Railway
On 1 March 1895, Gorge Road became the terminus of a branch line railway when the Seaward Bush Branch was extended from its previous terminus in Mokotua. It remained a terminus for over four years; the next section across the Mataura to Waimahaka via Titiroa was not opened until 9 June 1899.
When it opened, the railway provided an important economic link to Southland's main centre, Invercargill. Passengers and freight were carried together on mixed trains; after the Waimahaka extension opened, these ran daily from Waimahaka and return, an improvement on the less frequent services that ran from Invercargill and return when Gorge Road was the terminus. Improved roads resulted in a decline in traffic, and in 1951, the mixed trains were slashed to run just once a week, mainly for the benefit of New Zealand Railways Department employees and their families who lived in the area. Goods-only services continued to run on other days, and after 1 June 1960, they became the sole trains through Gorge Road as the weekly mixed was cancelled. However, these service cuts were not enough to restore the line's profitability, and it closed on 31 March 1966. Some of the line's old formation can still be seen in the vicinity of Gorge Road, and Railway Bridge Road leads to the site of the no longer extant bridge over the Mataura.
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Famous quotes containing the word railway:
“Her personality had an architectonic quality; I think of her when I see some of the great London railway termini, especially St. Pancras, with its soot and turrets, and she overshadowed her own daughters, whom she did not understand—my mother, who liked things to be nice; my dotty aunt. But my mother had not the strength to put even some physical distance between them, let alone keep the old monster at emotional arm’s length.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)