Kurow Branch - Construction

Construction

The Kurow Branch started life as a tramway when the Awamoko Tramway Company was formed in 1873. Construction of a tramway from the Main South Line at Awamoko (now Pukeuri) to Duntroon commenced the next year with approval from the Otago provincial government. In 1875, after the realisation that tramway standards were not sufficient for the line's purposes, an upgrade to railway standards commenced. Almost everything that had already been constructed had to be rebuilt; the rails were too light for the trains that were to operate, the sleepers were too small, and insufficient ballast had been laid. Nonetheless, only a fortnight after reconstruction began, the official opening ceremony took place on 1 December 1875. Freight trains did not actually begin running for another three weeks, and passengers were not carried until 16 August 1876, when the reconstruction programme had been completed. Furthermore, the line had not actually reached Duntroon; it terminated on the opposite, east bank of the Maerewhenua River due to bridging difficulties.

Another company, the Duntroon and Hakataramea Railway Company, formed in 1878 after the 1877 District Railways Act was passed, with the intention of building a railway from Duntroon to Kurow and then further up the Waitaki Valley. Construction commenced in 1879, and when the Waitaki River was bridged on 7 November 1881, the line was completed to Hakataramea, 1.76 km beyond Kurow by rail on the northern side of the Waitaki. There were plans to build the line further, to a proposed town that was to have 10,000 residents, but the town never came to fruition, the railway was not extended, and Hakataramea remained the terminus. A few months earlier, the Maerewhenua River was finally bridged on 2 July 1881, and with the completion of the Hakataramea section, the full line was opened for service. The Duntroon and Hakataramea Railway Company did not purchase its own equipment; the branch was always operated by the New Zealand Railways Department. This arrangement lasted for over three years while the company and government disputed about ownership, primarily due to the fact the line was abbreviated to terminating in Hakataramea rather than being built to the full extent of original plans. Ultimately, the government purchased the line in April 1885 and charged a tariff beyond Duntroon until 1897.

Further railway construction in the area took place in 1928, when the Public Works Department built 6.4 kilometres of railway from Kurow to the construction site of the Waitaki hydro-electric dam. This line was never owned or operated by NZR, though NZR trains did occasionally use the line (in such cases, a Public Works Department locomotive took over from NZR's in Kurow). Works and freight services began on 20 December 1928 and passengers were carried from 25 February 1929.