Story: Railways

Carrying timber

Carrying timber

In the late 19th century, timber and firewood dominated tonnage on New Zealand Railways freight trains, especially in the North Island. In the 1950s and 1960s, timber freight was responsible for reversing the general trend to line closure – new lines were built to the big timber mills at Kinleith, near Tokoroa, and Kawerau, near Murupara. This 1,000-tonne load of logs is one of five trains a day that ran from Murupara to the mill at Kawerau in the mid-1950s.

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Reference: 9106P-2

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How to cite this page:

Neill Atkinson, 'Railways - Freight transport', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/21398/carrying-timber (accessed 19 April 2024)

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