Reflections on Charming Creek

Reflections on Charming Creek

Card covers, 188 pages, A4 size, 77 B&W and 31 colour photographs, maps, diagrams and track plans.

Mills and Mines, Tramways and Walkways of a Pioneering West Coast Enclave

By Bill Prebble

ISBN 978-0-908573-87-5

The story of the most picturesque timber and coal tramway in New Zealand’s South Island. Morphing from an incline tramway to one hewn through the Ngakawau gorge, damp track, sharp curvature, and steep gradients combined with unbraked coal trucks made getting trains to the destination a challenge. The story of the men, this fledgling company and how it coped with the Depression, war years, successive bridge failures, and a riot, add intrigue into this fascinating operation. The 9km 1067mm gauge tramway was worked by Barclay, Ruston Hornsby, Simplex, Fordson, McCormick-Deering and converted portable engine locomotives. Its route is now a scenic walkway, with some equipment and parts of the tramway still in place