Taupo Totara Timber Railway

The Taupo Totara Timber Company Railway ("TTT Railway") was a bush tramway constructed by the Taupo Totara Timber Company (TTT) to link their milling centre at Mokai with the New Zealand Government Railways line (NZR) at Putāruru in the Waikato region on the North Island of New Zealand. The more than 51 mi long light railway line was operated from 1903 to 1944 by the Taupo Totara Timber Company. After the closure of the Mokai mill, the NZR purchased the 19 mi stretch between Putāruru and the Kinleith Mill south of Tokoroa. This stretch of track underwent a major reconstruction, and is now(2024) part of KiwiRail's Kinleith Branch Line.

History
The 82 km line was built for the TTT between 1903 and 1905 by John McLean & Sons to carry sawn timber from the TTT sawmill at Mokai (23 km northwest of Taupō) to the government railway at Putāruru. It was designed as a contour railway by former Wellington and Manawatu Railway engineer and TTT director James Fulton, who in 1903 temporarily resigned his position on the TTT board to supervise construction of the railway and sawmills.

The 8 km northern section between Putāruru and Lichfield was built on the formation of the former Lichfield Branch line, which was originally built by the New Zealand Thames Valley Land Company(NZTVLC) to be part of the line to Rotorua. The permanent way (rails and sleepers) had been removed in 1897 after the failure of the NZTVLC's Lichfield town development (known as the "Selwyn Estate"), leaving only the earthworks.

The TTT line continued south of Lichfield over easy country through what is now Tokoroa to Kopakorahi, near the present-day(2024) Tokoroa Golf Course and Kinleith paper mill. From Kopakorahi it crossed the Maungaiti Range via the Wawa saddle, descending 1000 ft from Wawa to Ongaroto, where it crossed the Waikato River. The line continued south and uphill to the sawmill village at Mokai. Several bush tramways, some temporary, brought logs from the forests to the Mokai sawmill.

The TTT line had a ruling grade of 1 in 35. The construction contract specified 100 ft radius curves on steep sections and curves of 3 chain to 5 chain on easier sections. Some of the sharper curves were later rebuilt with wider radii.

A siding at Kopakorahi was used for changing locomotives. Heisler-geared locomotives hauled trains over the mountainous section between Kopakorahi and Mokai. From 1914, trains on the easier northern section between Putāruru and Kopakorahi were usually hauled by locomotive number 7, an articulated Mallet Compound locomotive.

At Ongaroto the company built a large timber arch bridge of locally sourced totara, designed by James Fulton.

In the late 1920s this timber bridge deteriorated, and consulting engineer Stanley Jones recommended replacement. The company was already struggling financially due to the combined pressures of intense competition from imported timber, the onset of the Great Depression, and the loss of one of its Mokai sawmills, which had burned down in late 1928. Following Jones's inspection and report, the company banned anyone from riding the train across the bridge. Trains arriving at the bridge would stop and the passengers and firemen would walk across while the driver gently opened the throttle and then jumped off. The train would slowly ease across the bridge before being stopped on the other side by the fireman, where everyone would reboard the train.

The timber arch bridge was replaced in 1931 by a steel truss bridge with a central pier.



Operations
Initially the TTT Railway operated as a private carrier, carrying TTT staff and their families, guests,   freight, and mail  between Putāruru and Mokai.

From January 29, 1908, the TTT Railway opened its freight and passenger services to the public under the terms of a NZ Government Order in Council. The line provided a direct connection between Putāruru and the settlements of Lichfield, Tokoroa, and Ongaroto. Passengers and freight for destinations such as Wairakei, Taupō, Tokaanu, and northern Hawkes Bay, would be set down or picked up at a siding approximately 3 mi from Mokai. A Government road facilitated transportation between the siding, Oruanui, Wairakei, and Taupō.

A typical TTT train consisted of one locomotive (or occasionally two), multiple flat cars, and a van with passenger accommodation. The TTT used hand-operated train-brakes, controlled by a brake operator who walked along the tops of the cars, manually adjusting the brakes on each vehicle.

Taupo extension proposal
In 1911 the TTT put forward a proposal to extend their line from Mokai into Taupo township via Oruanui. However, considerable objection was made to this proposal by the people of Rotorua. The Taupo District Railway League consequently lodged a complaint to the Member of Parliament for the district, William MacDonald, protesting the opposition being made by the Rotorua Chamber of Commerce. As time passed the proposal for the TTT scheme was eventually shelved.

Closure, sale, and reconstruction
The TTT railway closed on 26 October 1944. The 19 mi section from Putāruru to the "19-Mile Peg", near the present-day location of the Kinleith Paper Mill south of Tokoroa, was purchased by the NZR in September 1946.

This section reopened on 9 June 1947 under the control of the Public Works Department using steam locomotives purchased from the TTT.

Around the same time plans were being made for a large pulp and paper mill to be constructed at Kinleith. Beginning in January 1949, the line underwent a major reconstruction, reducing grades from 1 in 44 to 1 in 70 and easing curves from 201-metre radius to 322 metre radius. The rebuilt line was handed over to NZR on 12 June 1950. This section is still(2024) being used for goods transport as part of the NZR's Kinleith Branch Line.

Wagons

 * 1 combination car for goods and passenger transport
 * 1 guard van
 * 25 flat wagon with side stakes