Story: Railways

Fell engine

The little H-class Fell engine went up and down the Remutaka incline railway for 77 years from 1878. The line closed in 1955 when the 8.8-kilometre tunnel through the mountain range was opened. The Fell locomotive had a special set of horizontal inner wheels which gripped a raised centre rail, pulling it up the steep incline on the Remutaka Range’s eastern flank, where the railway line climbed 265 metres in 4 kilometres.

Using this item

Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga
Reference: New Zealand Railway Magazine. National Film Unit, 1956

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How to cite this page:

Neill Atkinson, 'Railways - Building the rail network', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/video/21377/fell-engine (accessed 3 May 2024)

Story by Neill Atkinson, published 11 Mar 2010, reviewed & revised 11 Mar 2016