Mount Somers Branch

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 preserved as the Plains Vintage Railway.

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, 35.02 km from Tinwald.

Although it had been decided to terminate the line on the south bank of the South Ashburton River, another 2.58 km was built to Mount Somers, opening on 4 October 1885. An extension of 5.57 km to Springburn was opened on 9 September 1889, bringing the line to its full length to 43.17 km.

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

The following stations were on the Mount Somers Branch (in brackets is the distance from the junction at Tinwald):

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