@ Kawakawa

2019-03

Kawakawa on New Zealand Rail Maps

Bay of Islands Vintage Railway eyes Provincial Growth Fund for major project

Bay of Islands Vintage Railway

19 Nov 2019  ( from The Trainspotter from Tauranga's youTube channel )
The 3rd day of the Northland trip consisted primarily of a trip to Kawakawa, the purpose of which was to ride on the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway. This is currently a 3 kilometre line running from Kawakawa to Taumarere, and it is notable for the short street-running section in Kawakawa. Originally the line was part of the 19 kilometre long Otiria to Opua branch, which was connected with Whangarei in 1925. Previously a tramway had been built from Kawakawa to the wharf at Taumarere. This was upgraded to railway standards in 1877. When the line was extended to Opua in 1884, the wharves were closed and replaced by the new port. Between 1925 and 1956, a steam-hauled passenger service (The Opua Express) ran between Auckland and Opua. When diesel railcars took over in 1956, the service started running to Okaihau instead of Opua. Passengers from Kawakawa had to ride on mixed trains instead. These trains lasted until 1976 (the railcar serving having ceased in 1967). After 1976, the Opua line remained in operation to serve of the dairy factory at Moerewa and an AFFCO Meat Works. By the 1980s, containerisation was establishing itself as a new means of transporting goods, and less ships made the trip to Opua. This resulted in the decline of freight trains beyond Kawakawa. 1985 was the last time regular freight trains ran to Opua. From then on, it was leased to the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway to operate heritage passenger services from Opua to Kawakawa. For a while, the track from Otiria to Kawakawa was retained as a link to the national network. This has since been dismantled and is now used as a footpath connecting Kawakawa with Moerewa. Tourist trains from Kawakawa to Opua shut down in 2001, when the line's operating licence was withdrawn. Train services have since been re-instated over the 3 kilometre section from Kawakawa to Taumarere. The engine running on this occasion was a Drewry 0-6-0 diesel shunter. Two engines of this design were built in 1949, originally for the Whakatane Board Mills Railway. The pair appear to resemble the New Zealand Railways DS class, and the British Rail Class 03. In 1999 the engines were withdrawn from Whakatane service, and sent to Forest Loaders of Portland. There they stayed until 2017, when they were transferred to their new home in Kawakawa.