Those magnificently hidden views
Hidden from the eyes of people travelling the main highways are magnificent railway viaducts often still in regular use. They are memorials to the work of old-time surveyors and hardworking construction crews.
South Taranaki has several fine viaducts, two on the New Plymouth–Wanganui line between Hawera and Patea and another on a line formerly connected to Opunake and now serving Kapuni’s gas processing complex.
The construction of the final section of the Marton to New Plymouth Railway was held up at Manutahi in 1883 by wet weather and lack of Government funds but lobbying in Wellington ensured that work went ahead linking Manutahi to Hawera where the northern part of the line had been completed.
Two deep river valleys, the Tangahoe and the Manawapou, each required a viaduct to carry the line towards Hawera, 16 kilometres away. The work was completed and opened on March 23 1884; the ceremony at the Hawera Railway Station attended by senior officials of the Railways Department and local County and Borough dignitaries. Appropriately after all the holdups for wet weather this too was held indoors, out of the torrential rain.
These two fine viaducts have been replaced, and modified several times each time, to strengthen the original work so that heavier trains can pass over them. The Manawapou Viaduct was rebuilt in 1913 in steel and concrete as part of a realigning of this portion of the track. The new bridge was built more than 8 metres above the old one.
In 1966 a huge flood washed out the bridge and a temporary span was erected until a permanent bridge with a span of more than 50 metres was completed and lowered into place in November 1969.
The other South Taranaki viaduct is between Te Roti and Matapu crosses the Waingongoro River and carries the Opunake line to Kapuni. Plans had been made to build a spur line to Manaia and possibly another to Kaponga from a junction at Kapuni. Other plans were drawn to continue the line from Opunake to Moturoa (New Plymouth) to carry butter and cheese to the cool stores.
Work went on in a desultory fashion, being interrupted by World War I and through failing to get enough government funding while other railway projects were being completed. The Manaia line was well advanced with much of the earthworks done and fenced but not ballasted before it was stopped.
Laying the foundations for the Waingongoro viaduct was started in 1916 though it was delayed to check the quality of the work building of the piers was resumed in 1919 but a wartime shortage of labour and cement slowed progress. The Waingongoro viaduct’s four concrete piers were filled with earth and track was laid in October 1921 from lines unloaded in a consignment from Australia.
Public Works trains used the completed bridge when transporting machinery, equipment and cottages from the junction at Te Roti to be used along the line to Opunake but the first unofficial passenger train crossed the viaduct on Opunake Racing Club’s St Patrick’s Day Races March 1925 at Pihama taking both horses and patrons to a road crossing at Pihama.
This handsome viaduct between Matapu and Te Roti is still used for trains taking freight to and from Kapuni and is well worth a detour from the main road to view it.
The Te Roti to Moturoa railway was an excellent scheme to service the dairy factories of the Waimate Plains but the rapid growth of motor trucks on asphalt roads made the proposed scheme redundant.
The Taranaki landscape has many monuments to great engineers and energetic workmen.