Archaeological assessment of the Otago Central rail trail : the line today Research Completed
Title
Archaeological assessment of the Otago Central rail trail : the line today
Lead Author
Hamel, J.
Organisation(s)
Department of Conservation
Publication Year
1996
Publisher
Department of Conservation
Contacts
Abstract
In the first part of this assessment (Hamel 1994), a brief history of the Otago Central railway line and the available documentation was used as a background to an assessment of the physical evidence still on the ground for the section to be used as a rail trail. A short section of the line (Middlemarch to Hyde) was surveyed to indicate the value of the exercise, and in December 1994 the rest of the line (Hyde to Clyde) was covered.The work has been funded by a grant from Science and Research Division of the Department of Conservation.
The interim policy and development plan (1994) for the rail trail has been incorporated into the draft Conservation Management Strategy (CMS) for the Otago Conservancy. The rail trail becomes one of forty special places within the CMS. Objective 3 (draft CMS, Chapter 10: 349) is to preserve and enhance where possible the historic and heritage attributes of the rail trail, and historic site appreciation is listed as a potential use. The latter will require interpretation, which should focus on the physical evidence that the public can actually see.This inventory and comments based on it provide a basis for these objectives.
Though the railway should be viewed as a whole system and as part of the social landscape, people do classify the things they see as they travel along it, into such groupings as stations, bridges, culverts, tunnels, huts and houses, loading platforms, sections of rails and sleepers, borrow pits, retaining walls and marker posts. Some of these groupings have suffered more than others from demolition, especially buildings and the rails. The bridges have been affected by removal of decking and rails, but are otherwise intact. In considering the survey evidence, as well as assessing the status of stations, bridges and masonry culverts, I have sorted out some of the less common items and listed them where they occur. I have also assessed management problems such as broken copings of masonry bridge abutments, missing chim – neys on huts and more obvious safety problems on bridges. Bridge decking is described as it was at the time of surveys (May and December 1994), but thefts of sleepers have affected some bridges in recent months. The existence of nearly all the masonry culverts as listed on the mileage sheets was checked, and many were photographed. The annotated mileage sheets contain more information than has been extracted for this report, and copies are lodged with the Department of Conservation.
Mileage is given for most items, in the form 50.34, indicating 50 miles and 34 chains from the Wingatui start of the line. The mileages are shown for the whole line on cadastral maps (Fig. 1). Culverts and bridges were built by imperial feet, and their sizes are given here in feet where relevant. One mile = 80 chains = 1.6 km One chain = 22 yards = about 20 metres One foot = 30 cm
Keywords:
Otago, Rail Trail, Otago Rail Trail, Cycling, Bike, Cycle tour, Rail
How to access
Areas of Focus
Settings (location)
Provision (delivery type & infrastructure)
Topics
Views
1362
Added
July 12, 2012
Last Modified
July 12, 2012