Glen Massey Branch
| Glen Massey Line | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Status | Closed | ||
| Termini |
Ngaruawahia Glen Massey |
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| Operation | |||
| Opened | March 1914 | ||
| Closed | 19 May 1958 | ||
| Owner | Private then State Mines Department | ||
| Operator(s) | Private then New Zealand Railways Department | ||
| Character | Rural/Industrial | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 10.64 km (6.61 mi) | ||
| Number of tracks | Single | ||
| Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | ||
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The Glen Massey Line was a private railway of 10.6 km near Ngaruawahia in the Waikato Region of New Zealand, built to serve coal mines, and, from 1935, run by the New Zealand Railways Department. The line had grades of 1 in 40, sharp curves - sharpest 6 ch (400 ft; 120 m) and 40 of less than 10 ch (660 ft; 200 m) - and 22 bridges, including a 91.5-metre-long and 18.3-metre-high timber trestle bridge over Firewood Creek halfway between Ngaruawahia and Glen Massey and a 70-foot-long (21 m) bridge, adapted in 1917 to take sheep, on 52 ft (16 m) piles over the Waipa River, as well as the railway, after collapse of the road bridge.
In 1910 a private siding was built at Ngaruawahia on the North Island Main Trunk, and used from May 1912 to supply construction materials for the 8.2 km line to Glen Massey. The company was formed with a nominal capital of £80,000 in January 1910. The Prime Minister turned the first sod on 12 March 1912. The line was opened to Glen Massey in March 1914, and coal transport commenced, using a weigh-bridge at the Ngaruawahia private siding. The "Waipa Railway and Collieries Ltd" bought a new loco, NO 1, in 1913 from Andrew Barclay and, in 1914, purchased a second-hand ex-Wellington and Manawatu Railway tank locomotive from NZR, WH 449. Initial problems with lineside fires were resolved by fitting spark arrestors. A regular Saturday passenger service ran for many years, known as the "Wilton Express", using three ex-WMR clerestory carriages. A 'Waipa Collieries' advert, placed by the mine's first manager, showed passenger trains leaving Glen Massey at 8.30am and Ngaruawahia at 4pm, with passengers also taken on coal trains leaving Glen Massey at 11.30am and 2.30pm and Ngaruawahia at 10am and 1pm.
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