing through Wanganui to stop and visit while replenishing supplies. Its goal
741-469: The 1960s, including members of the W class . The line was dieselised in the 1960s, and in its last active years DSC class shunting locomotives worked the line. When they were removed from Wanganui, services ceased. On 5 September 2006 the operator of the New Zealand network, Toll Rail , closed the line to all traffic and a sleeper was placed across the start of the line to prohibit its use. The line
780-666: The San Rosendo-Talcahuano branch line, which has been taken over by Biotrén and the Laja-Talcahuano train service) however, there is one branch line that still remains as fully operative. The Talca-Constitución branch line, which uses trains with bus motors. Two extensions to the MTR rapid transit network were built as branches of existing lines: the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line to Lok Ma Chau station , which opened in 2007; and
819-599: The U.S. state of New Jersey . The line is a short branch of the Northeast Corridor Line , running from Princeton Junction northwest to Princeton with no intermediate stops. Also known as the "Dinky Line", at 2.9 mi (4.7 km) it is the shortest scheduled commuter rail line in the United States. The run takes 4 minutes, 47 seconds. Other than the Princeton Line, other surviving branch lines include
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#1732883553600858-469: The United States and Canada, branch lines link smaller towns too distant from the main line to be served efficiently, or to serve a certain industrial site such as a power station either because of a location away from the main line or to reduce congestion. They were typically built to lower standards, using lighter rail and shallow roadbeds when compared to main lines. Much of Canada's branch line history relates to large rail transport conglomerates (such as
897-539: The WHRC called for tenders to construct the railway. The first sod was turned on 4 August 1884 at a public ceremony attended by approximately 400 people. Construction took a little over a year, and the line opened on 31 October 1885. For over 70 years from its opening, the Castlecliff Railway was privately owned and operated. The WHRC was reorganised in April 1889 and renamed the Castlecliff Railway Company (CRC). In 1953,
936-481: The Wanganui Branch/Castlecliff Branch junction was moved to the west, nearer Castlecliff. In its early years, the line provided the primary means of transport between Wanganui and Castlecliff. Saddle tank steam locomotives provided the motive power and passenger traffic was sufficient to justify six trains each way daily. Extra services were operated on weekends and public holidays to cater for
975-647: The Wanganui Harbour Board began pressuring the New Zealand Railways Department to acquire the line, and it did so on 1 February 1956. Since then the line has been part of New Zealand's national rail network . In about 1987 the final stretch of the Wanganui Branch alongside the Whanganui River was closed, and that branch diverted to make an end-on junction with the Castlecliff Branch. As a result,
1014-548: The crowds that travelled to the beach at Castlecliff. A platform was built at Castle Terrace, near Woon Street, Castlecliff, in 1896 and other stopping points added. In 1912 a tramway opened from central Wanganui to Castlecliff and entered into competition with the CRC. Previously passengers from Aramoho and other locations beyond walking distance of the CRC's Wanganui terminus had been able to purchase combined train and tram tickets for trips to Castlecliff, but now that it had its own line
1053-552: The first president of the Canadian National Railway , said that although most branch lines cannot pay for themselves, they are even essential to make main lines pay. In the United States, abandonment of unproductive branch lines was a byproduct of deregulation of the rail industry through the Staggers Act . The Princeton Branch is a commuter rail line and service owned and operated by New Jersey Transit (NJT) in
1092-534: The late 19th century to open up inland regions for farming and other economic activities. The branches in the South Island regions were often general-purpose lines that carried predominantly agricultural traffic, but lines elsewhere were often built to serve a specific resource: on the West Coast , an extensive network of branch lines was built in rugged terrain to serve coal mines, while in the central North Island and
1131-528: The line remaining open for goods only. The only passenger services over the line since then have been excursions operated by enthusiast societies such as SteamRail Wanganui . The primary reason for the existence of the Castlecliff Branch was freight. It served the Port of Wanganui and numerous industrial sidings . A chemical works was established in Aramoho in 1924 and the railway was used to carry Nauru phosphate from
1170-669: The now-closed Foxton Branch , the section from Longburn through Palmerston North to Marton part of the North Island Main Trunk Railway , the section from Marton to Aramoho part of the Marton - New Plymouth Line, and the 5 km from Aramoho to central Wanganui, opened on 21 January 1878, became the Wanganui Branch . This line was intended to link the ports of Wanganui and Foxton with the Manawatu hinterland and form part of
1209-457: The port. In June 1939 the Port Bowen ran aground on Castlecliff's beach and the railway was used to salvage it. A temporary line of approximately 3 km length was built from the CRC's terminus onto the beach to the vessel, which was dismantled and railed away. The line over the beach was built in 1940 and removed in 1943. Steam locomotives worked freight services on the Castlecliff Branch into
Castlecliff Branch - Misplaced Pages Continue
1248-556: The railways had owned. However, by the mid-20th century, railways began neglecting lines in western agricultural regions. This was historically driven by factors such as the Crow Rate , which regulated the price railways could charge for shipping grain. Railways had little incentive to invest in rural Prairie branch lines, but were legally unable to abandon them under the National Transportation Act , which also did not provide
1287-507: 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 cars destined to similar locations. Because industrial spurs generally have less capacity and traffic than
1326-470: The tramway ceased this practice. The CRC pursued a number of measures to boost patronage, such as carrying prams and bicycles free. It also considered more drastic steps such as electrifying the line or purchasing a battery-electric railcar like the Railways Department's Edison railcar . However, competition from the tramways became too strong and passenger services were withdrawn in April 1932,
1365-521: The turntable now sees daily use by regular trains, as well as occasional use by visiting excursions. The society subsequently acquired other railway infrastructure in the Wanganui area, including the Aramoho signal box , East Town Workshops staff buildings, and a shed converted into a storage depot for the society's rolling stock. The organisation possesses three small diesel locomotives , all of which were used in private industrial service rather than by
1404-509: Was announced the line was to reopen, as the terminus of a new inland port for Port Taranaki , serving the Open Country diary factory in Castlecliff. The line was subsequently upgraded and reopened in 2011. Photos - 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
1443-496: Was further extended to Vaishali in 2011. The line is planned to be extended from Vaishali to Mohan Nagar via Sahibabad Station to link with the main line. The East West Line of the MRT system in Singapore has a two-station branch to Changi Airport . The first station, Expo , opened in 2001. It was extended to Changi Airport station the next year. From 1990 to 1996, the section of
1482-427: Was not formally closed as this required written permission from the appropriate government minister. The track remained in place and the line was mothballed following this announcement. Expressions of interest in a rail link from industrial businesses in the Castlecliff area prompted KiwiRail to investigate the possibility of reopening the line and the line was subsequently upgraded and reopened in 2010. In October 2010 it
1521-488: Was repealed in 1994 in the wake of the North American Free Trade Agreement and budget-balancing initiatives in favour of a one-time payout by the federal government directly to farmers, to arrange transport of grain themselves. From the mid-1970s to the late 2010s, more than 9,300 kilometres (5,800 mi) of Prairie branch lines were abandoned or had a discontinuance of service. David Blyth Hanna ,
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