Manawatu rail: Makerua Traditional Cache
Hidden : 4/17/2013
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

One of a series of simple, easy to find caches at railway stations in and around the Manawatu.

Welcome aboard the WMR service to Wellington! Last stop Tokomaru, next stop Shannon.

The Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company (WMR) decided to terminate their railway at Longburn, rather than at Foxton. This meant crossing the huge Makerua Swamp. The WMR actually purchased 20,000 acres of the swamp but did not have the resources to drain it, which would improve its value from 6s/acre to £10/acre. During WMR's time only parts of the swamp were successfully tamed. A major flax industry set up here, on the hill above the station was the Miranui Flax Mill, the largest in New Zealand (over 700 employees at its peak in 1926), and this station was placed to take their hemp and send it on to Wellington, Australia and England for making into rope and string products.

There is no longer any road access to where the station was, so here is the closest we can get to it. The station was 1500m north, towards Tokomaru (see the waypoint). For more on the mill see the geocache The Miranui Tramway (Horowhenua).

In July 1892 WMR ran a special speed trial over the 135km route between Wellington and Longburn, hauling a single passenger car and van. The trip was completed in 1 hour 58 minutes running time, an average speed of 68 kph. As the train crossed the Makerua Swamp it reached a peak speed of 103 kph. High speeds were rare on New Zealand railways, yet this performance was equal to that of some of the best, standard-gauge, English express trains of the era. Although the narrow-gauge speed record was subsequently beaten by locomotives in South Africa and Indonesia, the WMR’s achievement helped establish its reputation as a world-class railway.

Storms and flooding were a constant problem. Trains were thrown off the line during storms in 1916 and 1936. The road and rail line were under water during floods in 1895, 1902, 1920, 1925.



The WMR had to cross the 20,000 acre Makerua Swamp.


Derailment near Opiki turnoff, 1916

References:
Cassells, K.R.: "Uncommon Carrier", published by the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, 1993.
New Zealand History Online: "1892 Steam locomotive sets world speed record"
Envirohistory NZ: "The little engine that couldn’t: the Miranui tramway"
Wanganui Herald, 17 June 1902
Poverty Bay Herald, 5 August 1916
Manawatu Standard, 2 January 2010
Horowhenua Chronicle, 1 November 1920
NIWA Historic Weather Event Catalog

Additional Hints ()

Cbfg. Ab, gur bgure cbfg!

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

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