New role for old bridge
Part of the old bridge over the Waitaki River at Kurow has a new lease of life at Waimate’s Bushtown development. Helping on the project is Phil Wild.
Kurow’s old twin bridges may be gone but a part of them will carry on at a Waimate miniature railway.
Six years after the 132-year-old single lane wooden bridges over the Waitaki River were deemed unsafe and replaced in a $20.1 million project, Bushtown Miniature Railway group has repurposed two of the structures’ spans to form part of its miniature railway circuit.
The original spans are believed to be made from Australian hardwood, with other pieces retained in Kurow and used for seating in Oamaru.
Bushtown depicts an historic village with a steam and diesel driven sawmills as well as a pit saw. It was established in 2003 to acknowledge bush as a primary resource of the area.
Bushtown Miniature Railway group secretary Phil Wild said the two spans are 45 metres in total.
‘‘It’s exciting,’’ he said.
The group of five volunteers has been working two afternoons a week on the track intermittently for three years, so far completing more than half of the 800-metre stage of the project. The final stage would be a loop to make it one kilometre.
The Kurow spans are placed over two gullies which ‘‘fitted perfectly’’, Wild said.
Totaras and other native trees planted at Bushtown’s inception had grown making the train ride more authentic, he said.
The miniature railway has a steam train and a fuel train pulling four wagons which can transport about 20 passengers each. Steam days are held in March each year and attract about 800 people.
Wild hoped the track would be completed and ready for opening this time next year. The group planned to then open more regularly, possibly fortnightly, over the summer months.