The Ross Branch, officially known as the Hokitika Line since 2011, and previously as the Hokitika Industrial Line, is a branch line railway that forms part of New Zealand's national rail network. It is located in the Westland District of the South Island's West Coast region and opened to Hokitika in 1893. A further extension to Ross operated from 1909 until 1980.
Construction
The first line opened in the region was a bush tramway built to a gauge of 1,219mm (4 ft). It ran from Greymouth south to Paroa and opened in 1867. Ten years later, an extension inland to Kumara was opened, with the Taramakau River crossed by a cage suspended from a wire. Around this time, plans were formulated to replace the tramway with a railway and link Greymouth and Hokitika. Work began in 1879, but the economic conditions of the Long Depression brought construction to a halt the next year with only 5 km of track laid. Furthermore, the residents of Kumara, led by future Prime Minister Richard Seddon, were indignant that the railway was going to take a more coastal route than the tramway and thus bypass their town. In 1886, work restarted, and the continued attempts from Kumara residents to have the line's route changed failed to force an alteration to the plans. Work progressed steadily over the next few years, and on 18 December 1893, the complete line from Hokitika to Greymouth opened.
To the south of Hokitika was a thickly wooded country, and with the prospect of significant logging traffic, surveys for an extension of the railway were undertaken. In 1901, the government approved the construction of the extension, and preliminary work was well underway by August 1902. The first section, from Hokitika to Ruatapu, was opened on 9 November 1906, and the full line to Ross was completed on 1 April 1909.
Further expansion
Even before the line had been built, it was intended to be part of a main-trunk line from Nelson to Dunedin. This would involve linking Ross to the Otago Central Railway (which at the time terminated in Omakau) via the Haast Pass and Wānaka, and this proposal was viewed favourably by Richard Seddon during his Prime Ministership in the early 20th century as a tourist route.
Local demand for expansion of the line further south to Waitaha saw authorisation made for an extension of the line from Ross to the south-side of the Mikonui River however, in spite of a public pressure the earmarked funds were insufficient to construct the bridge and funding lapsed.
Despite the failure of the railway to progress beyond Ross, a number of bush tramways fanned out from the railway to provide more convenient access to sawmills and other industrial activity. The most notable of these was the one owned by Stuart and Chapman Ltd, which extended south from Ross for about 20 km to the Lake Ianthe area.
Stations
The following stations are or were located on the Ross Branch (in brackets is the distance from Greymouth):
Elmer Lane (1 km) Wharemoa (2.25 km), also known as Karoro Caltex private siding (3.03 km) Warburton Street (3.58 km) - just south of the station was an NZR siding to a shingle deposit South Beach (5.71 km), also known as Nelson Creek; junction with Stratford, Blair & Co. tramway Keith Road (7 km) Paroa (8.51 km) Gladstone (10.65 km), junction with Ogilvie & Co. tramway from 1910 to approximately 1959 Camerons (13.26 km), junction with New River Gold Dredging Co. tramway Kumara (17.38 km) Chesterfield (22.91 km) Awatuna (25.83 km), junction with Awatuna Sawmilling Co. tramway Arahura (30.75 km) Kaihinui (32.7 km) Houhou (34.87 km), also spelt Hoho, junction with tramways of Baxter Bros. and J. C. Malfroy & Co. Seaview (36.55 km) Hokitika (38.45 km), private 1.4 km siding to Westland Milk Products factory Takutai (41.47 km), junction with Perry, Hegan & Co. tramway Mananui (45.49 km), junction with McCallum & Co. tramway Lake Mahinapua (48.45 km) Ruatapu (49.86 km), junction with Butler Bros. tramway from 1906 to 1958 Papakamai (?? km) Ross (61.43 km), junction with Stuart & Chapman Ltd tramway from 1919 until 1959 End of rails (61.88 km)
All private tramways that had junctions with the Ross Branch were closed by the end of the 1960s.