Rimutaka trail race 2017 rimutaka rail trail, wellington. The rimutaka incline was the third and last fell system to be built. The railway reached the summit of the rimutaka range by conventional means, but such a route could not be found to descend to the wairarapa valley. Viewing 2 posts 1 through 2 of 2 total author posts jan 2012 at 11.
Rimutaka incline railway heritage trust, upper hutt, new zealand. There are six tunnels on the rimutaka incline route between upper hutt and featherston. Remutaka rail trail greater wellington regional council. The trail traverses petone, lower hutt city, upper hutt city, remutaka ranges, south wairarapa and the southeast coast. Rimutaka forest park environmental education resource. Rimutaka cycle trail and wairarapa shuttles and tours based in martinborough, we can provide transport for weddings, martinborough wineries, chartered tours of the region, conference groups and cycle transfers for the rimutaka cycle trail, wellington airport shuttles and festivals. Fix and ride installing a new electronic shifter, wheels, and tires on my syncr hardtail duration. You will need to pass through more than 600 meters of tunnels on the rimutaka cycle. Its excellent for families with children who can be coaxed along by the next railway ruin, old rail bridge or tunnel definitely take a torch. I recently biked the track from the maymorn side to the summit with a group of friends. The contractor was therefore able to use full face mechanised excavation techniques throughout, the.
Apr 30, 2020 running from kaitoke to summit, the rimutaka rail trail links with the docmanaged incline down to cross creek in the wairarapa. In the meantime a railway had in 1878 conquered the remutaka hill with the help of a series of tunnels and the addition of specialist hillclimbing fell locomotives for the steep 4. Youll pass through tunnel gully reserve and the northern tip of the bushclad rimutaka range, before discovering the engineering ingenuity of the fell mountain rail system, which pulled passengers up the steep slope of the rimutaka incline. The most challenging part of the railway was locating a route to descend from summit to the wairarapa plains, due to the steep and rugged topography on the eastern side of the rimutaka ranges. Travelling from masterton to wellington, with 169 passengers in the train. It can be ridden in either direction, but is commonly started in petone and takes 23 days to complete. Several alterations were made to the contract both prior to and during construction, including the replacement of one of three tunnels by a. There are houses along the railway line and the bush has been cut off the hills. It was this system that was used for the rimutaka incline. The tunnels are fun and the new swing bridge at siberia is amazing.
Railway tunnels of new zealand rail heritage trust of. Two world wars and a depression delayed this until 1955. Rimutaka incline railway heritage trust home facebook. Due to its solid construction it has required minimal maintenance over its life and is set to last for another 100 years. The threemile section of track between summit and cross creek on the wairarapa side of the range had an average grade of 1 in 15. Rimutaka rail trail wellington 2020 all you need to know. How long is the remutaka cycle trail and how fit do i need to be. Rimutaka cycle trail and wairarapa shuttles and tours. The rimutaka rail trail is managed by doc from one end and wellington council from.
The 546mile railway tunnel through the rimutaka ranges 30 miles north of wellington was driven through better country. Running from kaitoke to summit, the remutaka rail trail links with the. Check out other day rides on the trail or ride the full trail. The book traces the trains journey up the incline during a particularly stormy night. Remutaka tunnel collapse, 1952 nzhistory, new zealand.
The incline is a classic new zealand day cyclewalk. Notable bridges include the kilometrelong auckland harbour bridge, and the impressive series of elegant railway viaducts on the north island main trunk line. Remutaka rail trail tourism information from destination wairarapa. The afternoon leads you over the remutaka rimutaka rail trail, through several historic tunnels to remutaka rimutaka summit 348m. From the head of wellington harbour, the rimutaka cycle trail cuts through the bushclad rimutaka mountain range, passing through tunnels on an old rail trail, and coming out via historic cross creek on a hot day, stop here for a quick dip under the bridge. Buy any experience now, book later with 3 years to use your voucher. Rail tragedy on the remutaka incline nzhistory, new. You can choose to continue on the trail skirting around the wild southern coast to. Railway technology continued to evolve swiftly, and within a few decades the innovative fell system became old technology. A gently graded 18 km walk or mountain bike ride, the trail features restored railway bridges and historic tunnels. Matthew wright the story of new zealand rail is rich with challenges met by audacious engineering.
Railway took its place as the backbone of the nation from the early days, as settlers drove lines through some of. Okaihau on the neveropened extension of the okaihau branch to rangiahua, unused but can be walked through easily spotted from sh1 passing okaihau township. You will be collected from your nominated wellington address in the morning and shuttled to either maymorn for a 25km, slightly more challenging ride or kaitoke for an 18km easy ride. The rimutaka railway trust are wanting to put a train back on this track and. The railway from upper hutt to the wairarapa included five tunnels, several large bridges and many steep grades. It was the longest tunnel in new zealand, superseding the otira tunnel in the south island until the. But we will use series and subseries numbering to distinguish between the different parts of the route. Pamphlet advertising original issue of this book, with description and photo the history, construction and operation of the railway line from wellington to masterton, through the rimutakas the fell railway system and the rimutaka incline branch lines. Prebook a shuttle to accommodation, towns and train services from cross creek with rimutaka shuttles. Its 60 years since the rimutaka rail tunnel opened. The remutaka rail trail runs for 18km between the towns of featherston and upper hutt. A base fitness is required to cycle this trail, however different sections require a higher level of fitness and rider ability than others.
Of the 27 men initially trapped, all but one, 20yearold greek migrant athanasassios athanassiaddes, were rescued within nine hours. Little updating was done on this temporary solution, because a replacement tunnel would be built. It is open to cyclists and walkers and runs between maymorn and cross creek. Rimutaka incline railway museum finder, guide, radio, tec. This is followed by a nice, 7km downhill ride on the remutaka rimutaka incline into the beautiful wineregion of wairarapa. Remutaka rail trail tourism information from destination. Michaels ride up the rimutaka incline, through the summit tunnel and back down again.
Starting from cross creek, the worldfamous rimutaka incline wound its way up to summit station. Summit tunnel dating from 1877, this is 584m long, and was resurfaced together with the rest of the rail trail in 1999. Trentham united harriers and walkers club po box 40357, upper hutt. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Rimutaka incline this article does not cite any references or sources. The full trail from start to finish is 115km long, however it can easily be ridden in sections and completed over a couple of days. New zealands hilly terrain and many rivers made bridges and tunnels a necessity, and their opening was often celebrated by large crowds. The rimutaka railway was built as part of an ambitious 1871 government policy to construct a national railway network to attract immigrants and to help. The rimutaka cycle trail is a great way to explore the landscapes and history of the wellington region. We have two vans with capacity 10 and 11 passengers and a minibus with capacity up to 19. Jackie breen from the heritage team tells the story. The rimutaka rail tunnel, which runs under the rimutaka range between the hutt valley and the wairarapa, opened in late 1955. Easy riding awaits, since the tracks gradient is only around 1%. In 2017 there is easy public access to five of the six disused tunnels.
This section of railway was closed in 1955 when the rimutaka deviation opened. The rimutaka incline railway heritage trust aims to reinstate and operate a heritage railway between wellington and the wairarapa. For this first article we are documenting the new section of railway that was constructed from 1948 to 1955 and generally known as the rimutaka deviation, being in general focused around the remutaka rail tunnel through the remutaka mountains. Rimutaka incline, state highway 2, kaitoke, upper hutt. Now a familyfriendly walking and mountain biking track, the rimutaka incline was the site of new zealands first rail disaster. Explore the rimutaka inclines native bush and rail history, then shuttle down through the wairarapa to discover the wild coast trail from ocean beach to orongorongo. The men working on the eastern face had to excavate three tunnels, the largest just below the summit. Rimutaka rail trail wellington all you need to know. Four children were killed and adults injured when two rail carriages were blown off the tracks by severe winds on a notoriously exposed part of the remutaka incline railway. The term rimutaka incline is sometimes used incorrectly to refer to other parts or all of the closed and deviated. Rimutaka cycle trail highlights mountain biking adventure. For 77 years specially built fell engines climbed the rimutaka incline. It would be very noisy with lots of smoke when the trains went through the tunnels.
The 1 in 15 gradient used for the fell engines started part way through this tunnel. Remutaka cycle trail faqs tourism information from. Book your tickets online for rimutaka rail trail, wellington. The remutaka rail trail is a gently graded 18 km bike ride its also a hugely popular walk.
Rimutaka rail trail wellington 2020 all you need to. Tunnels in rimutaka cycle trail, wellington by rimutaka cycle trail. The railway will be a unique tourist attraction for wellington and new zealand, and a major contributor to the regional economy. This track follows the former rimutaka incline railway line. Explore the flagship trail of the rimutaka cycle trail by mountain bike and discover the rich rail history and natural beauty of the rimutaka ranges. This was the first major loss of life on new zealands railways. Here the fell locos finished their work for conventional locos to take over on the less severe run down to kaitoke and maymorn in the hutt valley. The rimutaka incline railway accident occurred on 11 september 1880 when the leading three carriages on a greytown to wellington train were blown off the track in strong winds near the siberia tunnel.
Tunnels, rail and road 1966 encyclopaedia of new zealand. This claim was also made by j a kelleher in his book upper hutt. The weather was brilliant, the grades gentle and the track surface well maintained. Rimutaka incline 17 factheets s theew n zealand bush 21. A change of pace the remutaka rail trail tda global cycling. The rimutaka incline section of the line over the rimutaka ranges between wellington and the wairarapa used the fell system on the steep 1 in 15 section which was 4. Remutaka tunnel collapse, 1952 an interior view of the remutaka rail tunnel showing the rock fall of 9 september 1952. The rimutaka tunnel officially tunnel 2, wairarapa line is a railway tunnel through new zealands remutaka range, between maymorn, near upper hutt, and featherston, on the wairarapa line the tunnel, which was opened to traffic on 3 november 1955, is 8.
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