Stratford Main Trunk Railway: The Snail Rail

It was 1895 and eastern settlers were suffering from neglect and isolation - the further they were away from Stratford the more they were isolated. For much of the year sections of the road out to the settlement of Whangamomona and beyond were impassable. The un-metalled road became a quagmire of mud in winter, and a rough, dried up track in summer.

Provisions and equipment had to be ordered months ahead and in large amounts to guarantee against shortages when traffic couldn't get through. Bullocks were used to tow sledges, and the Tangarākau and Whanganui Rivers were used as watery highways. But floods often brought down logs that blocked the rivers and prevented boats from going through. Freight costs were atrocious and settlers struggled to make a living while attempting to break in the land.

Railway relief

Finally hope was on the horizon as a new railway line was ordered by the Government in 1898. Taranaki needed to hook up with the main trunk line that strode down the centre of the island. The most direct route was from Stratford through Whangamomona, joining up with the Main Trunk at Ōkahukura near Taumarunui.

The settlers saw the railway line as the answer to their problems, but the slow progress of the line gradually killed their hopes. Work began in 1901 from Stratford and wasn't to reach Ōkahukura for 32 years.

The lines progress was hampered by political indifference, World War One and the difficult terrain the construction gangs had to cope with. Using primitive methods of pick axe and shovel and working in sometimes atrocious conditions men set out from Stratford to take as direct a line as possible to the Main Trunk.

The camps

As the railway progressed camps were set up along the line. Initially these were temporary tent towns that disappeared as the railway moved forward. On arriving to work at a camp a single man was given a tent, stretcher and pick axe, with payment being taken from his wages. Married men had the luxury of a living tent with an open fireplace, corrugated iron chimney and stove, with bedroom tents off the end. The men often had no dry clothes for weeks on end, and the camps were often plagued with flies, poor sanitation and fleas. They cooked for themselves, living off canned goods as fresh fruit and vegetables were rare.

Where work was delayed, or took longer, such as in the Tangarākau, more permanent cabin towns were set up, with separate areas for married and single men. Life in the camps was primitive. Some of the wives were ill prepared for the isolated camp life, conditions were basic and poor and to get anywhere took time and effort.

Labourers were paid an average of nine shillings for a nine hour day, five and a half day week and no holidays. Their tools were jacks, picks, crowbars, wheelbarrows and handcarts.

In 1914 the line reached Whangamomona, which became the terminus. Two trains ran on Wednesdays and Saturdays and one train on the other four week days. Camps became small towns, Tangarākau being one of the biggest, and remaining the longest.

Work slowed down during World War One as men disappeared off overseas to fight. But it soon sped up as the depression set in and more and more people went looking for work - any work - to feed their families. But the depression was a tough time for many farmers. Prices for wool, meat and milk were down. As the line crept forward, farmers along it received a little relief. But for many it was too little too late and they were forced to walk away from the land.

Snail rail

By 1920 digging was easier, equipment included steam shovels, lorries, tractors and stone crushers. Work moved along at a faster pace. The slowest work was on the section from Tangarākau to Heao with its 4.5 kilometres of tunnels, all dug by pickaxe and shovel, with the help of a little dynamite.

The township of Tangarākau flourished, only to disappear 20 years later without a trace.

The first train through train through the line from Stratford to Taumaranui was on 13 December 1932, but flooding prevented the official opening until a year later when the Auckland to New Plymouth express made its first run.

Stations popped up along the line, and railway station masters became people of importance in little communities that hugged the new line. 

The line enabled many farmers to stay on the land by reducing the cost of transporting supplies and fertilizer, enabling their cattle and sheep to reach markets throughout the year and bringing the port of New Plymouth closer.

Whangamomona became a refreshment stop, catering for up to 450 people at a time. But declining passenger numbers resulted in the last local train running in 1983. The line is currently not in service for rail traffic and is under lease as a tourist venture.

Bibliography

Habershon, R.G. (1978). Stratford District Centenary 1878 – 1978. Stratford: Stratford District Centennial Committee of the Stratford Borough Council.

Scanlan, A.B. (1977). Taranaki's First Railway. New Plymouth: A. Scanlan.