Main South Line
The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Invercargill via Dunedin. It is one of the most important railway lines in New Zealand and was one of the first to be built, with construction commencing in the 1860s. At Christchurch, it connects with the Main North Line to Picton, the other part of the South Island Main Trunk.
Construction
Construction of the Main South Line falls into two main sections: from Christchurch through southern Canterbury to Otago's major city of Dunedin; and linking the southern centres of Dunedin and Invercargill, improving communication in southern Otago and large parts of Southland. Construction of the first section of the line began in 1865 and the whole line was completed on 22 January 1879.Christchurch-Dunedin section
The Canterbury provincial government built and opened the first public railway in New Zealand, the Ferrymead Railway, on 1 December 1863. A line south to connect with major South Canterbury centres, northern Otago and Dunedin was desired, and on 24 May 1865 construction of what was then termed the Canterbury Great South Railway began. The Canterbury Provincial Railways were broad gauge,, significantly wider than the gauge that later became New Zealand's uniform gauge. The first section of the line was opened to Rolleston on 13 October 1866. Beyond Rolleston, three routes south were considered:- A route well inland to cross major rivers in narrower places.
- A coastal line through fertile country.
- A compromise between the two, following the most direct route and crossing major rivers at more reasonable places than the coastal route.
In 1870, Julius Vogel announced his "Great Public Works Policy" and placed a high priority on the completion of a line between Christchurch and Dunedin. The act of parliament that established the nation's uniform gauge as granted Canterbury an exemption, permitting it to extend its gauge line to Rakaia, which was done on 2 June 1873. Soon after this, the provincial government recognised the need to conform with the uniform gauge and the broad gauge was phased out by 6 March 1876.
Construction not only progressed south from the Christchurch end and north from Dunedin, but also from the intermediate ports of Timaru and Oamaru in both directions. Construction was swift through the 1870s, and on 4 February 1876, Christchurch was linked with Timaru. Just under a year later, on 1 February 1877, the line was complete all the way from Christchurch to Oamaru in north Otago.
At the southern end, the Dunedin and Port Chalmers Railway opened on 1 January 1873, the first gauge line in New Zealand. Most of this line became part of the Main South Line, with construction progressing north from a junction at Sawyers Bay, leaving the final two kilometres to become the Port Chalmers Branch. A difficult hillside climb out of Dunedin was encountered, with construction taking a significant length of time. For this reason, the line from Dunedin met that advancing south from Oamaru at Goodwood, midway between Palmerston and Waikouaiti, some 310 kilometres south of Christchurch but only 57 kilometres north of Dunedin. The construction south from Oamaru included the creation of two short branch lines along the way, the Moeraki Branch and the Shag Point Branch. On 7 September 1878 the route from Christchurch to Dunedin was opened in its entirety.
Dunedin-Invercargill section
The railway from Dunedin to Clutha was one of the first railways to be built under Vogel's "Great Public Works Policy". Authorised by the Railways Act 1870 at a cost of £5,000 per mile, the line was the first major line constructed to gauge.Construction was rapid, and the first 10 km section south from Dunedin to Abbotsford opened on 1 July 1874. On 1 September 1875 the line opened to Balclutha; the major town of the lower Clutha River region and 84 kilometres from Dunedin.
At the Invercargill end, construction was swift. The first 17 km to Woodlands opened on 11 February 1874, but the whole section to Gore was not completed until 30 August 1875 as a hill cutting at Edendale caved in several times. In December 1875 the lines to Winton and Bluff were narrowed from the standard gauge in two days.
Undulating countryside necessitated heavier earthworks to Balclutha, completing the route from Dunedin to Invercargill, and construction was completed on 22 January 1879. An opening function was held at Invercargill. The Commissioner of Railways, Mr Conyer injured himself in a fall at Gore.
As the line from Dunedin to Christchurch had been finished on 7 September 1878, a rail link was opened all the way from Invercargill to Christchurch, thus completing the Main South Line.
Operation
Passenger services
For much of New Zealand's railway history, the passenger service from Christchurch to Dunedin was the flagship of the railway. What is regarded as the country's first "express" run on 6 September 1878 was a special train hauled by the new Rogers K class locomotive "Washington". Leaving Christchurch at 6 am the train arrived at Dunedin at 6.40 pm; there was a breakfast with the Governor and other official guests at Oamaru, passengers were left behind at intermediate stops, and the train was assisted by the Double-Fairlie "Josephine" between Oamaru and Seacliff.When trains began to run between Christchurch and Invercargill in a day in November 1904, the main passenger services on the Dunedin-Invercargill section were essentially an extension of the Christchurch-Dunedin trains. When the line was completed in the late 19th century, trains took 11 hours to travel from Christchurch to Dunedin and were usually headed by steam engines of the original J class or the Rogers K class, except on the hilly section south of Oamaru where the T class was used. In 1906, the A class was introduced and maintained an eight-hour schedule, though they soon handed over duties to the superheated AB class of 1915.
The introduction of the J class and JA class in 1939 and 1946 respectively was the final development in steam motive power, and they took just 7 hours 9 minutes to haul the "South Island Limited" express from Christchurch to Dunedin. During their heyday, these steam-hauled expresses were famous for the speeds they attained across the Canterbury Plains along a section of track near Rakaia nicknamed the "racetrack". They were replaced on 1 December 1970 by the Southerner, headed by DJ class diesel-electric locomotives. Steam engines continued to operate Friday and Sunday night expresses, and they were the last steam passenger trains in New Zealand. This makes New Zealand unusual, as steam saw out its final days on quiet, unimportant branch lines in most countries, while the last regular services operated by New Zealand's steam engines were prominent express passenger trains. This was because the trains' carriages were steam heated, so separate steam heating vans with boilers were required. So on 26 October 1971, an express from Christchurch to Invercargill became the last regular service in New Zealand to be hauled by a steam locomotive.
Other services
An extra evening South Island Main Trunk passenger service for businessmen, to compete with the Starliner private buses on the Christchurch to Dunedin route, started in March 1953 with first-class, steam-heated NZR 56-foot carriages attached to overnight express freights 138 and 151 between Monday to Thursday, departing Christchurch at 8:25pm and stopping for passengers only at Timaru, Oamaru and Dunedin at 4:58 am, where the carriage remained stopped and heated at the platform until 7:00am. The northbound service left Dunedin at 9:40pm to arrive at Christchurch at 6:30pm. 88 seater railcars replaced this service in September 1956 with a 6 hour schedule, departing at 5:30pm and arriving 11:30pm in both directions, daily until 28 April 1976. The railcars were well patronised at weekends and between Dunedin and Oamaru. The 88-seater railcars also introduced a second daylight service from Dunedin to Invercargill leaving Invercargill on the return leg at 1:25pm. The railcar service offered a more convenient and comfortable, second-class timetable than the South Island Limited with its early departures and late arrivals in Southland.A night express service, including two sleeping carriages, ran from 1928. The four sleepers for the service were rebuilt at Addington Railway Workshops from ordinary cars, each with an 8-berth compartment for ladies, and a 12-berth for men. The sleeping cars had gone by 1935, and by 1943 the only night trains were on Sundays. From 1949 to 30 September 1979 trains 189 and 190 ran an overnight weekend express Christchurch-Dunedin departing at a late 10.30/10.50 pm on Friday-Sunday to arrive 6:30/6:58am on Saturday and Monday. Until 1971 the steam-hauled train consisted of a 56-foot second-class carriage, a sleeping carriage and two 50-foot first-class carriages. The diesel hauled 189/190 of 1971-79 consists of excluded sleeping carriages again and usually consisted of sets of only a partitioned 56 ft first-class and two 56 ft second class carriages, guards van and seven container and mail wagons. Only the connecting part of 190 leaving Invercargill at 6:35pm was ever well patronised by the sports team and weekend university students. In its last years, 1976-79 189/190 was second class only but did provide a connection for Dunedin students and Otago Peninsular residents on the new Cook Strait ferry express, providing a low-cost, but poorly patronised interisland connection, with patronage given at 10-93 in July 1979.