Dun Mountain Railway
| Dun Mountain Railway | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Type | Tramway |
| Status | Closed |
| Locale | Nelson, New Zealand |
| Termini | Hardy Street, Nelson (passenger), Wooded Peak (freight) Nelson Port |
| Stations | 2 (passenger) 4 (freight) |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 3 February 1862 |
| Closed | January 1866 (freight) 30 May 1901 (passenger) |
| Owner | Dun Mountain Company Robert Levien Moses Crewdson Jonathan Harle Nelson City Council |
| Operator(s) | Dun Mountain Company Thomas Nesbitt James McConkey William Weeden and Alfred Brind Bray Bros. William Taylor Stevenson and McGlashan Thomas Newton Robert Levien Moses Crewdson Jonathan Harle Nelson City Council |
| Character | mountainous, suburban |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 21.5 km (13.4 mi) (original) 1.8 km (1.1 mi) (subsequent to the closure and lifting of the incline) |
| Track gauge | 3 ft (914 mm) |
The Dun Mountain Railway was a privately owned and operated 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge, 21.5 km (13.4 mi) long horse-drawn tramway from chromite mines in the vicinity of Duppa Lode on the eastern slopes of Wooded Peak to Nelson port in the Tasman District of New Zealand's South Island. It operated from 3 February 1862 to 30 May 1901, with the last mineral traffic on the incline section operated in January 1866.
This line was the first "railway" to be opened and operated in New Zealand, preceding the first public railway and the first railway to be operated by steam trains, the line between Ferrymead and Christchurch, which opened on 1 December 1863. The city of Nelson had the first city tramway to both open and close in New Zealand.
Prominent advocates for the mining of mineral deposits found on Wooded Peak included a syndicate formed by William Long Wrey, William Travers and William Wells. In the winter of 1853 a local runholder, George Duppa, discovered a large deposit of chromite high on Wooded Peak, about 8 kilometers south-east of Nelson township. It was named the Duppa Lode, but considered to be of no commercial value at the time.
The syndicate readily agreed that in order to exploit the mineral deposits a tramway would need to transport the product back to Nelson. After attempts to raise capital for the project locally failed in August 1853, Wrey headed to England in October to raise further capital. His efforts were successful, resulting in the formation of the New Zealand Land Fund Association backed by 20 London financiers, who had each contributed £500. Wrey returned to New Zealand on 8 August 1855 with 24 miners and an engineer, Jeremiah How.
In early 1857 the Dun Mountain Copper Mining Company Ltd. formed, and shareholders in the Cook’s Straight Company previously formed by the mining syndicate were able to exchange their shares for fully paid-up ones in the new company, with a further 5,000 B shares reserved for sale in New Zealand.
The first shareholders' meeting of the company took place on 22 July 1857. Investors learned of plans to construct a 16-kilometre (9.9 mi) long light railway along the Maitai Valley - to be worked up the incline by horses and in the opposite direction by gravity.
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Wikipedia