167-731: The Palmerston North–Gisborne Line ( PNGL ) is a secondary main line railway in the North Island of New Zealand. It branches from the North Island Main Trunk at Palmerston North and runs east through the Manawatū Gorge to Woodville , where it meets the Wairarapa Line , and then proceeds to Hastings and Napier in Hawke's Bay before following the coast north to Gisborne . Construction began in 1872, but
334-408: A crank on a driving axle. Steam locomotives have been phased out in most parts of the world for economical and safety reasons, although many are preserved in working order by heritage railways . Electric locomotives draw power from a stationary source via an overhead wire or third rail . Some also or instead use a battery . In locomotives that are powered by high-voltage alternating current ,
501-586: A dining car . Some lines also provide over-night services with sleeping cars . Some long-haul trains have been given a specific name . Regional trains are medium distance trains that connect cities with outlying, surrounding areas, or provide a regional service, making more stops and having lower speeds. Commuter trains serve suburbs of urban areas, providing a daily commuting service. Airport rail links provide quick access from city centres to airports . High-speed rail are special inter-city trains that operate at much higher speeds than conventional railways,
668-731: A fourth rail system in 1890 on the City and South London Railway , now part of the London Underground Northern line . This was the first major railway to use electric traction . The world's first deep-level electric railway, it runs from the City of London , under the River Thames , to Stockwell in south London. The first practical AC electric locomotive was designed by Charles Brown , then working for Oerlikon , Zürich. In 1891, Brown had demonstrated long-distance power transmission, using three-phase AC , between
835-542: A funicular railway at the Hohensalzburg Fortress in Austria. The line originally used wooden rails and a hemp haulage rope and was operated by human or animal power, through a treadwheel . The line is still operational, although in updated form and is possibly the oldest operational railway. Wagonways (or tramways ) using wooden rails, hauled by horses, started appearing in the 1550s to facilitate
1002-492: A hydro-electric plant at Lauffen am Neckar and Frankfurt am Main West, a distance of 280 km (170 mi). Using experience he had gained while working for Jean Heilmann on steam–electric locomotive designs, Brown observed that three-phase motors had a higher power-to-weight ratio than DC motors and, because of the absence of a commutator , were simpler to manufacture and maintain. However, they were much larger than
1169-431: A steam engine that provides adhesion. Coal , petroleum , or wood is burned in a firebox , boiling water in the boiler to create pressurized steam. The steam travels through the smokebox before leaving via the chimney or smoke stack. In the process, it powers a piston that transmits power directly through a connecting rod (US: main rod) and a crankpin (US: wristpin) on the driving wheel (US main driver) or to
1336-469: A transformer in the locomotive converts the high-voltage low-current power to low-voltage high current used in the traction motors that power the wheels. Modern locomotives may use three-phase AC induction motors or direct current motors. Under certain conditions, electric locomotives are the most powerful traction. They are also the cheapest to run and provide less noise and no local air pollution. However, they require high capital investments both for
1503-456: A 2019 feasibility study had proposed repairs for that and other slips and concluded that there was an economic case for reopening the line. Cyclone Gabrielle closed the line north of Woodville after 13 February 2023. Bridges washed away were 176 in Waipawa, 212 and 216 north of Hastings, and Waitangi bridge, 217, north of Clive and some other areas of track were undermined. Reopening to Hastings
1670-414: A cohesive national transport network, and in 1871, a line south from Napier was officially authorised. Construction commenced in 1872 and the first section opened to Hastings on 13 October 1874; from Napier's railway station, it followed a coastal shingle ridge to Clive , and then turned inland. From Hastings, the line proceeded inland through the initially easy country but became steadily more difficult. It
1837-407: A decision made by the insurer. Two of the buildings demolished were about eleven years old – the seven-storey NZDF headquarters and Statistics House at Centreport on the waterfront. The docks were closed for several weeks after the earthquake. Steep landforms shape and constrain much of Wellington city. Notable hills in and around Wellington include: Averaging 2,055 hours of sunshine per year,
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#17327810153492004-550: A diesel locomotive from the company in 1909. The world's first diesel-powered locomotive was operated in the summer of 1912 on the Winterthur–Romanshorn railway in Switzerland, but was not a commercial success. The locomotive weight was 95 tonnes and the power was 883 kW with a maximum speed of 100 km/h (62 mph). Small numbers of prototype diesel locomotives were produced in a number of countries through
2171-587: A direct route between Napier and Wellington was established but required a change of trains in Longburn with the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company . On 11 December 1897, the Wairarapa Line was completed through to Woodville and this provided a through NZR connection from Wellington to Hawke's Bay, via the Rimutaka Incline . Due to the isolation of Gisborne, a railway link to other centres
2338-478: A double track plateway, erroneously sometimes cited as world's first public railway, in south London. William Jessop had earlier used a form of all-iron edge rail and flanged wheels successfully for an extension to the Charnwood Forest Canal at Nanpantan , Loughborough, Leicestershire in 1789. In 1790, Jessop and his partner Outram began to manufacture edge rails. Jessop became a partner in
2505-582: A head on crash at Whakaki, injuring 16 passengers, probably due to the drivers of the DA locomotive falling asleep. On 6 May 2005 part of a train (a 60-tonne crane and two wagons) repairing the bridge fell into the Nūhaka River at Nūhaka , when Bridge 256 collapsed beneath it, due to boring by teredo worms . No one was injured. Axle load limits were 16.3 tonnes, but the crane weighed up to 24.1 tonnes. Due to sales of lighter cranes, following privatisation , no other
2672-437: A large turning radius in its design. While high-speed rail is most often designed for passenger travel, some high-speed systems also offer freight service. Since 1980, rail transport has changed dramatically, but a number of heritage railways continue to operate as part of living history to preserve and maintain old railway lines for services of tourist trains. A train is a connected series of rail vehicles that move along
2839-498: A larger locomotive named Galvani , exhibited at the Royal Scottish Society of Arts Exhibition in 1841. The seven-ton vehicle had two direct-drive reluctance motors , with fixed electromagnets acting on iron bars attached to a wooden cylinder on each axle, and simple commutators . It hauled a load of six tons at four miles per hour (6 kilometers per hour) for a distance of one and a half miles (2.4 kilometres). It
3006-423: A locomotive. This involves one or more powered vehicles being located at the front of the train, providing sufficient tractive force to haul the weight of the full train. This arrangement remains dominant for freight trains and is often used for passenger trains. A push–pull train has the end passenger car equipped with a driver's cab so that the engine driver can remotely control the locomotive. This allows one of
3173-678: A magnitude 7 quake, but as it happens slowly, there is no damage. During July and August 2013 there were many earthquakes, mostly in Cook Strait near Seddon. The sequence started at 5:09 pm on Sunday 21 July 2013 when the magnitude 6.5 Seddon earthquake hit the city, but no tsunami report was confirmed nor any major damage. At 2:31 pm on Friday 16 August 2013 the Lake Grassmere earthquake struck, this time magnitude 6.6, but again no major damage occurred, though many buildings were evacuated. On Monday 20 January 2014 at 3:52 pm
3340-504: A major fault, the Wellington Fault , running through the centre of the city and several others nearby. Several hundred minor faults lines have been identified within the urban area. Inhabitants, particularly in high-rise buildings, typically notice several earthquakes every year. For many years after the 1855 earthquake, the majority of buildings were made entirely from wood. The 1996-restored Government Buildings near Parliament
3507-477: A number of trains per hour (tph). Passenger trains can usually be into two types of operation, intercity railway and intracity transit. Whereas intercity railway involve higher speeds, longer routes, and lower frequency (usually scheduled), intracity transit involves lower speeds, shorter routes, and higher frequency (especially during peak hours). Intercity trains are long-haul trains that operate with few stops between cities. Trains typically have amenities such as
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#17327810153493674-676: A piece of circular rail track in Bloomsbury , London, the Catch Me Who Can , but never got beyond the experimental stage with railway locomotives, not least because his engines were too heavy for the cast-iron plateway track then in use. The first commercially successful steam locomotive was Matthew Murray 's rack locomotive Salamanca built for the Middleton Railway in Leeds in 1812. This twin-cylinder locomotive
3841-465: A pivotal role in the development and widespread adoption of the steam locomotive. His designs considerably improved on the work of the earlier pioneers. He built the locomotive Blücher , also a successful flanged -wheel adhesion locomotive. In 1825 he built the locomotive Locomotion for the Stockton and Darlington Railway in the northeast of England, which became the first public steam railway in
4008-400: A population density of 1,900 people per km . The urban area had a population of 201,708 in the 2023 New Zealand census , a decrease of 84 people (−0.0%) since the 2018 census , and an increase of 11,595 people (6.1%) since the 2013 census . There were 97,143 males, 101,898 females and 2,667 people of other genders in 77,472 dwellings. 9.0% of people identified as LGBTIQ+ . The median age
4175-569: A population density of 743 people per km . This comprises 214,200 people in the Wellington urban area and 1,100 people in the surrounding rural areas. Wellington City had a population of 202,689 in the 2023 New Zealand census , a decrease of 48 people (−0.0%) since the 2018 census , and an increase of 11,733 people (6.1%) since the 2013 census . There were 97,641 males, 102,372 females and 2,673 people of other genders in 77,835 dwellings. 9.0% of people identified as LGBTIQ+ . The median age
4342-545: A population of 214,200 as of June 2024. The wider Wellington metropolitan area , including the cities of Lower Hutt , Porirua and Upper Hutt , has a population of 440,700 as of June 2024. The city has served as New Zealand's capital since 1865, a status that is not defined in legislation, but established by convention; the New Zealand Government and Parliament , the Supreme Court and most of
4509-551: A private company to take over construction and operation of the line in 1933. The proposal continued until a new government , the first Labour government , was elected in November 1935 . In early 1936, the new Minister of Public Works Bob Semple ordered the recommencement of work on the line. This led to the Napier – Putorino section being reopened on 17 October 1936. On 1 July 1937, the 275 metres (902 ft) long Mohaka Viaduct
4676-439: A revival in recent decades due to road congestion and rising fuel prices, as well as governments investing in rail as a means of reducing CO 2 emissions . Smooth, durable road surfaces have been made for wheeled vehicles since prehistoric times. In some cases, they were narrow and in pairs to support only the wheels. That is, they were wagonways or tracks. Some had grooves or flanges or other mechanical means to keep
4843-411: A rolling 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck the lower North Island 15 km east of Eketāhuna and was felt in Wellington, but little damage was reported initially, except at Wellington Airport where one of the two giant eagle sculptures commemorating The Hobbit became detached from the ceiling. At two minutes after midnight on Monday 14 November 2016, the 7.8 magnitude Kaikōura earthquake , which
5010-571: A service between Napier and Wairoa on 3 July 1939, and when the line to Gisborne was completed, the Gisborne Express was introduced on 7 September 1942, running from Wellington through to Gisborne. This service typically operated twice-weekly except for holiday periods when it was more frequent, but it ceased to operate in 1955 and was replaced by more efficient railcars except for occasional reinstatement during holiday periods to cater for heavy loads. By this time, railcars had already replaced
5177-413: A significant commodity. By the late 20th century, the emphasis had dramatically changed to long-distance bulk freight, including frozen meat, canned foods, and fertiliser from near Gisborne. The line between Fonterra 's Oringi Milk Transfer Station, just south of Dannevirke, and Palmerston North was used for hauling milk wagons that then formed part of the freight to Fonterra's Whareroa plant near Hawera on
Palmerston North–Gisborne Line - Misplaced Pages Continue
5344-739: A single lever to control both engine and generator in a coordinated fashion, and was the prototype for all diesel–electric locomotive control systems. In 1914, world's first functional diesel–electric railcars were produced for the Königlich-Sächsische Staatseisenbahnen ( Royal Saxon State Railways ) by Waggonfabrik Rastatt with electric equipment from Brown, Boveri & Cie and diesel engines from Swiss Sulzer AG . They were classified as DET 1 and DET 2 ( de.wiki ). The first regular used diesel–electric locomotives were switcher (shunter) locomotives . General Electric produced several small switching locomotives in
5511-407: A standard. Following SNCF's successful trials, 50 Hz, now also called industrial frequency was adopted as standard for main-lines across the world. Earliest recorded examples of an internal combustion engine for railway use included a prototype designed by William Dent Priestman . Sir William Thomson examined it in 1888 and described it as a "Priestman oil engine mounted upon a truck which
5678-565: A storm in March 2012. The whole Napier–Gisborne section was officially mothballed (but not closed) in December 2012. The Napier–Wairoa section reopened for forestry traffic in June 2019, but has been mothballed again following Cyclone Gabrielle. The section between Wairoa and Gisborne has suffered from further slips and washouts since 2012. The Gisborne City Vintage Railway has a lease agreement over
5845-632: A terminus about one-half mile (800 m) away. A funicular railway was also made at Broseley in Shropshire some time before 1604. This carried coal for James Clifford from his mines down to the River Severn to be loaded onto barges and carried to riverside towns. The Wollaton Wagonway , completed in 1604 by Huntingdon Beaumont , has sometimes erroneously been cited as the earliest British railway. It ran from Strelley to Wollaton near Nottingham . The Middleton Railway in Leeds , which
6012-578: A time when New Zealand's population was 1.6 million. Wellington is at the south-western tip of the North Island on Cook Strait , separating the North and South Islands. On a clear day, the snowcapped Kaikōura Ranges are visible to the south across the strait. To the north stretch the golden beaches of the Kāpiti Coast . On the east, the Remutaka Range divides Wellington from the broad plains of
6179-512: A time) on the flat area at the mouth of the Hutt River . Within months that area proved swampy and flood-prone, and most of the newcomers transplanted their settlement across Wellington Harbour to Thorndon in the present-day site of Wellington city. Wellington was declared a city in 1840, and was chosen to be the capital city of New Zealand in 1865 . Wellington became the capital city in place of Auckland , which William Hobson had made
6346-408: A wheel. This was a large stationary engine , powering cotton mills and a variety of machinery; the state of boiler technology necessitated the use of low-pressure steam acting upon a vacuum in the cylinder, which required a separate condenser and an air pump . Nevertheless, as the construction of boilers improved, Watt investigated the use of high-pressure steam acting directly upon a piston, raising
6513-410: Is a single, self-powered car, and may be electrically propelled or powered by a diesel engine . Multiple units have a driver's cab at each end of the unit, and were developed following the ability to build electric motors and other engines small enough to fit under the coach. There are only a few freight multiple units, most of which are high-speed post trains. Steam locomotives are locomotives with
6680-456: Is about 1280. Wellington and its environs have been occupied by various Māori groups from the 12th century. The legendary Polynesian explorer Kupe, a chief from Hawaiki (the homeland of Polynesian explorers, of unconfirmed geographical location, not to be confused with Hawaii ), was said to have stayed in the harbour from c. 925 . A later Māori explorer, Whatonga, named the harbour Te Whanganui-a-Tara after his son Tara. Before
6847-614: Is available between its harbour and the surrounding hills. It has very few open areas in which to expand, and this has brought about the development of the suburban towns. Because of its location in the Roaring Forties and its exposure to the winds blowing through Cook Strait , Wellington is the world's windiest city, with an average wind speed of 27 km/h (17 mph). Wellington's scenic natural harbour and green hillsides adorned with tiered suburbs of colonial villas are popular with tourists. The central business district (CBD)
Palmerston North–Gisborne Line - Misplaced Pages Continue
7014-687: Is chiefly served by Wellington International Airport in Rongotai , the country's third-busiest airport . Wellington's transport network includes train and bus lines which reach as far as the Kāpiti Coast and the Wairarapa , and ferries connect the city to the South Island . Often referred to as New Zealand's cultural capital, the culture of Wellington is a diverse and often youth-driven one which has wielded influence across Oceania . One of
7181-501: Is close to Lambton Harbour, an arm of Wellington Harbour , which lies along an active geological fault , clearly evident on its straight western shore. The land to the west of this rises abruptly, meaning that many suburbs sit high above the centre of the city. There is a network of bush walks and reserves maintained by the Wellington City Council and local volunteers. These include Otari-Wilton's Bush , dedicated to
7348-399: Is dominant. Electro-diesel locomotives are built to run as diesel–electric on unelectrified sections and as electric locomotives on electrified sections. Alternative methods of motive power include magnetic levitation , horse-drawn, cable , gravity, pneumatics and gas turbine . A passenger train stops at stations where passengers may embark and disembark. The oversight of the train is
7515-466: Is notorious for its southerly blasts in winter, which may make the temperature feel much colder. It is generally very windy all year round with high rainfall; average annual rainfall is 1,250 mm (49 in), June and July being the wettest months. Frosts are quite common in the hill suburbs and the Hutt Valley between May and September. Snow is very rare at low altitudes, although snow fell on
7682-401: Is now part of the central business district. For this reason, the street named Lambton Quay is 100 to 200 metres (325 to 650 ft) from the harbour – plaques set into the footpath mark the shoreline in 1840 , indicating the extent of reclamation. The 1942 Wairarapa earthquakes caused considerable damage in Wellington. The area has high seismic activity even by New Zealand standards, with
7849-504: Is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region . It is the world's southernmost capital of a sovereign state . Wellington features a temperate maritime climate, and is the world's windiest city by average wind speed . Māori oral tradition tells that Kupe discovered and explored the region in about the 10th century. The area was initially settled by Māori iwi such as Rangitāne and Muaūpoko . The disruptions of
8016-471: Is the largest wooden building in the Southern Hemisphere. While masonry and structural steel have subsequently been used in building construction, especially for office buildings, timber framing remains the primary structural component of almost all residential construction. Residents place their confidence in good building regulations , which became more stringent in the 20th century. Since
8183-408: Is usually provided by diesel or electrical locomotives . While railway transport is capital-intensive and less flexible than road transport, it can carry heavy loads of passengers and cargo with greater energy efficiency and safety. Precursors of railways driven by human or animal power have existed since antiquity, but modern rail transport began with the invention of the steam locomotive in
8350-556: Is worked on a temporary line of rails to show the adaptation of a petroleum engine for locomotive purposes." In 1894, a 20 hp (15 kW) two axle machine built by Priestman Brothers was used on the Hull Docks . In 1906, Rudolf Diesel , Adolf Klose and the steam and diesel engine manufacturer Gebrüder Sulzer founded Diesel-Sulzer-Klose GmbH to manufacture diesel-powered locomotives. Sulzer had been manufacturing diesel engines since 1898. The Prussian State Railways ordered
8517-621: The Endeavour , which was modelled on the successful Southerner . Railcars survived on the run through to Gisborne until 30 May 1976, when they were replaced by an extension of the Endeavour. It ran once daily in each direction, but its quality gradually declined during the 1980s as the rolling stock was reallocated to other trains; this included the removal of a buffet car, necessitating lengthy refreshment stops in Napier and Palmerston North. On 8 March 1988, Cyclone Bola significantly damaged
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#17327810153498684-645: The Asia-Pacific region, being ranked 46th in the world by the Global Financial Centres Index for 2024. The global city has grown from a bustling Māori settlement, to a colonial outpost, and from there to an Australasian capital that has experienced a "remarkable creative resurgence". Wellington takes its name from Arthur Wellesley , the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo (1815): his title comes from
8851-665: The Chatham Islands . The Waitangi Tribunal has found that at the time of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, Te Ātiawa, Taranaki, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāti Tama, and Ngāti Toa held mana whenua interests in the area, through conquest and occupation. Steps towards European settlement in the area began in 1839, when Colonel William Wakefield arrived to purchase land for the New Zealand Company to sell to prospective British settlers. Prior to this time,
9018-619: The M class , and after the acquisition of the WMR, the U class also saw some use on the PNGL, especially on the Napier Express . The use of A class locomotives allowed timetables to be quickened in 1914; this again occurred with the introduction of the A class in 1925 and the K and J classes after World War II. B class locomotives were employed on the Manawatū Gorge stretch during
9185-678: The Musket Wars led to them being overwhelmed by northern iwi such as Te Āti Awa by the early 19th century. Wellington's current form was originally designed by Captain William Mein Smith , the first Surveyor General for Edward Wakefield 's New Zealand Company , in 1840. Smith's plan included a series of interconnected grid plans , expanding along valleys and lower hill slopes. The Wellington urban area , which only includes urbanised areas within Wellington City, has
9352-414: The Napier Express ; in 1954, the daily express was replaced by twice-daily services run initially by Standard railcars and then by 88 seaters . This markedly quickened the journey from Napier to Wellington from 7 hours to 5.5 hours. The railcars entered into service to Gisborne on 1 August 1955 and also ran twice daily; one return service terminated in Napier while one went through to Wellington. To augment
9519-698: The National Archives , the National Library , New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa and numerous theatres. It plays host to many artistic and cultural organisations, including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Royal New Zealand Ballet . Its architectural attractions include the Old Government Buildings – one of the largest wooden buildings in the world – as well as the iconic Beehive ,
9686-692: The United Kingdom at the beginning of the 19th century. The first passenger railway, the Stockton and Darlington Railway , opened in 1825. The quick spread of railways throughout Europe and North America, following the 1830 opening of the first intercity connection in England, was a key component of the Industrial Revolution . The adoption of rail transport lowered shipping costs compared to water transport, leading to "national markets" in which prices varied less from city to city. In
9853-615: The United Kingdom , South Korea , Scandinavia, Belgium and the Netherlands. The construction of many of these lines has resulted in the dramatic decline of short-haul flights and automotive traffic between connected cities, such as the London–Paris–Brussels corridor, Madrid–Barcelona, Milan–Rome–Naples, as well as many other major lines. High-speed trains normally operate on standard gauge tracks of continuously welded rail on grade-separated right-of-way that incorporates
10020-522: The Wairarapa , a wine region of national notability. With a latitude of 41° 17' South, Wellington is the southernmost capital city in the world . Wellington ties with Canberra , Australia, as the most remote capital city, 2,326 km (1,445 mi) apart from each other. Wellington is more densely populated than most other cities in New Zealand due to the restricted amount of land that
10187-529: The Wairarapa Fault to the north and east of Wellington. It was probably the most powerful earthquake in recorded New Zealand history, with an estimated magnitude of at least 8.2 on the Moment magnitude scale . It caused vertical movements of two to three metres over a large area, including raising land out of the harbour and turning it into a tidal swamp. Much of this land was subsequently reclaimed and
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#173278101534910354-507: The Wairarapa line from Woodville has been discontinued. The Palmerston North to Woodville section of the PNGL is also utilised for two daily trains between Palmerston North and Pahiatua in the northern Wairarapa , and two shunts operate between Napier and Hastings, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Tunnels Nos. 3,4,5 near Woodville at the east end of the Manawatū Gorge were "daylighted" or opened out in May–November 2008 to allow
10521-525: The Wairoa River , which would then be followed to the town of Wairoa before proceeding along the coastline to Napier. Work began in April 1911, and the first 18 kilometres (11 mi) to Ngatapa was essentially complete by December 1914. The economic impacts of World War I led to the suspension of construction beyond Ngatapa towards Waikura, and it did not recommence until 1920 after further surveying
10688-414: The overhead lines and the supporting infrastructure, as well as the generating station that is needed to produce electricity. Accordingly, electric traction is used on urban systems, lines with high traffic and for high-speed rail. Diesel locomotives use a diesel engine as the prime mover . The energy transmission may be either diesel–electric , diesel-mechanical or diesel–hydraulic but diesel–electric
10855-458: The puddling process in 1784. In 1783 Cort also patented the rolling process , which was 15 times faster at consolidating and shaping iron than hammering. These processes greatly lowered the cost of producing iron and rails. The next important development in iron production was hot blast developed by James Beaumont Neilson (patented 1828), which considerably reduced the amount of coke (fuel) or charcoal needed to produce pig iron. Wrought iron
11022-418: The rotary phase converter , enabling electric locomotives to use three-phase motors whilst supplied via a single overhead wire, carrying the simple industrial frequency (50 Hz) single phase AC of the high-voltage national networks. An important contribution to the wider adoption of AC traction came from SNCF of France after World War II. The company conducted trials at AC 50 Hz, and established it as
11189-416: The world's most liveable cities , the 2021 Global Livability Ranking tied Wellington with Tokyo as fourth in the world. From 2017 to 2018, Deutsche Bank ranked it first in the world for both livability and non-pollution. Cultural precincts such as Cuba Street and Newtown are renowned for creative innovation, " op shops ", historic character, and food . Wellington is a leading financial centre in
11356-632: The 1820s, most of the inhabitants of the Wellington region were Whatonga's descendants. At about 1820, the people living there were Ngāti Ira and other groups who traced their descent from the explorer Whatonga, including Rangitāne and Muaūpoko . However, these groups were eventually forced out of Te Whanganui-a-Tara by a series of migrations by other iwi (Māori tribes) from the north. The migrating groups were Ngāti Toa , which came from Kāwhia , Ngāti Rangatahi, from near Taumarunui , and Te Ātiawa , Ngāti Tama , Ngāti Mutunga , Taranaki and Ngāti Ruanui from Taranaki . Ngāti Mutunga later moved on to
11523-540: The 1880s, railway electrification began with tramways and rapid transit systems. Starting in the 1940s, steam locomotives were replaced by diesel locomotives . The first high-speed railway system was introduced in Japan in 1964, and high-speed rail lines now connect many cities in Europe , East Asia , and the eastern United States . Following some decline due to competition from cars and airplanes, rail transport has had
11690-521: The 1930s (the famous " 44-tonner " switcher was introduced in 1940) Westinghouse Electric and Baldwin collaborated to build switching locomotives starting in 1929. In 1929, the Canadian National Railways became the first North American railway to use diesels in mainline service with two units, 9000 and 9001, from Westinghouse. Although steam and diesel services reaching speeds up to 200 km/h (120 mph) were started before
11857-459: The 1930s. On the line to Gisborne, locomotives of the A , J , and X classes were also employed. A last J-hauled train ran from Napier to Gisborne on 7 October 1966. Steam was fully replaced by diesel motive power in 1966, with D class locomotives predominant. By the 1980s, the DF class had been introduced, the use of the underpowered DBR class had caused some tardy operation of the Endeavour, and
12024-508: The 1960s in Europe, they were not very successful. The first electrified high-speed rail Tōkaidō Shinkansen was introduced in 1964 between Tokyo and Osaka in Japan. Since then high-speed rail transport, functioning at speeds up to and above 300 km/h (190 mph), has been built in Japan, Spain, France , Germany, Italy, the People's Republic of China, Taiwan (Republic of China),
12191-464: The 40 km Burgdorf–Thun line , Switzerland. Italian railways were the first in the world to introduce electric traction for the entire length of a main line rather than a short section. The 106 km Valtellina line was opened on 4 September 1902, designed by Kandó and a team from the Ganz works. The electrical system was three-phase at 3 kV 15 Hz. In 1918, Kandó invented and developed
12358-530: The Butterley Company in 1790. The first public edgeway (thus also first public railway) built was Lake Lock Rail Road in 1796. Although the primary purpose of the line was to carry coal, it also carried passengers. These two systems of constructing iron railways, the "L" plate-rail and the smooth edge-rail, continued to exist side by side until well into the early 19th century. The flanged wheel and edge-rail eventually proved its superiority and became
12525-568: The Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 , earthquake readiness has become even more of an issue, with buildings declared by Wellington City Council to be earthquake-prone, and the costs of meeting new standards. Every five years, a year-long slow quake occurs beneath Wellington, stretching from Kapiti to the Marlborough Sounds . It was first measured in 2003, and reappeared in 2008 and 2013. It releases as much energy as
12692-712: The DA class was withdrawn by the late 1980s. During the 1990s, the DX and DC class locomotives were regularly used on the PNGL; the damage caused by Cyclone Bola meant that when repair work was undertaken, clearances were improved and the DX class were authorised to operate to Gisborne from September 1988. In the 2020s the dominant form of motive power on the PNGL is the DL class , with some services hauled by DF class locomotives and mainline shunts by DSG class locomotives. On 22 September 1925 three were killed and several others seriously injured after
12859-514: The DC motors of the time and could not be mounted in underfloor bogies : they could only be carried within locomotive bodies. In 1894, Hungarian engineer Kálmán Kandó developed a new type 3-phase asynchronous electric drive motors and generators for electric locomotives. Kandó's early 1894 designs were first applied in a short three-phase AC tramway in Évian-les-Bains (France), which was constructed between 1896 and 1898. In 1896, Oerlikon installed
13026-536: The Gisborne to Muriwai section of the line, which it uses for its seasonal vintage trains. The PNGL was constructed in two distinct phases. The southern portion between Napier and Palmerston North was built between 1872 and 1891, while the northern portion from Napier to Gisborne followed at a much later date, 1912 to 1942. Hawke's Bay featured in Julius Vogel 's " Great Public Works " scheme of 1870 to create
13193-494: The MNPL. The number of services varied seasonally, but at peak was usually two each way per day. The transfer station closed in 2015. Freight is conveyed to Napier Port , which is located near the PNGL and accessed via the short Ahuriri Branch . Presently, two trains run on weekdays each way between Palmerston North and Napier, with a third service one or both ways if required. A past direct service between Wellington and Napier using
13360-508: The Mercer worldwide Cost of Living Survey. In 2019, Mercer ranked cities on personal safety, including internal stability, crime levels, law enforcement, limitations on personal freedom, relationships with other countries and freedom of the press. Wellington shared ninth place internationally with Auckland. In addition to governmental institutions, Wellington accommodates several of the nation's largest and oldest cultural institutions, such as
13527-486: The Moutohora – Taneatua section. Semple promised these delegations that work would recommence following the end of hostilities. By late 1946, no further work had been undertaken; in 1947 a further promise was made of an "early connection" following a strong showing for the opposition at the 1946 New Zealand general election . In 1948 Semple retrenched his position, claiming that he had only ever promised an investigation of
13694-635: The Māori inhabitants had had contact with Pākehā whalers and traders. European settlement began with the arrival of an advance party of the New Zealand Company on the ship Tory on 20 September 1839, followed by 150 settlers on the Aurora on 22 January 1840. Thus, the Wellington settlement preceded the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (on 6 February 1840). The 1840 settlers constructed their first homes at Petone (which they called Britannia for
13861-524: The PWD to NZR on 1 July 1939. Work persisted on the final section from Waikokopu to Gisborne through World War II and the final stage was completed in 1942. The PWD was able to operate freight trains through to Gisborne from 3 August 1942, passengers were carried from 7 September 1942, and the complete PNGL passed into NZR ownership on 1 February 1943. The original intention of the Moutohora Branch
14028-586: The WMR's route was incorporated into the NZR network, the Napier Express was re-routed to the west coast, with the Wairarapa Mail providing a connection from Woodville with towns in the Wairarapa. While the Express ran through the Wairarapa, W class locomotives hauled a feeder service between Palmerston North and Woodville. Following a trial run in 1938, NZR RM class Standard railcars began operating
14195-413: The Wellington to Napier mail train derailed just south of Opapa (Te Aute) due to excessive speed (about 50 mph (80 km/h)), when taking a 7.5 ch (500 ft; 150 m) curve , with a 25 mph (40 km/h) speed limit. The derailed locomotive was NZR A Class No.600. The driver was convicted of manslaughter and imprisoned for two years. On 23 March 1967 a freight train and railcar had
14362-566: The building was empty. The capital city is also the location of the highest court, the Supreme Court of New Zealand , and the historic former High Court building (opened 1881) has been enlarged and restored for its use. The Governor-General's residence, Government House (the current building completed in 1910) is situated in Newtown , opposite the Basin Reserve . Premier House (built in 1843 for Wellington's first mayor, George Hunter ),
14529-600: The capital in 1841 . The New Zealand Parliament had first met in Wellington on 7 July 1862, on a temporary basis; in November 1863, the Prime Minister of New Zealand , Alfred Domett , placed a resolution before Parliament in Auckland that "... it has become necessary that the seat of government ... should be transferred to some suitable locality in Cook Strait [region]." There had been some concerns that
14696-425: The census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 62,259 (36.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 66,273 (38.4%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 24,219 (14.0%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $ 55,400, compared with $ 41,500 nationally. 40,632 people (23.5%) earned over $ 100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15
14863-425: The census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 62,484 (36.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 66,657 (38.4%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 24,339 (14.0%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $ 55,500, compared with $ 41,500 nationally. 40,872 people (23.6%) earned over $ 100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15
15030-651: The city and many other parts of the Wellington region during separate events on 25 July 2011 and 15 August 2011. Snow at higher altitudes is more common, with light flurries recorded in higher suburbs every few years. On 29 January 2019, the suburb of Kelburn (instruments near the old Metservice building in the Wellington Botanic Garden ) reached 30.3 °C (87 °F), the highest temperature since records began in 1927. Wellington City covers 289.91 km (111.93 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 215,300 as of June 2024, with
15197-421: The climate of Wellington is temperate marine , ( Köppen : Cfb , Trewartha : Cflk ), generally moderate all year round with mild summers and cool to mild winters, and rarely sees temperatures above 26 °C (79 °F) or below 4 °C (39 °F). The hottest recorded temperature in the city is 31.1 °C (88 °F) recorded on 20 February 1896 , while −1.9 °C (29 °F) is the coldest. The city
15364-490: The closure of the completed section, work recommenced on the line after the earthquake, and by September, all that was required to complete the Napier to Wairoa section was one tunnel, one viaduct ( Matahorua Viaduct), and 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) of track. Due to the toll of the earthquake and the Great Depression, the government recommended that work cease and the line be abandoned. The line remained in place for
15531-495: The construction of the line was plagued by natural disasters and a lack of money and government will to complete the project. The Great Depression following the Wall Street Crash of 1929 led to a temporary halt to the entire project. In January 1931 all the workers on the project were dismissed. In February that year the Hawke's Bay earthquake resulted in the closure of the completed Napier – Putorino section. Despite
15698-470: The decades-old rolling stock meant that the Bay Express was cancelled from 7 October 2001. Since this time, the PNGL has been entirely freight only. In 2017 a report said one of the restrictions was a 70 km/h (43 mph) on the whole line. In the earliest years of the line, the emphasis was on local freight, primarily agricultural products. As land was cleared for farming, timber also constituted
15865-617: The difficult inland section between the Tāneatua Branch in the Bay of Plenty and the Moutohora Branch was never completed. The line has not carried passenger trains since October 2001, when the Bay Express service was cancelled. The northern portion of the line, from Napier to Gisborne is currently inoperative due to damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023. The section was mothballed north of Wairoa due to four significant washouts during
16032-430: The duty of a guard/train manager/conductor . Passenger trains are part of public transport and often make up the stem of the service, with buses feeding to stations. Passenger trains provide long-distance intercity travel, daily commuter trips, or local urban transit services, operating with a diversity of vehicles, operating speeds, right-of-way requirements, and service frequency. Service frequencies are often expressed as
16199-404: The election of the first Labour government in 1935, Bob Semple promised work on the Moutohora – Taneatua section would commence once men and equipment were available. Prior to the 1938 New Zealand general election a new work camp and worksops were established at Taneatua, and pegging parties began to mark out the route from Taneatua to Opotiki. This work came to an abrupt end in the weeks following
16366-402: The end of the 19th century, because they were cleaner compared to steam-driven trams which caused smoke in city streets. In 1784 James Watt , a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer, patented a design for a steam locomotive . Watt had improved the steam engine of Thomas Newcomen , hitherto used to pump water out of mines, and developed a reciprocating engine in 1769 capable of powering
16533-471: The end of the 19th century, improving the quality of steel and further reducing costs. Thus steel completely replaced the use of iron in rails, becoming standard for all railways. The first passenger horsecar or tram , Swansea and Mumbles Railway , was opened between Swansea and Mumbles in Wales in 1807. Horses remained the preferable mode for tram transport even after the arrival of steam engines until
16700-527: The engine by one power stroke. The transmission system employed a large flywheel to even out the action of the piston rod. On 21 February 1804, the world's first steam-powered railway journey took place when Trevithick's unnamed steam locomotive hauled a train along the tramway of the Penydarren ironworks, near Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales . Trevithick later demonstrated a locomotive operating upon
16867-610: The entire line was not completed until 1942. The line crosses the runway of Gisborne Airport , one of the world's few railways to do so since Pakistan's Khyber Pass Railway closed. In conjunction with the Moutohora Branch that ran north from Gisborne between 1900 and 1959, the line was originally intended to connect to the East Coast Main Trunk , described in 1875 as the North Island trunk line, but
17034-475: The era of great expansion of railways that began in the late 1860s. Steel rails lasted several times longer than iron. Steel rails made heavier locomotives possible, allowing for longer trains and improving the productivity of railroads. The Bessemer process introduced nitrogen into the steel, which caused the steel to become brittle with age. The open hearth furnace began to replace the Bessemer process near
17201-657: The executive wing of Parliament Buildings as well as internationally renowned Futuna Chapel . The city's art scene includes many art galleries, including the national art collection at Toi Art at Te Papa. Wellington also has many events such as CubaDupa , Wellington On a Plate , the Newtown Festival , Diwali Festival of Lights and Gardens Magic at the Botanical Gardens. Wellington's urban area covers 112.71 km (43.52 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 214,200 as of June 2024, with
17368-418: The express trains and railcars, numerous other mixed trains and local passenger services also once operated on the PNGL between various destinations, including intermediate termini such as Waipukurau, but these had all ceased by the 1960s. In 1968 and 1971, cuts were made to the services as the railcars wore out, and on 6 November 1972, they were cancelled entirely on the Wellington to Napier run and replaced by
17535-522: The first commercial example of the system on the Lugano Tramway . Each 30-tonne locomotive had two 110 kW (150 hp) motors run by three-phase 750 V 40 Hz fed from double overhead lines. Three-phase motors run at a constant speed and provide regenerative braking , and are well suited to steeply graded routes, and the first main-line three-phase locomotives were supplied by Brown (by then in partnership with Walter Boveri ) in 1899 on
17702-502: The first time on 26 July 1865. At that time, the population of Wellington was just 4,900. The Government Buildings were constructed at Lambton Quay in 1876. The site housed the original government departments in New Zealand . The public service rapidly expanded beyond the capacity of the building, with the first department leaving shortly after it was opened; by 1975 only the Education Department remained, and by 1990
17869-463: The founders of the settlement, Edward Jerningham Wakefield , reported that the settlers "took up the views of the directors with great cordiality and the new name was at once adopted". In the Māori language , Wellington has three names: The legendary Māori explorer Kupe , a chief from Hawaiki (the homeland of Polynesian explorers, of unconfirmed geographical location, not to be confused with Hawaii ),
18036-669: The general election. In 1939 £45,000 was provided for extension from Taneatua to Opotiki and a route pegged out as far as a proposed Waimana railway station. The outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 ensured the Government had a justification for not bringing the project to a halt, while promising that the halt was only temporary. With the completion of the Napier – Gisborne section in 1943, further delegations were made by Gisborne business interests to complete
18203-497: The harbour is to the east of the Miramar Peninsula, and contains the dangerous shallows of Barrett Reef , where many ships have been wrecked (notably the inter-island ferry TEV Wahine in 1968 ). The harbour has three islands: Matiu/Somes Island , Makaro/Ward Island and Mokopuna Island . Only Matiu/Somes Island is large enough for habitation. It has been used as a quarantine station for people and animals, and
18370-399: The harbour. Wellington's status as the capital is a result of constitutional convention rather than statute. Wellington is New Zealand's political centre, housing the nation's major government institutions. The New Zealand Parliament relocated to the new capital city, having spent the first ten years of its existence in Auckland. A session of parliament officially met in the capital for
18537-426: The highest possible radius. All these features are dramatically different from freight operations, thus justifying exclusive high-speed rail lines if it is economically feasible. Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand . It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island , between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range . Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand, and
18704-528: The inland Ngatapa route and began work on the coastal route. At this time, the route from Napier to Wairoa was also under construction. The first sod had been turned in Napier in 1912, but delays meant the line was not opened to Eskdale by the PWD until December 1922 and handed over to the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) on 23 July 1923. The next section, to Putorino , was handed over to NZR on 6 October 1930. At this point,
18871-1230: The limit being regarded at 200 to 350 kilometres per hour (120 to 220 mph). High-speed trains are used mostly for long-haul service and most systems are in Western Europe and East Asia. Magnetic levitation trains such as the Shanghai maglev train use under-riding magnets which attract themselves upward towards the underside of a guideway and this line has achieved somewhat higher peak speeds in day-to-day operation than conventional high-speed railways, although only over short distances. Due to their heightened speeds, route alignments for high-speed rail tend to have broader curves than conventional railways, but may have steeper grades that are more easily climbed by trains with large kinetic energy. High kinetic energy translates to higher horsepower-to-ton ratios (e.g. 20 horsepower per short ton or 16 kilowatts per tonne); this allows trains to accelerate and maintain higher speeds and negotiate steep grades as momentum builds up and recovered in downgrades (reducing cut and fill and tunnelling requirements). Since lateral forces act on curves, curvatures are designed with
19038-427: The line between Napier and Gisborne, resulting in the truncation of passenger services to Napier. Passenger services never ran beyond Napier in regular service again. On 11 December 1989, the Endeavour was replaced by the Bay Express . This train restored the standards of the original 1972 Endeavour, and it operated throughout the 1990s. Declining patronage and an unwillingness on the part of Tranz Scenic to replace
19205-535: The link with the WMR was established, the earliest incarnation of the Napier Express began operating. It first required a change of trains at Longburn , then, when the Wairarapa Line opened, it operated directly through to Wellington. Difficulties associated with the Rimutaka Incline meant the journey via the Wairarapa actually took over an hour longer than the west coast route of the WMR, and once
19372-429: The locomotive-hauled train's drawbacks to be removed, since the locomotive need not be moved to the front of the train each time the train changes direction. A railroad car is a vehicle used for the haulage of either passengers or freight. A multiple unit has powered wheels throughout the whole train. These are used for rapid transit and tram systems, as well as many both short- and long-haul passenger trains. A railcar
19539-569: The main portion of the B&;O to the new line to New York through a series of tunnels around the edges of Baltimore's downtown. Electricity quickly became the power supply of choice for subways, abetted by the Sprague's invention of multiple-unit train control in 1897. By the early 1900s most street railways were electrified. The London Underground , the world's oldest underground railway, opened in 1863, and it began operating electric services using
19706-473: The major centre of Dannevirke was reached. Beyond Dannevirke, the terrain became somewhat easier and the line reached Woodville at the eastern end of the Manawatū Gorge on 22 March 1887. However, work from the Palmerston North end had not begun until 1886, and due to significant engineering troubles associated with the Manawatū Gorge, the line was not completed until 9 March 1891. Upon completion,
19873-515: The map, after which it became a stock road and then Wairoa aerodrome . In 1920, work began on a short isolated branch from Wairoa to the port of Waikokopu ; it was completed in 1924 and was built initially to ship meat from a freezing works in Wairoa. In 1924, an engineer's report recommended this branch be incorporated as the southernmost portion of a new coastal route from Wairoa to Gisborne. The Public Works Department (PWD) accordingly abandoned
20040-433: The mid-1920s. The Soviet Union operated three experimental units of different designs since late 1925, though only one of them (the E el-2 ) proved technically viable. A significant breakthrough occurred in 1914, when Hermann Lemp , a General Electric electrical engineer, developed and patented a reliable direct current electrical control system (subsequent improvements were also patented by Lemp). Lemp's design used
20207-470: The money from that and go and invest it in upgrading the roads and, and making investments in flood protection and other things.” In 2023 local bodies in the region proposed that the Wairoa-Gisborne section of the line be re-opened at an estimated cost of $ 80.5 million; including a new 500m tunnel to bypass a section of track washed away when a hillside collapsed in November 2021. KiwiRail said that
20374-469: The more populous South Island (where the goldfields were located) would choose to form a separate colony in the British Empire . Several commissioners (delegates) invited from Australia, chosen for their neutral status, declared that the city was a suitable location because of its central location in New Zealand and its good harbour ; it was believed that the whole Royal Navy fleet could fit into
20541-433: The mouth of the narrow Cook Strait leaves it vulnerable to strong gales, leading to the nickname of "Windy Wellington". Legends recount that Kupe discovered and explored the region in about the 10th century. Before European colonisation, the area in which the city of Wellington would eventually be founded was seasonally inhabited by indigenous Māori . The earliest date with hard evidence for human activity in New Zealand
20708-402: The next four years with no work occurring on its completion, gradually deteriorating. A petition of 8,000 signatures to recommence construction of the line was presented to parliament, and in the November 1931 New Zealand general election , Gisborne MP Douglas Lysnar lost his seat to Labour candidate David Coleman on Labour's promise to recommence construction. There was briefly a proposal for
20875-412: The noise they made on the tracks. There are many references to their use in central Europe in the 16th century. Such a transport system was later used by German miners at Caldbeck , Cumbria , England, perhaps from the 1560s. A wagonway was built at Prescot , near Liverpool , sometime around 1600, possibly as early as 1594. Owned by Philip Layton, the line carried coal from a pit near Prescot Hall to
21042-597: The official residence of the prime minister , is in Thorndon on Tinakori Road. Over six months in 1939 and 1940, Wellington hosted the New Zealand Centennial Exhibition , celebrating a century since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi . Held on 55 acres of land at Rongotai, it featured three exhibition courts, grand Art Deco-style edifices and a hugely popular three-acre amusement park. Wellington attracted more than 2.5 million visitors at
21209-538: The port from late 2017 due to a surge in forestry log traffic. In February 2018 it was announced that $ 5 million from the Provincial Development Fund would be allocated to reopen the section for forestry trains. The first train on the Napier–Wairoa line for six years ran from Napier to Eskdale on 6 June 2018 to make a ballast drop. The Napier–Wairoa section was reopened in June 2019. In 2021, it
21376-525: The possibility of a smaller engine that might be used to power a vehicle. Following his patent, Watt's employee William Murdoch produced a working model of a self-propelled steam carriage in that year. The first full-scale working railway steam locomotive was built in the United Kingdom in 1804 by Richard Trevithick , a British engineer born in Cornwall . This used high-pressure steam to drive
21543-613: The protection and propagation of native plants. The Wellington region has 500 square kilometres (190 sq mi) of regional parks and forests. In the east is the Miramar Peninsula , connected to the rest of the city by a low-lying isthmus at Rongotai , the site of Wellington International Airport . Industry has developed mainly in the Hutt Valley, where there are food-processing plants, engineering industries, vehicle assembly and oil refineries. The narrow entrance to
21710-469: The public service are based in the city. Wellington's economy is primarily service -based, with an emphasis on finance, business services, government, and the film industry. It is the centre of New Zealand's film and special effects industries, and increasingly a hub for information technology and innovation, with two public research universities. Wellington is one of New Zealand's chief seaports and serves both domestic and international shipping. The city
21877-445: The rail link. Following this response, local Gisborne interests realised that the battle was lost. Motouhora was to remain a branch line, which closed in 1959. The ECMT was redefined in 1978 as Hamilton – Kawerau, leaving Taneatua as a branch, eventually being closed to traffic in 2001. Until the completion of the line from Napier to Palmerston North, passengers were catered for solely by slow mixed trains that also conveyed goods. Once
22044-652: The reinstatement cost estimate was "optimistic". Railway Rail transport (also known as train transport ) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks , which usually consist of two parallel steel rails . Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport , next to road transport . It is used for about 8% of passenger and freight transport globally, thanks to its energy efficiency and potentially high speed . Rolling stock on rails generally encounters lower frictional resistance than rubber-tyred road vehicles, allowing rail cars to be coupled into longer trains . Power
22211-403: The route. With the change in government following the 1949 New Zealand general election , a further delegation from Gisborne presented to new Minister of Works Stan Goosman (who was also Minister of Railways) a case for completing the link. Goosman would not make any commitment to the project, and pointed to a new highway parliament had authorised between Opotiki and Gisborne as an alternative to
22378-441: The standard for railways. Cast iron used in rails proved unsatisfactory because it was brittle and broke under heavy loads. The wrought iron invented by John Birkinshaw in 1820 replaced cast iron. Wrought iron, usually simply referred to as "iron", was a ductile material that could undergo considerable deformation before breaking, making it more suitable for iron rails. But iron was expensive to produce until Henry Cort patented
22545-503: The terrain and the beginning of the Long Depression . The next section, from Kopua to Makotuku , featured two viaducts; the 280 m (920 ft) long, 39 m (128 ft) high Ormondville viaduct and the 240 ft (73 m) long, 85 ft (26 m) high Makotuku viaduct. It opened on 9 August 1880. It was nearly four years until the next section, 7 km to Matamau , opened on 23 June 1884. On 1 December 1884,
22712-475: The time, was Liverpool and Manchester Railway , built in 1830. Steam power continued to be the dominant power system in railways around the world for more than a century. The first known electric locomotive was built in 1837 by chemist Robert Davidson of Aberdeen in Scotland, and it was powered by galvanic cells (batteries). Thus it was also the earliest battery-electric locomotive. Davidson later built
22879-506: The town of Wellington in the English county of Somerset . It was named in November 1840 by the original settlers of the New Zealand Company on the suggestion of the directors of the same, in recognition of the Duke's strong support for the company's principles of colonisation and his "strenuous and successful defence against its enemies of the measure for colonising South Australia". One of
23046-543: The track. Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate locomotive or from individual motors in self-propelled multiple units. Most trains carry a revenue load, although non-revenue cars exist for the railway's own use, such as for maintenance-of-way purposes. The engine driver (engineer in North America) controls the locomotive or other power cars, although people movers and some rapid transits are under automatic control. Traditionally, trains are pulled using
23213-471: The transport of ore tubs to and from mines and soon became popular in Europe. Such an operation was illustrated in Germany in 1556 by Georgius Agricola in his work De re metallica . This line used "Hund" carts with unflanged wheels running on wooden planks and a vertical pin on the truck fitting into the gap between the planks to keep it going the right way. The miners called the wagons Hunde ("dogs") from
23380-532: The use of "hi-cube" containers on the line. The work was carried out by HRS, a subsidiary of Downers. Following a storm in March 2012, the Wairoa–Gisborne section of the line was mothballed. The Napier–Wairoa section remained open for forestry traffic until December 2012, when it too was mothballed. In October 2016 KiwiRail and the Port of Napier announced an intention to reopen the section of line between Wairoa and
23547-629: The wheels on track. For example, evidence indicates that a 6 to 8.5 km long Diolkos paved trackway transported boats across the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece from around 600 BC. The Diolkos was in use for over 650 years, until at least the 1st century AD. Paved trackways were also later built in Roman Egypt . In 1515, Cardinal Matthäus Lang wrote a description of the Reisszug ,
23714-622: The world in 1825, although it used both horse power and steam power on different runs. In 1829, he built the locomotive Rocket , which entered in and won the Rainhill Trials . This success led to Stephenson establishing his company as the pre-eminent builder of steam locomotives for railways in Great Britain and Ireland, the United States, and much of Europe. The first public railway which used only steam locomotives, all
23881-566: Was 34.9 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 28,986 people (14.4%) aged under 15 years, 54,912 (27.2%) aged 15 to 29, 94,272 (46.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 23,541 (11.7%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 72.0% European ( Pākehā ); 9.8% Māori ; 5.7% Pasifika ; 20.5% Asian ; 3.6% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.1% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English
24048-510: Was 34.9 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 29,142 people (14.4%) aged under 15 years, 55,080 (27.2%) aged 15 to 29, 94,806 (46.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 23,664 (11.7%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 72.1% European ( Pākehā ); 9.8% Māori ; 5.7% Pasifika ; 20.4% Asian ; 3.6% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.1% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English
24215-512: Was a soft material that contained slag or dross . The softness and dross tended to make iron rails distort and delaminate and they lasted less than 10 years. Sometimes they lasted as little as one year under high traffic. All these developments in the production of iron eventually led to the replacement of composite wood/iron rails with superior all-iron rails. The introduction of the Bessemer process , enabling steel to be made inexpensively, led to
24382-602: Was accomplished by the distribution of weight between a number of wheels. Puffing Billy is now on display in the Science Museum in London, and is the oldest locomotive in existence. In 1814, George Stephenson , inspired by the early locomotives of Trevithick, Murray and Hedley, persuaded the manager of the Killingworth colliery where he worked to allow him to build a steam-powered machine. Stephenson played
24549-572: Was an internment camp during World War I and World War II. It is a conservation island, providing refuge for endangered species , much like Kapiti Island farther up the coast. There is access during daylight hours by the Dominion Post Ferry. Wellington is primarily surrounded by water, but some of the nearby locations are listed below. Wellington suffered serious damage in a series of earthquakes in 1848 and from another earthquake in 1855. The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake occurred on
24716-539: Was announced the number of trains on the section would double with a weekday service added by KiwiRail. Steam locomotives operated most trains on the PNGL until the 1960s, when all passenger duties were taken by railcars and remaining trains were dieselised . The earliest motive power was provided by F class tank locomotives . J class tender locomotives were introduced for the Napier Express upon its commencement and were later augmented by N class locomotives. The Ns sometimes worked in conjunction with members of
24883-468: Was available for the job. The report also mentioned an engineering manager's opinion that the standard and frequency of ageing timber bridge inspections had fallen below desirable levels and that there were insufficient engineering staff. The bridge reopened in July 2005. In February 2023 the rail bridge at Awatoto was wiped out by Cyclone Gabrielle. A slip near Whareongaonga worsened in November 2021, but
25050-514: Was built by Siemens. The tram ran on 180 volts DC, which was supplied by running rails. In 1891 the track was equipped with an overhead wire and the line was extended to Berlin-Lichterfelde West station . The Volk's Electric Railway opened in 1883 in Brighton , England. The railway is still operational, thus making it the oldest operational electric railway in the world. Also in 1883, Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram opened near Vienna in Austria. It
25217-706: Was built in 1758, later became the world's oldest operational railway (other than funiculars), albeit now in an upgraded form. In 1764, the first railway in the Americas was built in Lewiston, New York . In the late 1760s, the Coalbrookdale Company began to fix plates of cast iron to the upper surface of the wooden rails. This allowed a variation of gauge to be used. At first only balloon loops could be used for turning, but later, movable points were taken into use that allowed for switching. A system
25384-545: Was centred between Culverden and Kaikōura in the South Island, caused the Wellington CBD, Victoria University of Wellington , and the Wellington suburban rail network to be largely closed for the day to allow inspections. The earthquake damaged a considerable number of buildings, with 65% of the damage being in Wellington. Subsequently, a number of recent buildings were demolished rather than being rebuilt, often
25551-563: Was completed; at 97 metres (318 ft) high, it is New Zealand's highest viaduct. The full line from Napier to Wairoa and Waikokopu opened on 23 August 1937. Severe flooding in February 1938 forced the closure of the entire line beyond Putorino and killed 21 construction workers on the final stage between Waikokopu and Gisborne in the Kopuawhara disaster . The line was restored to operational standards by December 1938 and transferred from
25718-425: Was introduced in which unflanged wheels ran on L-shaped metal plates, which came to be known as plateways . John Curr , a Sheffield colliery manager, invented this flanged rail in 1787, though the exact date of this is disputed. The plate rail was taken up by Benjamin Outram for wagonways serving his canals, manufacturing them at his Butterley ironworks . In 1803, William Jessop opened the Surrey Iron Railway ,
25885-415: Was light enough to not break the edge-rails track and solved the problem of adhesion by a cog-wheel using teeth cast on the side of one of the rails. Thus it was also the first rack railway . This was followed in 1813 by the locomotive Puffing Billy built by Christopher Blackett and William Hedley for the Wylam Colliery Railway, the first successful locomotive running by adhesion only. This
26052-412: Was not initially given serious consideration. By 1900, a Railway League had been formed to pressure the government into building two lines, one via Rotorua to Auckland and another to Napier and thus Wellington. Gisborne's first railway, the initial portion of what became the Moutohora Branch , opened to the north in 1902. In 1910 a route south was approved. This was proposed to follow an inland route to
26219-454: Was on 3 April, but 5 piers of bridge 217 were washed away which delayed reopening of the line to Napier until 15 September. The line to Wairoa suffered extensive damage and will take even longer to reopen. In December 2023 the Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon , indicated that the Napier-Wairoa line wouldn't be reopened, saying, “My personal view is that railway is a low priority and it is something that we shouldn’t be progressing. I’d sooner take
26386-477: Was said to have stayed in the harbour prior to 1000 CE. Here, it is said he had a notable impact on the area, with local mythology stating he named the two islands in the harbour after his daughters, Matiu (Somes Island) , and Mākaro (Ward Island) . In New Zealand Sign Language , the name is signed by raising the index, middle, and ring fingers of one hand, palm forward, to form a "W", and shaking it slightly from side to side twice. The city's location close to
26553-557: Was spoken by 96.3%, Māori language by 2.7%, Samoan by 1.7% and other languages by 23.4%. No language could be spoken by 1.6% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 34.4, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 26.9% Christian , 3.8% Hindu , 1.8% Islam , 0.4% Māori religious beliefs , 1.7% Buddhist , 0.5% New Age , 0.3% Jewish , and 1.9% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 57.7%, and 5.2% of people did not answer
26720-557: Was spoken by 96.3%, Māori language by 2.7%, Samoan by 1.8% and other languages by 23.5%. No language could be spoken by 1.7% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 34.4, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 26.9% Christian , 3.8% Hindu , 1.8% Islam , 0.4% Māori religious beliefs , 1.7% Buddhist , 0.5% New Age , 0.3% Jewish , and 1.9% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 57.6%, and 5.2% of people did not answer
26887-536: Was tested on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in September of the following year, but the limited power from batteries prevented its general use. It was destroyed by railway workers, who saw it as a threat to their job security. By the middle of the nineteenth century most european countries had military uses for railways. Werner von Siemens demonstrated an electric railway in 1879 in Berlin. The world's first electric tram line, Gross-Lichterfelde Tramway , opened in Lichterfelde near Berlin , Germany, in 1881. It
27054-451: Was that 101,892 (59.0%) people were employed full-time, 24,063 (13.9%) were part-time, and 5,268 (3.0%) were unemployed. Wellington showcases a variety of architectural styles from the past 150 years – 19th-century wooden cottages, such as the Italianate Katherine Mansfield Birthplace in Thorndon; streamlined Art Deco structures such as the old Wellington Free Ambulance headquarters, the Central Fire Station, Fountain Court Apartments,
27221-460: Was that 102,369 (59.0%) people were employed full-time, 24,201 (13.9%) were part-time, and 5,283 (3.0%) were unemployed. Wellington ranks 12th in the world for quality of living, according to a 2023 study by consulting company Mercer. Of cities in the Asia–Pacific region, Wellington ranked third behind Auckland and Sydney. In 2024, Wellington was ranked as a highly affordable city in terms of cost of living , coming in at 145th out of 226 cities in
27388-423: Was the first tram line in the world in regular service powered from an overhead line. Five years later, in the U.S. electric trolleys were pioneered in 1888 on the Richmond Union Passenger Railway , using equipment designed by Frank J. Sprague . The first use of electrification on a main line was on a four-mile section of the Baltimore Belt Line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in 1895 connecting
27555-466: Was thickly wooded at the time and the upper reaches and tributaries of the Manawatū River provided engineering difficulties. The line opened to Pakipaki on 1 January 1875; Te Aute on 17 February 1876; Waipawa on 28 August 1876 and Waipukurau three days later on 1 September 1876. Takapau followed on 12 March 1877, then Kopua on 25 January 1878 for a total of 103 km of railway built in six years. Construction slowed from this stage due both to
27722-411: Was to connect Gisborne with Auckland via Rotorua. As the East Coast Main Trunk (ECMT) extended into the Bay of Plenty, surveys focused on connecting the Moutohora branch with ECMT. A 1928 survey proposed a route from Matawai to reach the ECMT railhead at Taneatua via Opotiki. This scheme was shelved in 1931 (along with the construction of the Napier – Gisborne section) due to the Great Depression. Following
27889-407: Was undertaken. This work may have included some tunneling but no trace of this exists today. Work also recommenced at the other end of the inland line in 1919, with about 20 men, later 54, working at Frasertown in 1920, though hampered by concrete shortages. Alternative routes, including the coastal route, were surveyed in 1923. As late as 1934 the partly-built Wairoa to Frasertown line was shown on
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