Weka Pass Railway | |
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A 428 just leaving Frog Rock cutting. | |
Locale | Waipara, New Zealand |
Terminus | Glenmark Station and Waikari Station |
Coordinates | 43°03′16″S 172°45′28″E / 43.0544°S 172.7579°E |
Connections | KiwiRail Main North Line |
Commercial operations | |
Name | Waiau Branchline |
Built by | New Zealand Government Railways |
Original gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) |
Preserved operations | |
Owned by | Weka Pass Railway Society |
Operated by | Weka Pass Railway Society |
Stations | Two |
Length | 12.8 km (8.0 mi) |
Preserved gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) |
Commercial history | |
Opened | 15 December 1919 |
Closed | 15 January 1978 |
Preservation history | |
1982 | Formation of Society |
1984 | First Operation of Trains |
1993 | Recommissioning of A 428 |
1995 | Inaugural Waipara Vintage Festival |
1999 | Official opening of the railway |
2003 | Opening of the Waikari turntable |
2009 | Opening of the Glenmark turntable |
Website | |
www |
The Weka Pass Railway is a New Zealand heritage railway based in Waipara, North Canterbury. It is operated on a 12.8 km length of the former Waiau Branch railway between Waipara and Waikari. The railway is operated by an incorporated society which consists solely of members and volunteers, and are largely resident in the city of Christchurch, 60 km to the south. The railway began carrying passengers in 1984 and is now well established locally and nationally.[1]