ALBUM - Construction of the Westport Reefton railway line. 1907-11.

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DescriptionPhoto 1:A precipitous railway.
Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19110713-6-3

Photo 2:Four workmen posing outside the first tunnel of the Westport-Reefton Railway. The railway track is going into the tunnel.
Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19100113-16-5

Photo 3:Sir George Grey Special Collections,
Construction of the Railway near Westport.
Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19100929-16-2

Photo 4:Construction of the Westport Reefton railway line:linemen at work preparing the track, nearly 6 miles of which is completed at the Westport end.
Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19070207-11-3

A railway link from Greymouth east to Brunner was opened in 1876, but work on a link from this point to Westport became delayed for ten years by disputes over the best route to link the West Coast with Nelson and Canterbury. Ultimately, the New Zealand Midland Railway Company (NZMRC) was formed to construct the route, and in 1886, work recommenced. The junction of the route to Westport and the Midland Line to Canterbury was established just east of Brunner in Stillwater, and the NZMRC put most of its energy into the first portion of the SWL from Stillwater to Reefton. This was due to the comparatively easier terrain faced by the route in the valley of the Grey River, and in 1889, the line was opened to Ngahere.

On 29 February 1892, the NZMRC opened the line all the way to the south bank of the Inangahua River, directly opposite Reefton, and with the Stillwater–Reefton portion complete in their view, they redirected their energy to the Midland route from Stillwater to Otira.

In the mid-1890s the NZMRC ran out of funds and, after a dispute in the courts, was taken over by the central government. Work on the SWL recommenced in the 20th century, with the Inangahua River bridged, the present-day Reefton station established, and a further section to Cronadun opened in 1908. At the Westport end, construction also commenced, with a 9 km line opened in 1912 from Westport to Te Kuha at the western end of the Lower Buller Gorge. In 1914, the line from Cronadun reached Inangahua Junction, where the NZMRC intended its lines to Westport and Nelson to diverge (in fact, Inangahua remained the probable site for a junction until all work on the Nelson Section ceased in the 1930s). However, the outbreak of World War I brought a halt to construction with only the section through the Buller Gorge to complete.

The Buller Gorge posed many difficulties for construction, and little work was done on the line for over two decades. Only after the 1935 election brought about a change in government was there a serious push to complete the line (as well as the similarly postponed Main North Line).

The outbreak of World War II created further delays on construction, but this time, work continued through wartime, the 'last spike' ceremony being on 2 December 1941. The Public Works Department was in charge of construction and were able to operate trains the length of the line by July 1942, but ownership of the route was not transferred to the New Zealand Railways Department until 5 December 1943.Photographer W. J. HickeyD MaloneyDate of Photo1907-11Map^[1]External LinkStillwater -Westport LineContributorHeather Newby

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Location (city or town)WestportLandmark (Place)Westport-Reefton railway lineOrganisation (eg business)NZ Railways

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Category TagRailways

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