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52-424: The Fairlie Branch (also known as the Eversley Branch ) was a branch line railway in southern Canterbury which formed part of New Zealand 's national railway network . Construction began in 1874, and at its farthest extent, it terminated just beyond Fairlie in Eversley. Its closure came in 1968, but a portion remains open in Pleasant Point as the Pleasant Point Museum and Railway . Proposed in

104-510: 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

156-483: A layer of coal dust covering them and the bed". Another key requirement of the steam engine is a supply of water which is carried in the tenders or tanks of the engines. In Australia, water was also carried in water gins (a water tank mounted on a wagon) due to longer distances covered and scarcer water resources. In depots where the limescale content of water was high (known in some areas as ‘Hard Water'), water softening plants were introduced. At Norwich engine shed in

208-533: A locomotive the engine had to be balanced quite precisely on the turntable and it could then be literally pushed around. Some turntables could be powered by fixing the vacuum brake of the engine to the turntable and using that to turn the engine. Later turntables were electrically operated. Many diesel locomotives in the UK have a cab at each end removing the need for the turntables. However, in Australia and America, there are

260-464: 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

312-473: A member of the F class , and it consisted of a guard's van and 14 carriages, some of which were brought down from Christchurch the previous morning to cater for the anticipated large crowd. There were plans to extend the branch even further to Burkes Pass and the Mackenzie Country . 27 kilometres (17 mi) of formation were made to varying standards of completion, but ultimately no rails were laid and

364-522: 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. 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

416-426: A number of single ended locomotives and turntables are still in use. Engine sheds would carry out basic maintenance and the bigger sheds would carry out more complex repairs. Locomotives that required further repair were sent to the company's locomotive works. Withdrawn locomotives could often be found at some depots before their final trips to the scrapyard. In the UK, the general practice is that one shed would have

468-485: A number of smaller sub-sheds where there were fewer facilities. When engines allocated to sub-sheds required repairs, they were often exchanged for a similar engine or perhaps just visiting the main depot on a Sunday when traffic levels were considerably lower. In terms of locomotive allocation, it seems to have been the practice that for some railways locomotives were all allocated to the main shed but in others each shed had its specific allocation of locomotives. A list of

520-786: 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

572-501: A single locomotive class . Engine sheds could be found in many towns and cities, as well as in rural locations. They were built by the railway companies to accommodate the locomotives that provided their local train services. Each engine shed would have an allocation of locomotives that would reflect the duties carried out by that depot. Most depots had a mixture of passenger, freight and shunting locomotives, but some, such as Mexborough , had predominantly freight locomotives, reflecting

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624-523: 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

676-461: 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

728-507: 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

780-529: 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

832-717: 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

884-1013: 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

936-761: 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

988-555: The Pleasant Point Museum and Railway . At Washdyke, the first few hundred metres of the branch were retained as a backshunt and to provide access to an industrial siding , and the track currently remains in place. For much of the line's length from Timaru to Fairlie, the formation can be seen making its way through the rolling countryside, and abutments and piles still stand at the site of some bridges. One bridge itself still stands, near Winscombe. Loading banks still exist at

1040-672: 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

1092-629: The list of New Zealand railway lines . Motive power depot 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 steam to diesel and electric traction, and most modern Bw in Germany are specialised depots, often responsible for

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1144-419: The 1950s and 1960s, the rise of manufacturing industry saw many staff leaving the railway for better working conditions (and pay) and many railways started to modernise as a result. The maintenance of the new diesel locomotives in filthy steam sheds soon proved difficult and, although some old sheds survived, many new diesel depots were built on new sites or on the sites of the old steam sheds. The major problem

1196-529: The 27 kilometres (17 mi) addition to Albury opened on 1 January 1877. After this point, however, construction stalled. On 13 August 1880, the Timaru Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution to pressure the government to call tenders for the construction of the remainder of the line. This was followed by a public meeting in Fairlie on 25 March 1882 that issued the same demand on the government, asserting that

1248-449: The British sub-sheds can be found here . The drivers and fireman were the visible face of the engine shed and, as such, certain sheds had reputations for clean locomotives thanks to the dedication of those men. Many companies allocated a specific main line locomotive to a crew and they would usually take a personal interest in the cleanliness of their engine; some companies offered a prize to

1300-400: The Fairlie yard and its existence had become redundant. The rest of the line entered into a slow demise, with passenger services cut to thrice weekly in 1953; the mixed train operated Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with solely freight carried on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On 2 November 1953, passenger provisions were cancelled entirely and all services became freight only. With the cessation of

1352-666: 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

1404-599: 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

1456-582: The UK, or outside, such as that at the East Broad Top Railroad & Coal Company in Rockhill, Pennsylvania , USA. There were six primary activities that took place at sheds. When a steam engine arrived on shed, it would drop its fire and the ash that had built up would be removed. Disposal of the ash was a filthy job and carried out at quiet times, although some bigger depots had facilities for disposing of ash more efficiently. Study of photographs from

1508-400: The UK, the sludge was discharged into a tank and emptied every three years or so with the sludge being dumped into the sea at Lowestoft. Tender locomotives required turning so they were facing the right way before their next duty. In the early days, these were typically around 45 feet long. As the technology improved and engines got bigger, then the turntables got longer. In order to turn

1560-469: 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

1612-417: The branch a full length of 58.2 kilometres (36.2 mi). Some sources, including Railways Department publications, incorrectly state this happened on 9 January 1884. The opening of the line was celebrated on 30 January 1884 by a public holiday in Fairlie and environs, and an excursion train ran from Timaru conveying 600-700 passengers for the occasion. This train was double-headed by K 88 Washington and

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1664-602: The crew of the best kept engine. Many drivers would spend their own time on improving their knowledge and sharing best practice with younger drivers. The footplate staff (as drivers and fireman were known) were unionised from the 19th century and in the UK were generally in the ASLEF whilst other shed staff tended to be in the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (later National Union of Railwaymen ). Many engine shed workers put up with very poor conditions for many years. In

1716-873: The early 1870s, the local government voted in favour of a branch line from Timaru to Pleasant Point in December 1872 and a construction contract was let in the following March. After a railway act approving the line was passed later in 1873, construction could commence, and it did so on 18 February 1874. The branch left the Main South Line in Washdyke , now a northern suburb of Timaru, and headed northwest towards Pleasant Point. Construction of this 14.42 kilometres (8.96 mi) of railway proceeded without any notable difficulties, opening for service on 24 December 1875 - though trains had been able to run to Pleasant Point as early as two months previously. An extension followed swiftly, and

1768-552: 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

1820-848: The industrial nature of that area in South Yorkshire . Others, such as Kings Cross engine shed in London, predominantly provided locomotives for passenger workings. Nearly all depots at that time had a number of shunting locomotives. Normally 0-4-0T or 0-6-0T tank engines, they would be allocated to shunting duties in goods yards, carriage sidings, goods depots and docks. Many large rail connected industrial sites also had engine sheds, primarily using shunting locomotives. Each railway company had its own architectural design of engine shed, but there were three basic designs of shed: The turntables for straight and dead end sheds were generally outside. Those in roundhouses could be inside, such as those at York in

1872-424: The late 1920s, it was quicker to travel by car between Fairlie and Timaru, which resulted in a decline of traffic that led to the train's cancellation in 1930. From this time, passengers were solely catered for by the daily mixed train. The line had also started making a loss around this period, and on 1 April 1934, the short section from Fairlie to Eversley was closed. It had always been operated as an extension of

1924-534: 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

1976-402: The legendary guard of the 'Fairlie Flyer' to Timaru. The refrain makes reference to the final excursion over the line, also dubbed the 'Fairlie Flyer' and hauled by A's 718 and 798: So fireman stoke that engine, steam down that railway track. This train that's leaving Fairlie is never, ever coming back. Branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off

2028-550: The line to Albury was the best paying in New Zealand and an extension would provide more convenient access to much of the freight then conveyed to the Albury terminus. Contracts were soon let, and the next 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) to Winscombe were opened on 24 August 1883. Less than half a year later, the final portion of the line was opened for general traffic to the locale of Eversley, just beyond Fairlie, on 28 January 1884, giving

2080-477: The line's farthest terminus remained Eversley. The following stations were located on the Fairlie Branch (in brackets is the distance from Washdyke): The Fairlie station was destroyed by fire on at least two occasions, first on 13 January 1890 and again on the night of 8 August 1908. After the 1908 fire, the post and telegraph office formerly based at Fairlie station was housed in a temporary building; this too

2132-451: The line's timetable was initially adjusted to the pattern typical of many rural New Zealand branch lines, with a single mixed train carrying both passengers and freight running each way per day. Special freight trains ran as necessary, especially to collect livestock from Pleasant Point. For a period, the line also had its own dedicated passenger train, nicknamed the "Fairlie Flyer", but it perhaps did not live up to its fast-sounding name; by

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2184-401: The mixed trains, the small locomotive depot in Fairlie closed and the freight trains were operated every weekday morning from Timaru. Intense competition from road traffic posed problems for the line, and what traffic it did retain was mainly due to government subsidies. Despite this, by 1966, the livestock traffic that had been the line's primary cargo was all but non-existent and the decision

2236-443: The outer walls constructed of dry blocks much in the style of a dry stone wall with smaller pieces behind these. As technology advanced and the bigger sheds got busier, this process became mechanised and huge coaling towers above the neighbourhoods indicated where the engine shed was. The sheds were not clean places to work. The large east London depot of Stratford had an engineman's dormitory and its occupants would "wake up with

2288-556: 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

2340-507: 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

2392-538: The site of Levels, Waitawa, Sutherlands, and Cave stations. Levels also still possesses its goods shed and Waitawa has the remnants of a platform. The Fairlie Rail Trail is planned to use the route once used by trains and to start work by 2015. The song "Fairlie Flyer" words by Bill Timmings and music by the Picasso Trio, written in the late 1960s, focuses on the branch line and some of its characters such as Martin Fahey,

2444-422: The steam era show it was not uncommon for piles of ash to be scattered around the depot site. After completing their last duty and arriving on shed, locomotives would have a regular boiler washout to remove scale, improve efficiency and protect safety. Locomotives generally ran on coal. Initially this job was done by hand and many depots had significant coal stacks on site. These would be neatly constructed with

2496-450: Was burnt down in a suspected act of arson on the morning of 20 September 1908. The line's reason for existence was to open up farmland in the region behind Timaru and promote rural development. When opened to Pleasant Point, two trains ran each way a day, and while the line had its terminus in Albury, significant traffic was generated by wool and grain being carried by dray to the station from regions further inland. Upon opening to Fairlie,

2548-496: 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

2600-488: 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 ,

2652-485: Was soon made to close the line. The date of closure was 2 March 1968 and the occasion was marked by a special return of the Fairlie Flyer, attracting large crowds of locals. Remnants of closed railway lines diminish and disappear as a result of natural and human activity, but some relics from the Fairlie Branch's operating days still exist, most notably the 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) of restored trackage still in use by

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2704-458: Was the disposal of oil, which initially was left lying around causing pollution and safety issues. The new depots were equipped to deal with diesel fuel and the ability to access the underside, as well as upper body work, was improved. The tasks were not that much different in that diesel locomotives were fuelled rather than coaled, although they did require water as early diesels were equipped with steam generators for train heating purposes. Since

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