52-396: The Rewanui Branch , sometimes referred to as the Rewanui Incline and known as the Point Elizabeth Branch in its early years, was a branch line railway located in the West Coast region of New Zealand 's South Island . It branched from the Midland Line near its western terminus in Greymouth and ran up to Rewanui in the Paparoa Ranges . The branch closed in 1985 but
104-575: A Land Rover converted to run on rails. It was based in Rewanui from May 1960 and functioned as an ambulance. Previously, miners who were injured had to travel down the Incline in a specially modified "gravity powered" wagon. Special fell brake vans were used on the Rewanui Incline between Dunollie and Rewanui. Six vans were built with three being allocated for use on the Rewanui incline and
156-487: A railyard or make short transfer runs. They may serve as the primary motive power on short branch lines or switching and terminal railroads . Switchers are optimized for their role, being relatively low-powered but with a high starting tractive effort for getting heavy cars rolling quickly. Switchers are geared to produce high torque but are restricted to low top speeds and have small diameter driving wheels . Switchers tend to be durable and to remain in service for
208-553: A certain industrial site such as a power station either because of a location away from the main line or to reduce congestion. They were typically built to lower standards, using lighter rail and shallow roadbeds when compared to main lines. Much of Canada's branch line history relates to large rail transport conglomerates (such as the Grand Trunk , Canadian National , or Canadian Pacific ) which would acquire formerly independent short line railways for use as branch lines, with
260-403: A high cab and often lower and/or narrower hoods (bonnets) containing the diesel engines, for all round visibility. Slugs are often used because they allow even greater tractive effort to be applied. Nearly all slugs used for switching are of the low hood, cabless variety. Good visibility in both directions is critical, because a switcher may be running in either direction; turning the locomotive
312-411: A larger yard, where these railcars are sorted and dispatched in larger trains with other cars destined to similar locations. Because industrial spurs generally have less capacity and traffic than a mainline, they tend to have lower maintenance and signaling (train control) standards. Before the rise of the long-distance trucking in the early 1930s, railroads were the primary means of transportation around
364-557: A load of coal from a nearby private mine. The line was formally closed on 19 August 1985 from the junction with the Rapahoe Branch, which absorbed the six kilometres to Greymouth and remains in use. Trains run when required to Rapahoe. The Runanga-Rewanui line is one of the most accessible closed railway lines in New Zealand, as the former railway route has been converted into a road to Rewanui. However, due to operations by
416-520: A long time, such as the Swedish class U . American, Russian, Indian and Chinese switchers tend to be larger, with bogies to allow them to be used on tight radiuses. Western European shunters tend to be smaller and more often have fixed axles . They also often maintained coupling rods for longer than other locomotive types, although bogie types have long been used where very heavy loads are involved, such as at steelworks. A switcher may also be called
468-823: A section of the West Rail line . Discontinued services include the Sha Tau Kok Railway and the Wo Hop Shek Branch . A spur line to Siu Sai Wan has been proposed. Delhi On the Delhi Metro , the Blue Line has a Branch Line with 8 Stations, linking Yamuna Bank to Ghaziabad via Anand Vihar ISBT and terminating at Vaishali. The first section of the Branch opened on 8 January 2010 with Anand Vihar as its terminal with six stations. It
520-529: A sharp decline in Britain in the latter half of the 20th century, largely due to the contraction of the network, increased competition from road traffic and widespread adoption of train-load freight, with fixed rakes of wagons moving mainly bulk products between rapid-loading facilities, as opposed to thousands of sidings and goods depots feeding trains of assorted wagons into the marshalling yards. In continental Europe 0-6-0 (or "C") diesel-hydraulics, similar to
572-557: A short length of track between the ovens and the quenching tower. Despite their ubiquity, very few have survived into preservation as there is very little scope of operating them due to their unique means of obtaining power, slow speed and the fact they greatly exceed the loading gauge of most railway lines. One example built by Greenwood and Batley in Armley , Leeds is preserved at the Middleton Railway , not far from where it
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#1732787824150624-491: A single track, the journey is 0.8 miles (1.3 kilometres) long and the train takes around two and a half minutes to complete its journey. In North America, little-used branch lines are often sold by large railroads to become new common carrier short-line railroads of their own. Throughout the United States and Canada, branch lines link smaller towns too distant from the main line to be served efficiently, or to serve
676-400: A stone at the summit as a memorial. Branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line . A very short branch line may be called a spur line . Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located on a main line. Branch lines may also connect two or more main lines. An industrial spur
728-531: A subsidy for grain transport, and instead allowed railways to absorb branch line subsidies freely without making effort to improve the profitability of the lines. The term "grain-dependent branch lines" began being used as early as 1978 to refer to the special case of these branch lines in agricultural areas whose viability depended on the economics of grain transport. The Western Grain Transportation Act of 1983 addressed this case specifically, but
780-405: A yard pilot, switch engine, or yard goat. The term can also be used to describe the workers operating these engines or engaged in directing shunting operations. Switching locomotives may be purpose-built engines, but may also be downgraded main-line engines, or simply main-line engines assigned to switching. Switchers can also be used on short excursion train rides. Diesel switchers tend to have
832-556: Is a type of secondary track used by railroads to allow customers at a location to load and unload railcars without interfering with other railroad operations. Industrial spurs can vary greatly in length and railcar capacity depending on the requirements of the customer the spur is serving. In heavily industrialized areas, it is not uncommon for one industrial spur to have multiple sidings to several different customers. Typically, spurs are serviced by local trains responsible for collecting small numbers of railcars and delivering them to
884-711: Is time-consuming. Some earlier diesel switchers used cow–calf configurations of two powered units in order to provide greater power. Modern diesel switchers are usually diesel-electric locomotives . The majority of modern switchers are diesels, but countries with near-total electrification , like Switzerland, use electric switchers. Prior to the introduction of diesel-electric locomotives, electric shunting locomotives were used to an extent in Great Britain where heavy trains needed to be started on steep gradients. The steeply-graded Quayside Branch in Newcastle upon Tyne
936-532: The Bay of Plenty Region , lines were built inland to provide rail access to large logging operations. Today, many of the branch lines have been closed, including almost all of the general-purpose country lines. Those that remain serve ports or industries far from main lines such as coal mines, logging operations, large dairying factories, and steelworks . In Auckland and Wellington , two branch lines in each city exist solely for commuter passenger trains. For more, see
988-496: The E class (1922) Some switchers are electro-diesel , and hence can be powered from onboard diesel engines, or from an external electricity supply. Steam shunter/switchers are now mostly out of service. Steam switchers were either tank locomotives or had special (smaller) tenders , with narrow coal bunkers and/or sloped tender decks to increase rearward visibility. Headlights, where carried, were mounted on both ends. Most were either side-tank or saddle-tank types, however in
1040-753: The Gladstone Branch in New Jersey; as well as the New Canaan Branch , Danbury Branch , and Waterbury Branch in Connecticut . The Long Island Rail Road also refers to its services as "branches". In Chile, there are a lot of branch lines on its main line, of only a few remain operational. Most only operating in turistic services (like the Antilhue-Valdivia branch line), others have been taken over by other railways (like
1092-788: The North South Line between Jurong East and Choa Chu Kang stations was operated as a separate line, known as the Branch line . It was merged into the North–South Line with the opening of the Woodlands Extension in 1996. The future Jurong Region Line and Cross Island Line will also have branch lines. New Zealand once had a very extensive network of branch lines, especially in the South Island regions of Canterbury , Otago , and Southland . Many were built in
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#17327878241501144-612: The Pisa-Rome railway mainline at Roma San Pietro railway station , to Vatican City station . Many British railway branch lines were closed as a result of the " Beeching cuts " in the 1960s, although some have been re-opened as heritage railways . The smallest branch line that is still in operation in the UK is the Stourbridge Town Branch Line from Stourbridge Junction going to Stourbridge Town . Operating on
1196-474: The Rimutaka Incline . One, W 377, was transferred south at the time of the Incline's opening, followed by W 376 in 1927. The third W, 375, was not converted from the B class until 1943. W and W class locomotives sometimes hauled light trains on the Incline, and in the 1960s, three members of the W class were modified to work to Rewanui. After extra brakes were fitted to the three Ws and W 375,
1248-704: The South Tseung Kwan O Spur Line to LOHAS Park station , opened in 2009. Earlier, a spur line was built in 1985 on the East Rail line to serve Racecourse station , bypassing Fo Tan station . Also, the Tsim Sha Tsui Extension [ yue ] was built in 2004 on the East Rail line to serve East Tsim Sha Tsui station . However, after the Kowloon Southern Link was completed in 2009, this spur line turns into
1300-461: The list of New Zealand railway lines . Switcher A switcher locomotive ( American English ), shunter locomotive ( British English ), or shifter locomotive ( Pennsylvania Railroad terminology) is a locomotive used for maneuvering railway vehicles over short distances. Switchers do not usually move trains over long distances. Instead, they typically assemble trains in order for another locomotive to take over. Switchers often operate in
1352-497: The Fell centre rail was removed in 1966 and only those four engines were permitted to run to Rewanui. In June 1969, diesel locomotives fitted with modified brakes took over from the steam locomotives. These were primarily of the DJ class , but DSC class shunters operated some services. These locomotives worked the line through to its closure. One quirk of the line's motive power was
1404-552: The Liverpool Mine was becoming an increasingly uneconomic mine to run. The line thus came to an abrupt end when the decision was taken to close the mine in 1984. That year, in October, the line was ruled unfit for passenger service, and all scheduled services – both passenger and freight – were cancelled on 5 November 1984. Occasional freight services continued to operate until May 1985, when the last train departed Rewanui with
1456-695: The San Rosendo-Talcahuano branch line, which has been taken over by Biotrén and the Laja-Talcahuano train service) however, there is one branch line that still remains as fully operative. The Talca-Constitución branch line, which uses trains with bus motors. Two extensions to the MTR rapid transit network were built as branches of existing lines: the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line to Lok Ma Chau station , which opened in 2007; and
1508-515: The Spring Creek Mine, the road is inaccessible to vehicles. It is possible to walk or cycle to Rewanui. A local committee exists to preserve the Rewanui area as a historic site, but a landslide in 1988 killed the caretaker and destroyed bridges and some buildings. Many remnants have been long destroyed but the coal loading bin, some L and Q class wagons, two-foot gauge coal tubs and the engineer's workshop survive. A plaque has been placed on
1560-560: The U.S. state of New Jersey . The line is a short branch of the Northeast Corridor Line , running from Princeton Junction northwest to Princeton with no intermediate stops. Also known as the "Dinky Line", at 2.9 mi (4.7 km) it is the shortest scheduled commuter rail line in the United States. The run takes 4 minutes, 47 seconds. Other than the Princeton Line, other surviving branch lines include
1612-739: The United States. Current British shunters are 0-6-0 diesel-electrics, Class 08 and Class 09 , of 350-400 horsepower. These were developed from similar locomotives supplied by the English Electric Company to the Big Four British railway companies in the 1930s and 1940s, e.g. those pioneered by the LMS . Similar locomotives were exported to the Netherlands (e.g. NS Class 600 ) and Australia (e.g. Victorian Railways F class (diesel) ). The use of shunting locomotives saw
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1664-569: The first president of the Canadian National Railway , said that although most branch lines cannot pay for themselves, they are even essential to make main lines pay. In the United States, abandonment of unproductive branch lines was a byproduct of deregulation of the rail industry through the Staggers Act . The Princeton Branch is a commuter rail line and service owned and operated by New Jersey Transit (NJT) in
1716-675: The first six kilometres to Runanga remain in operation as part of the Rapahoe Branch . In 1889, the Cobden Railway and Mining Company and Point Elizabeth Coal Company in conjunction began construction of the line, with the original terminus situated in Dunollie . However, a decade later, the joint venture collapsed, and in 1901, the State Mines Department took over the railway operations in conjunction with
1768-416: The greater flexibility and economic savings of trucking. Today, railroads remain the most economical way to ship large quantities of material, a fact that is reflected in industrial spurs. Most modern day spurs serve very large industries that require hundreds, if not thousands, of carloads a year. There is an international branch line between Italy and Vatican: the 300-metre Vatican Railway , connecting from
1820-511: The installation of a Fell centre rail to assist braking on the descent, though this was not full use of the Fell system like the Rimutaka Incline in the North Island was. The line was opened to its Rewanui terminus on 21 January 1914, with a full length of 13.07 kilometres. Rewanui was inaccessible by road, thus a considerable number of passenger trains operated by the standards of New Zealand branch lines. Although primarily for miners,
1872-546: The late 19th century to open up inland regions for farming and other economic activities. The branches in the South Island regions were often general-purpose lines that carried predominantly agricultural traffic, but lines elsewhere were often built to serve a specific resource: on the West Coast , an extensive network of branch lines was built in rugged terrain to serve coal mines, while in the central North Island and
1924-738: The mining activity. Operation of the line subsequently passed to the New Zealand Railways Department on 1 December 1904. In comparison to the extension to Rewanui, this section was sedated, with the only significant engineering work being the Cobden Bridge across the Grey River at the start of the branch. Good coal deposits had been discovered in the Paparoa Ranges , and although the Roa Incline
1976-725: The necessary speed to travel any kind of distance. Small industrial shunters have sometimes been fireless locomotives and a few of these are still at work in Germany. Again, several have been preserved, but are mostly static displays, as heritage railways and museums lack the large source of high-pressure steam (such as a power station 's boilers) needed to charge the locomotive's accumulator. American switchers tend to be larger, and are almost always powered by diesel. Most American switchers are actually road switchers , which are larger and have greater power output, to be used on mainlines. British shunters are much smaller than those used in
2028-544: The other three on the Roa Incline . They were similar in design to the vans used on the Rimutaka Incline , over the Wairarapa Ranges, but had no duckets, and instead, had windows at either end. The chassis and brake gear, however, remained the same. With the closure of the Rimutaka Incline in 1955, surplus vans were transferred to Greymouth for use on the Rewanui and Roa Inclines. In the early 1980s,
2080-572: The railways had owned. However, by the mid-20th century, railways began neglecting lines in western agricultural regions. This was historically driven by factors such as the Crow Rate , which regulated the price railways could charge for shipping grain. Railways had little incentive to invest in rural Prairie branch lines, but were legally unable to abandon them under the National Transportation Act , which also did not provide
2132-461: The river was one of the more extensive industrial networks. A number of the early German locomotives built for use on these lines have been preserved. Electric locomotives were also extensively employed for moving the coke cars at cokeworks , obtaining power from a side wire, as third rail or overhead line electrification would have been impractical. These specialised locomotives were tall steeple-cab types not seen anywhere else, and operated on
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2184-833: The short line often continuing to exist as a subsidiary. For example, when the Canadian Pacific acquired the Algoma Eastern Railway (a short line) in 1930, it soon after abandoned much of the Algoma Eastern mainline, but retained sections close to Algoma Eastern–Canadian Pacific junctions as short branch lines or spurs. The National Transportation Act of 1967 provided government subsidies for branch lines. Western railway development in Canada worked in concert with land settlement and cultivation, as pioneers were settled near railway lines, often on land
2236-679: The task alongside "Big Bertha" . As diesel shunters began to appear in ever-increasing numbers, attempts were made by companies such as Sentinel to adapt the vertical boilers from their steam powered road vehicles for use in shunting locomotives, in order to compete with the newcomers. Although these were found to be equal in power and efficiency to most of the early diesel designs, their development came too late to have any real impact. Outwardly, they bear more resemblance to diesels than steam locomotives. A number have been preserved on heritage railways , although few of these are in working order, being designed very specifically for shunting work and lacking
2288-477: The trains became minor local tourist attractions in the later years of the line due to the scenic nature of the route. During holiday periods at the mine, special tourist trains were operated, while during regular operations, tourists typically caught the early afternoon service. A number of the regular services acquired nicknames: In addition, a bicycle track was located alongside the line for miners working shifts without convenient train service. Freight traffic
2340-621: The usual departure from its neighbours' practice, the Great Western Railway used pannier tanks for shunting and branch line work, a practice which the Western Region of BR perpetuated until steam traction was phased out, with several examples joining a 9F as banking engines to assist locomotives on the notoriously arduous ascent of the Lickey Incline, replacing the LMS "Jinties" which had formerly carried out
2392-467: The world. Industries of the era were commonly built along railroad lines specifically to allow for easy access to shipping. Short (under a mile, oftentimes only several hundred yards) industrial spurs with very small (under ten car) capacities were a common sight along railroads in industrial and rural cities alike. As automobile and roadway technology improved throughout the early and mid-20th century, most low volume industry spurs were abandoned in favor of
2444-536: Was almost exclusively coal. It came from the state-owned Liverpool Mine, for which the line was expressly built, as well as from a number of nearby privately owned mines. Motive power had to be specially modified to work on the Rewanui Branch past Dunollie. In the steam era , motive power came primarily from the three members of the W class . In 1902, two members of the B class of tender locomotives were converted into W class tank locomotives for work on
2496-585: Was being built on the other side from a junction with the Stillwater - Westport Line in Ngahere and could carry coal mined from some of the coal seams, a branch up the valley of the Seven Mile Creek was seen as necessary. This line was to be extremely steep: over its 5.4 kilometre length between Dunollie and the terminus, it would rise 163 metres with grades as severe as 1 in 26. This necessitated
2548-464: Was built. Small industrial shunters are sometimes battery powered type. An early battery-powered shunting locomotive is shown here. The Tyne and Wear Metro has three battery electric shunters built by Hunslet , which are used to haul engineering trains when the overhead supply is switched off. New Zealand Railways imported and manufactured locally battery-electric shunters in the 1920s: the EB class and
2600-795: Was electrified by the North Eastern Railway in 1905, and two steeplecab locomotives were built to handle all traffic on the line. One of these, No. 1 , is now part of the National Collection and resides at Locomotion in Shildon . On the opposite side of the Tyne, the electrified lines owned by the Harton Coal Company in South Shields for the movement of coal and colliery waste to shipping facilities on
2652-504: Was further extended to Vaishali in 2011. The line is planned to be extended from Vaishali to Mohan Nagar via Sahibabad Station to link with the main line. The East West Line of the MRT system in Singapore has a two-station branch to Changi Airport . The first station, Expo , opened in 2001. It was extended to Changi Airport station the next year. From 1990 to 1996, the section of
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#17327878241502704-502: Was repealed in 1994 in the wake of the North American Free Trade Agreement and budget-balancing initiatives in favour of a one-time payout by the federal government directly to farmers, to arrange transport of grain themselves. From the mid-1970s to the late 2010s, more than 9,300 kilometres (5,800 mi) of Prairie branch lines were abandoned or had a discontinuance of service. David Blyth Hanna ,
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