Remutaka Incline Rail Trail

Kaitoke to Cross Creek, UPPER HUTT; WAIRARAPA

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This Historic Area was registered under the Historic Places Act 1993. The following text is from the Board Minutes 3 May 2002 Proposal for registration considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. The Remutaka Incline is the most elevated section of the original rail route from Wellington to the Wairarapa. Development of the route in the 1870s is an internationally renowned engineering achievement. Use of the line ceased in 1955 when the much more direct Remutaka rail tunnel opened. However, the Remutaka route and remaining structures are a significant Victorian engineering achievement, and a reminder of colonial efforts to improve access to the Wairarapa. This historic area was registered under the Historic Places Act 1993. The following text is from the original Historic Area Assessment Under Section 23 Criteria report considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. DESCRIPTION: The 16 kilometres of railway formation between State Highway 2 at Kaitoke and the former rail settlement at Cross Creek is now a popular walkway. It includes the historically significant Remutaka Incline. Annually, some 30,000 walkers, runners and mountain bikers use this rail trail. The section of rail formation between the Summit and Cross Creek is known as the Remutaka Incline. It is a 4.8 kilometre stretch of steep mountain railway. Trains travelled the Incline to and from the Wairarapa from 16 October 1878 to 29 October 1955 when rail traffic was re-routed through the new Remutaka tunnel. The railway was twice as steep as the steepest mainline railway in New Zealand. A special 'Fell' system was employed to assist the locomotives grip the rails. The Incline's formation, which includes embankments, tunnels, culverts and associated structures and occupation sites (Summit yard, Cross Creek and campsites), are archaeological sites as defined in section 2 of the Historic Places Act 1993. Trust authorisation is required for any works that might modify or damage these sites. Artefacts and remnants of railway structures continue to be found in the vicinity of the Incline, and many remain uncovered. A lengthy part of the route is vested in the Wellington Regional Council which has allowed sections to be used as a logging route - with serious implications for maintenance of the formation. The Department of Conservation manages the area from Cross Creek to the Summit Tunnel under a conservation plan.

Remutaka Incline Rail Trail. A photograph of a postcard showing a train with four engines travelling up the Rimutaka incline. Image courtesy of Wairarapa Archive ref. 90-17-142 | Wairarapa Archives
Remutaka Incline Rail Trail. Summit Tunnel North End. Image courtesy of www.flickr.com | Hugh McCall – Braxholm | 17/04/2012 | Hugh McCall
Remutaka Incline Rail Trail. Remains of the embankment that crossed Horseshoe Gully, also known as 'Siberia' curve, with the drainage inlet column satnding prominently. Image courtesy of www.flickr.com | Hugh McCall – Braxholm | 17/04/2012 | Hugh McCall

Location

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List Entry Information

Overview

Detailed List Entry

Status

Listed

List Entry Status

Historic Area

Access

Able to Visit

List Number

7511

Date Entered

5th May 2002

Date of Effect

5th May 2002

City/District Council

Upper Hutt City,South Wairarapa District

Region

Wellington Region

Extent of List Entry

Extent of registration is the former rail track indicated on the map in the Registration report and land twenty metres on either side of the track including the structures marked on the map. The route is approximately 16 km in length. It is the mountain division of the former Wellington to Masterton railway. The registered section stretches from the original Kaitoke Station over the Remutaka ranges to the former Cross Creek Station. The route follows the old rail corridor which was initially on Crown land. This stretch is now known as 'the Incline'; the original incline was the steep gradient from Summit Station to Cross Creek which is incorporated into this area. A feature of the railway is the number of culverts and tunnels cut to control flooding on the track

Legal description

Private land on the Wairarapa side of Cross Creek: Sec 119 Blk V, Wairarapa SD, 10.3584, SO 23442, State Forest NZ Gazette 1960, p.973. Cross Creek DOC land up to Summit Tunnel: Sec 116, Western Lake District, 76.3844, SO 23447, State Forest NZ Gazette 1958, p.1415. Wellington Regional Council: Pt Lot DP 47840, 6829.4907, (RT 47C/376), Pakuratahi State Forest. Private land bordering State Highway 2 Pt Sec 29, Pakuratahi District, 14.0294, SO 15791 Lot 1, DP 67970, 1.0000 Lot 2, DP 87891, 0.4890.

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