Skip to main content

Rochfort, John

North Island Main Trunk Railway
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: Roads & RailsEra: 1900-1909DateCreated: 1908Pipitea Point StationWellingtonZip: 6011Country: New ZealandWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/North-Island-Main-Trunk-Railway/Creator: Rochfort, John

The North Island Main Trunk Railway permitted overland travel and development of the New Zealand hinterland. Built under challenging conditions and over difficult terrain, all cuts, fills, and tunneling were minimized by careful use of the topography and by innovative engineering. 

Over 30 miles south of Taumarunui, the North Island Main Trunk Railway climbs 2,086 feet to the edge of the great Waimarino Plateau. But over the last seven miles, an abrupt increase in altitude of over 700 feet posed an engineering challenge that led to the design of the famed Raurimu Spiral. 

YearAdded:
1997
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/SibleyHunter (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: Wellington Railway Station, part of the original North Island Main Trunk RailwayEra_date_from: 1908
Subscribe to Rochfort, John

Innovations

North Island Main Trunk Railway

The North Island Main Trunk Railway permitted overland travel and development of the New Zealand hinterland. Built under challenging conditions and over difficult terrain, all cuts, fills, and tunneling were minimized by careful use of the topography and by innovative engineering. 

Over…

Read More

We hope you enjoyed this essay.

Please support America's only magazine of the history of engineering and innovation, and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to Invention & Technology.

Donate

Stay informed - subscribe to our newsletter.
The subscriber's email address.