Southbridge Branch, New Zealand facts for kids

The Southbridge Branch was a railway line in New Zealand. It was like a smaller "branch" off a main railway line. This line was in the Canterbury area of the South Island. It ran trains from 1875 until 1967. Today, about five kilometers of the line are still used. This part is now called the Hornby Branch. It used to be known as the Hornby Industrial Line.

Building the Railway Line

Why Was the Southbridge Branch Built?

On November 2, 1870, the Canterbury local government decided to build a railway. This line would go from Rolleston to Southbridge. The area around Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora was very important for growing grain. In the late 1860s, this region produced almost a quarter of all the wheat in New Zealand. A railway would help move these crops.

How the Construction Started

By April 1872, the plan changed. The railway would now connect to the Main South Line in Hornby. Workers then started preparing the ground for the tracks. This is called the formation.

Delays and Opening Dates

Building the line faced some problems. There were money troubles and delays in getting materials. But on April 26, 1875, the first part of the line opened. It went to Springston and was about 17.74 kilometers long. A few months later, on July 13, 1875, the rest of the line opened to Southbridge. The whole branch line was then about 41.02 kilometers long. In 1880, another smaller line started being built. This was the Little River Branch, which connected from Lincoln.

Stations Along the Line

The Southbridge Branch had several stations. Here is a list of them, showing how far they were from the start of the line in Hornby:

• Prebbleton (5 km)
• Ladbrooks (9 km)
• Lincoln (13 km) – This was where the Little River Branch connected.
• Springston (18 km)
• Goulds Road (20 km)
• Ellesmere (24 km)
• Lake Road (26 km)
• Irwell (29 km)
• Doyleston (32 km)
• Leeston (34 km)
• Hills Road (36 km)
• Southbridge (41 km)

How the Railway Operated

Early Train Services

When the line first opened, a passenger train ran once a day between Christchurch and Lincoln. But this passenger service stopped before 1880. After that, the line mostly used "mixed" trains. These trains carried both goods and passengers. In 1914, these mixed trains ran twice a day. There was also a daily train just for goods. Southbridge even had a place to repair and store trains, called a locomotive depot.

Peak Times and Challenges

The number of passengers reached its highest point in 1924. About 34,000 people rode the trains that year. Special picnic trains to Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora were also very popular. However, more and more people started using road transport, like cars and trucks. This meant fewer people and goods used the railway. By the late 1920s, the line was losing money.

Changes and Closure

In 1930, the train repair shop in Southbridge closed. All trains then started running directly from Christchurch. This change actually helped the line for a short time, and it made a profit in 1938. But in 1939, the Southbridge Branch started losing money again. It never made a profit after that.

After World War II, there were shortages and other money problems. Because of this, passenger services on the line stopped on April 12, 1951. After that, freight trains only needed to run three or four times a week. As less and less traffic used the line, the decision was made to close parts of it.

On June 30, 1962, the 28-kilometer section between Lincoln and Southbridge closed. The part of the line from Hornby to Lincoln was then renamed the Hornby Industrial Line. This line was shortened to Prebbleton station on December 1, 1967. It was cut back even further in 1986, to just north of the Springs Road crossing.

The Southbridge Branch Today

Even though the railway line is mostly closed, you can still find parts of it. The path where the tracks used to be, called the formation, can still be seen along much of the old route. Sometimes it disappears, partly because the flat land didn't need a lot of digging or building.

You can also find old bridges and culverts (tunnels for water) along the way. For example, near Lincoln, there's a footbridge that uses parts of the old railway bridge. Doyleston has some of the best remaining pieces. The old station site there still has its goods shed, a loading area, and the passenger platform. Goods sheds can also be found in Leeston (though it was removed in October 2020) and Springston. The Springston shed is now used as a workshop. In Ellesmere, you can see concrete foundations. In Irwell, you might find old rails scattered around the station site or even stuck in a road near an old factory. In Southbridge, parts of the line, like rails and a loading dock, are still visible inside a business called Hamilton Seeds.

A group called the Christchurch Little River Rail Trail Trust is building a walking and cycling path. This path will go from Christchurch to Little River. In November 2006, they opened the section from Prebbleton to Lincoln. This part runs next to the railway corridor on Springs Road. In September 2009, the Trust opened the section from Hornby to Prebbleton. This part uses the old railway path between Marshs Road and Springs Road. As of November 2009, a new housing area is being built on the old railway yard at Prebbleton. Some of the street names there are even related to railways!