Story: Wairarapa region
Early European settlers drove sheep around the shoreline rather than attempt to cross the Rimutaka Range between Wellington and Wairarapa. When a railway was built over the mountains in the 1870s, the steep gradient on the Wairarapa side required Fell engines, which have extra horizontal wheels on a central rail. Fell engines were used on the line until a 9-kilometre tunnel opened in 1955.
Listen to a Roadside Story about the Rimutakas. Roadside Stories is a series of audio guides to places around New Zealand.
Archival audio sourced from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives. Sound files may not be reused without permission from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives (Reference number sa-t-0229pm).
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YouTube: Manatu Taonga's channel
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