Taonui Branch - Construction

Construction

In the late 1870s, sleepers were required for the Foxton & Wanganui Railway (later the Wanganui Branch, the now-closed Foxton Branch, and parts of the North Island Main Trunk Railway and Marton - New Plymouth Line). Accordingly, a 3.5 km line was constructed from Taonui, near Feilding, in a northeasterly direction towards Colyton to reach a stand of tōtara trees. It was opened on 17 November 1879, and over the next three years it was overseen by three separate authorities: initially the Railways Commissioners; then the Public Works Department from 20 April 1881; and finally the New Zealand Railways Department from the start of July 1882.