Manawatu rail: Oroua Downs Traditional Cache
Manawatu rail: Oroua Downs
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Size: 
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One of a series of simple, easy to find, caches at railway stations in and around the Manawatu.
Welcome aboard the MCC's Sanson tramway service to Sanson! Last stop Carnarvon, next stop Taikorea.
At the very first meeting in January 1877 of the newly created Manawatu County Council, Henry Sanson raised a proposal for a rail link between Carnarvon (now Himitangi) and Sandon Block (of which Sanson is the principal town). At that time the Manawatu District encompassed the area from Horowhenua to Sanson, from the sea to the ranges. A rail line had already been running for the last 4 years from Manawatu's principal port at Foxton through to Palmerston (now Palmerston North), and the benefits of the rail line in moving settlers and produce was well established. A connection to Wanganui was currently being built.
At this time roads were almost non-existant. Travel was by horse or on foot, and the road between Carnarvon and Sanson was little more than a sandy track. The road between Foxton and Palmerston was much the same. Both were prone to floods.
The council contracted an engineer to produce plans and estimates for the construction of the railway. These were presented in July, and in September the council set up a committee to form a railway company. By mid October 1877 The Foxton and Sanson Railway Company was formed, provisional directors appointed and 6,000 shares at £5 assigned, with the view of handing over railway operations to the government. This was actually a common way to get a railway going. The government did not have the engineers or funds to create railway systems of its own. To get a railway the local county or businesses had to build it themselves then, if it was a profitable line, the government was willing to run it. This was also how the Foxton to Palmerston and the Wellington to Palmerston railways were created. The government would normally provide the service for free for the first two years, then keep 60% of receipts there after. The rest of the funds was returned to the council, to offset the construction costs. In the case of the Sanson line, the government was willing to work the line for just 20% of receipts. In November 1878 the council gave consent for the railway company to build the line. Of the original 6,000 shares only 2,896 were taken up, The first call of 5s raised £724, enough to get started. The next step was to apply to build a railway under the District Railways Act 1877. It took some time to meet the prerequisites, and then a pending alteration to the act held up the proposal.
Funds dried up and the company went into voluntary liquidation. Investors would receive an interest payment but there were no saleable assets to enable a return of the capital.
When the directors heard that Parliament was considering 3:1 subsidies for road and bridge construction by local bodies, they realised this might be their railroad's salvation. J.G. Wilson, a local member of parliament and supporter of the Sanson railway, lost no time in getting the proposed act widened to include tramways. (A tramway is a railroad, often a light railroad, that uses a road right-of-way, rather than using its own land). For this reason the Sanson line has been known as a tramway from then on, although for all intents and purposes it is an ordinary railroad. The act was passed in 1882.
However, prior to the act passing, Council acted as though they had full approval to restart the construction of the line themselves. They purchased 700 tons of light rail (about 5,000 rails) from a south island rail upgrade to heavier rail at £5.10s per ton without ratepayer approval. This caused some criticism in the papers. However Foxton and Sanson people still wanted the line, and a motion to stop the construction failed. That it was only going to cost ratepayers ¼ the normal construction cost would have helped, and the government was now also willing to undertake the survey. However there were so many applications for subsidies under the Roads and Bridges Construction Act that the 75% subsidy was reduced to just under 25%. This suggested that this funding would not be around for long, and so the Council decided to continue with the project while the going was good, even if it could only be built in sections. That was February, 1883. The subsidy act was repealed in 1885.
A poll in April showed that the initial hostility of the ratepayers was over, and construction could at last proceed. It had taken 6½ years to get to this point.
Another problem was that O'Malley & Pepperill, the contractors hired to construct the formations of the first section from Carnarvon to Campbelltown, went bankrupt, and council threatened to do the work itself, charging the costs to O'Malley as they had failed to complete their contract. The council did continue the work itself, however it is unclear if O'Malley were actually invoiced. The engineer hired to continue the work used O'Malley's equipment after refusing to buy it, and ended up in court over it. Despite this, by May 1884, all but the ballasting was completed.
Now that the first section was almost completed, the Council obtained the Hibernia, left over from Wellington's infant tramway system, to provide the motive power, as the government refused to run the line, saying it was not to government standards and would be unsafe for its engines. There were some concessions however, so the project was not unduly affected. The Hibernia made its first run to Campbelltown with a simple trolley on 17 August, 1884. It achieved an average speed of 24 km/h. The first commercial run was 8 days later, on 25 August, 7½ years after the rail line was first proposed. Service was twice daily.
Oroua Downs station was a simple shelter shed and platform, although it did have a short spur that curved across the road to a cheese factory. That building can still be seen here, now a sheepskin store. The town itself had an interesting start - a hut was being transported by bullock team around 1870 and here the bullocks were exhausted and unable to pull any more. So here the hut stayed. Eventually more rooms were added to it, and then other houses were built nearby, creating the township.
There is excellent parking here.
The Hibernia, shortly before leaving Wellington, 1878.
References:
Cassells, K.R.: "The The Sanson Tramway", published by the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, 1962.
Kiwi Kids in2 History: book 3, Published by the Feilding and Districts Historical Society, 2012.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Sbhaqngvba cbfg