328:
40:
315:. The government considered halting construction in World War I, but the Imperial Government requested that work should continue in case the German navy blockaded the West Coast ports used for coal shipment. The breakthrough was on 20 July 1918, but concrete lining took a further three years, and then two more years before the tunnel opened. There were eight fatalities during construction. Its opening was marked by the
310:
A contract to build the tunnel in five years was let to the engineering firm of John McLean and Sons who started at the Otira end in 1908, using the "drill and blast" method. With progress difficult and slow McLeans asked to be relieved from the contract in 1912, and were financially ruined (the
394:
in the United States of
America, which was also once electrified. After a train enters the tunnel from the Otira end the door closes off the entrance, and a large fan extracts the fumes behind the train. Once the fumes have been extracted, the door is reopened. Because of the fumes, the
457:"The British and Intercolonial Exhibition, Hokitika, Westland, New Zealand, December 15th, 1923 to February 2nd, 1924 : to celebrate the opening of the East and West Coast railway, to commemorate the diamond jubilee of the Province of Westland, 1864-1924. - Version details - Trove"
382:
locomotives instead of electric locomotives. While the trials were unsuccessful, it was found in trials held in 1991 that upgrading the DX locomotives with new air intakes and putting extraction fans on the Otira end of the tunnel could allow for the replacement of the electrification.
306:
which was expensive to operate. After taking over the line the government decided in 1900 on a 10 km long straight tunnel with a gradient of 1 in 37, but after expert advice opted two years later for an 8.55 km tunnel at the slightly steeper gradient of 1 in 33.
386:
Because of the increasing age of the electrification and the availability of upgraded DX class diesel locomotives, the electrification was decommissioned in 1997 and the equipment removed. This marked the end of electrification in the South Island.
335:
The tunnel dimensions were 4.72 metres (15 ft 6 in) high and 4.27 metres (14 ft 0 in) wide at rail level, increasing to 4.57 metres (15 ft 0 in) at the widest point. Because of its length and gradient, gases such as
293:
investigated alternatives to a long tunnel, but a line over the pass with gradients of 1 in 50 on both sides was not practical. Other options for a line over the pass were a cable-hauled system or a line of 1 in 15 gradient using either the
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from Arthur's Pass to Otira – a length of over 8.5 kilometres (5.3 mi). The gradient is mainly 1 in 33, and the Otira end of the tunnel is over 250 m (820 ft) lower than the Arthur's Pass end.
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could easily build up, potentially making the tunnel both unhealthy for the train's occupants and unworkable with steam engines. Thus, the tunnel was
311:
tunnel cost over twice the contract price of £599,794 ($ 1,200,000). The government could find no other tenderers, so the work was taken over by the
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using the Abt system (or even an S-shaped tunnel under Mount
Rolleston). However, the government did not favour the Fell system as used on the
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Construction commenced in 1907 and a "breakthrough" celebration was held on 21 August 1918 by the
Minister of Public Works Sir
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282:. When the tunnel opened on 4 August 1923, it was the seventh longest tunnel in the world and the longest in the
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To overcome the fume problem, a combination of a door and fans are used, similar to that used in the
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631:"Prime Minister Massey feeding money to the tunnel (a hostile Auckland cartoon)"
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626:, illustrated description of the construction and opening of the Otira Tunnel
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643:"Crumbs from Otira's Table (another hostile Auckland cartoon)"
667:"Report of the natural features of the Arthur's Pass tunnel"
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Transport buildings and structures in the West Coast Region
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Transport buildings and structures in the
Canterbury Region
669:. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 1919.
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TranzAlpine and Otira Tunnel from Arthur's Pass station.
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until 1941 when it was replaced by a connection to the
563:. Templeton, Christchurch: Hilton Press. p. 29.
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The
Midland Line: New Zealand's Trans-Alpine Railway
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561:Journey to the Pass: Memories of the Midland Line
606:Inside Compressor House used during construction
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403:are closed for the trip through the tunnel.
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559:Wright, Stephen; Wright, Matthew (2009).
496:". Southern Press. May 1997. p. 216.
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44:Otira Tunnel during construction, ca 1910
611:View of Colour Light signals Otira, 1926
951:Rail transport in the Canterbury Region
946:Rail transport in the West Coast Region
544:. Johnsonville, Wellington: IPL Books.
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655:"Electrified lines outside the tunnel"
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509:"Cross-country call of the whitebait"
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317:British and Intercolonial Exhibition
616:Winchester, Clarence, ed. (1938),
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618:"British Empire's longest tunnel"
596:View of the Power House and Otira
200:The Great Journeys of New Zealand
601:View approaching Otira at 40 mph
507:Gibson, Anne (20 January 2007).
370:. The locomotives used were the
362:was built near Otira to provide
586:Otira steam power station, 1928
936:Railway tunnels in New Zealand
540:Churchman, Geoffrey B (1988).
378:. In 1988, trials began using
1:
879:Arthur Dudley Dobson Memorial
27:Railway tunnel In New Zealand
622:Wonders of World Engineering
966:Arthur's Pass National Park
705:Arthur's Pass National Park
591:Photo of Power House, Otira
249:is a railway tunnel on the
85:North (West coast) portal:
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872:Settlements and structures
117:East (Canterbury) portal:
941:Tunnels completed in 1923
37:
360:coal-fired power station
257:of New Zealand, between
313:Public Works Department
291:Midland Railway Company
209:Single bore rail tunnel
647:The New Zealand Herald
635:The New Zealand Herald
514:The New Zealand Herald
332:
374:, then from 1968 the
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265:. It runs under the
136:42.9392°S 171.5630°E
104:42.8625°S 171.5487°E
446:, p. 22,24,25.
132: /
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34:
624:, pp. 683–687
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141:-42.9392; 171.5630
109:-42.8625; 171.5487
931:Westland District
918:
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858:Waimakariri River
570:978-0-473-14641-2
236:
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18:Otira rail tunnel
16:(Redirected from
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661:. 1 August 1923.
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637:. 1 August 1913.
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843:Rolleston River
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788:Anti Crow River
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744:Mountain passes
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735:Mount Rolleston
730:Mount Murchison
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533:Further reading
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649:. 6 June 1914.
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580:External links
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75:, New Zealand
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69:Southern Alps
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894:Otira Tunnel
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823:Mingha River
818:Hawdon River
793:Bealey River
772:Temple Basin
659:Evening Post
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518:. Retrieved
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460:. Retrieved
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348:with a 1500
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309:
300:rack railway
288:
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274:Construction
255:South Island
251:Midland Line
247:Otira Tunnel
246:
244:
73:South Island
59:Midland Line
33:Otira Tunnel
29:
863:White River
833:Ōtira River
756:Harper Pass
444:Wright 2009
432:Wright 2009
420:Wright 2009
397:TranzAlpine
364:electricity
346:electrified
296:Fell system
228:Track gauge
219:Line length
139: /
127:171°33′47″E
107: /
95:171°32′55″E
81:Coordinates
925:Categories
803:Crow River
765:Ski fields
520:1 November
407:References
358:. A small
173:Canterbury
160:West Coast
124:42°56′21″S
92:42°51′45″S
798:Cox River
713:Mountains
214:Technical
206:Character
179:Operation
380:DX class
376:EA class
372:EO class
196:KiwiRail
192:Operator
65:Location
50:Overview
462:16 June
253:in the
903:Events
781:Rivers
567:
548:
222:8566 m
184:Opened
889:Otira
494:Rails
298:or a
259:Otira
156:Otira
152:Start
565:ISBN
546:ISBN
522:2011
464:2020
340:and
289:The
261:and
245:The
55:Line
399:'s
240:Map
166:End
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484:^
353:DC
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286:.
198:,
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683:v
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554:.
524:.
492:"
466:.
350:V
20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
