Mount Somers Branch

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The Mount Somers Branch, sometimes known as the Springburn Branch, was a branch line railway in the region of Canterbury, New Zealand. The line was built in stages from 1878, reaching Mount Somers in 1885. A further section to Springburn was added in 1889; this closed in 1957, followed by the rest of the line in 1968. A portion has been restored as the Plains Vintage Railway.

[edit] Construction

Unlike many other rural branch lines in New Zealand, this line was not built for the sole purpose of opening up land for agriculture as there were significant deposits of lignite coal and limestone in the hills behind the town of Mount Somers. Construction commenced in May 1878, with the line leaving the Main South Line at Tinwald, not far south of Ashburton. With the onset of the Long Depression looming, the construction work on the line provided valuable employment, and as it was built, it was progressively opened. The first 13.39 km to Westerfield were opened on 15 April 1880, followed by Anama, 30.9 km from the junction, on 3 October 1882, and then Cavendish on 1 March 1884 at a distance of 35.02 km from Tinwald.

Although it had been decided to terminate the line on the south bank of the South Ashburton River, this decision was later reversed and another 2.58 km of trackage was built, with the line opening to Mount Somers on 4 October 1885. Four years later, an extension of 5.57 km to Springburn was opened on 9 September 1889, bringing the line's full length to 43.17 km.^[1]

In 1886, a privately owned narrow gauge bush tramway was built into the hills behind Mount Somers to more adequately serve coal mines and a limeworks. This line operated until 1963, though after 1943 it was closed beyond the limeworks.^[2]

[edit] Stations

The following stations were located on the Mount Somers Branch (in brackets is the distance from the junction in Tinwald):^[2]

• Lagmhor (8.13 km)
• Westerfield (13.39 km)
• Hackthorne (17.92 km)
• Punawai (21.69 km)
• Valetta (26.56 km)
• Anama (30.9 km)
• Cavendish (35.02 km)
• Mount Somers (37.6 km)
• Buccleugh (?? km)
• Springburn (43.17 km)

[edit] Operation

For roughly half a century, a daily mixed train operated on the line. Besides the aforementioned coal and limestone, important commodities on the line were grain, livestock, and silica sand that was railed to a glassworks in the Christchurch suburb of Hornby (served by the Southbridge Branch).^[3] At one point in the 19th century, as tractors displaced horses on farms in the area, substantial traffic came from the transportation of horses from the area to destinations in the North Island where the terrain was too steep for tractors of the era to handle.

As road transportation improved in the 20th century, the line's importance slipped. Passenger traffic in particular had markedly declined from a peak of 18,000-25,000 passengers per annum in the late 19th century, and as it was no longer viable, the passenger service was cancelled on 9 January 1933. World War II generated increased traffic for the line, especially as there was a military camp located in Westerfield, but after the war ended, conditions returned to their pre-war status. Therefore, in 1951, the freight trains were slashed to run just twice a week and they now commenced in Ashburton rather than at the branch's terminus. Closure of the short section to Springburn had been suggested as early as 1930 and this finally occurred on 29 March 1957, with full closure of the line occurring on 1 January 1968.^[4] It should be noted, however, that wheat was railed from a station over halfway up the line at Valetta until April 1968.^[3]

Today, the first two kilometres of the line from the junction at Tinwald to the Frasers Road crossing survive as the trackage of the Plains Vintage Railway.

[edit] The branch today

Remnants of closed railway lines naturally deteriorate and disappear due to both nature and human activity, and beyond the restored section run by the Plains Vintage Railway, this is true for the Mount Somers Branch. Some of the line's formation, embankments and cuttings can still be seen, while in other places, it has been obliterated, often by farming activity. Two goods sheds still exist: one is in Mount Somers along with a couple of loading banks, and the other is in Valetta, where some ballast is still in place on the formation of a siding. The site of the Westerfield yard retains a couple of loading banks, some bridge abutments can be found at various points along the line's former path, and about a kilometre from Westerfield School, a couple of sleepers can be found on the formation.^[5]

[edit] Resources