Fairlie Branch - Construction

Construction

Proposed in the early 1870s, the local government voted in favour of a branch line from Timaru to Pleasant Point in December 1872 and a construction contract was let in the following March. After a railway act approving the line was passed later in 1873, construction could commence, and it did so on 18 February 1874. The branch left the Main South Line in Washdyke, now a northern suburb of Timaru, and headed northwest towards Pleasant Point. Construction of this 14.42 km of railway proceeded without any notable difficulties, opening for service on 24 December 1875 - though trains had been able to run to Pleasant Point as early as two months previously. An extension followed swiftly, and the 27 km addition to Albury opened on 1 January 1877.

After this point, however, construction stalled. On 13 August 1880, the Timaru Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution to pressure the government to call tenders for construction of the remainder of the line. This was followed by a public meeting in Fairlie on 25 March 1882 that issued the same demand on the government, asserting that the line to Albury was the best paying in New Zealand and an extension would provide more convenient access to much of the freight then conveyed to the Albury terminus. Contracts were soon let, and the next 12 km to Winscombe were opened on 24 August 1883. Less than half a year later, the final portion of the line was opened for general traffic to the locale of Eversley, just beyond Fairlie, on 28 January 1884, giving the branch a full length of 58.2 km. Some sources, including Railways Department publications, incorrectly state this happened on 9 January 1884. The opening of the line was celebrated on 30 January 1884 by a public holiday in Fairlie and environs, and an excursion train ran from Timaru conveying 600-700 passengers for the occasion. This train was double-headed by K 88 Washington and a member of the F class, and it consisted of a guard's van and 14 carriages, some of which were brought down from Christchurch the previous morning to cater for the anticipated large crowd.

There were plans to extend the branch even further to Burkes Pass and the Mackenzie Country. 27 kilometres of formation were made to varying standards of completion, but ultimately no rails were laid and the line's farthest terminus remained Eversley.