Background

The Thorndon - Johnsonville - Tawa line was opened in 1885 by the Wellington & Manawatu Railway Company (WMRC). In 1908 the line was purchased by the government. In 1937 the Tawa deviation was opened and Thorndon - Tawa was closed. In 1938 Wellington - Johnsonville re-opened as an electrified railway with automatic signalling.

Safeworking

When owned by the WMRC the line was operated under Open Section and Line Clear. In 1908 Tablet was installed, the sections being Thorndon - Ngaio and Ngaio - Johnsonville. From 1938 the line was worked under Single Line Automatic (SLA), with left hand running at crossing stations and automatic operation of points and signals. Uphill trains had priority. About 1998 Centralised Traffic Control (CTC) was installed, although usually operation is automatic.

Daily Operation

The Wellington - Johnsonville Railway is single track, with crossing stations at Wadestown, Ngaio and Khandallah. There are no passenger facilities at Wadestown. Operation of points and signals is usually automatic, although Train Control can operate them if required. Under automatic operation running is left hand.

The line can accomodate a maximum of four trains at a 13 minute headway. For many years four trains ran during the peaks. However, with a crossing at every crossing-point for every train, if one train had a problem everything came to a standstill, with no slack anywhere to help recovery of timekeeping. Therefore, some years ago one peak train in four was deleted - for example there are departures from Wellington at 0654, 0707, 0720, deleted, 0746, 0759, 0812, deleted.

Interesting features

An unusual feature is the use of Low-Speed lights to prove that the track is unoccupied, which is contrary to standard practice.

At Wadestown a train-stop trips down trains if the speed exceeds 25kph.

Wadestown and Khandallah have both searchlight and three-lens signals. The three-lens type were installed when CTC was commissioned.

Operating the branch in 1953

This precis of an article in the August 1953 edition of the Railway Staff Bulletin describes the operation of the Johnsonville Line in detail.

Signalling History

Johnsonville in 1917, 1938, 1960, June 1969, July 1969 and 1998.

Ngaio in 1924, 1938, 1969 and 1998.

Thorndon in 1928.

Khandallah in 1938, 1969 & 1998.

Wadestown in 1938, 1969 & 1998.

Raroa Stockyard Siding.

Mechanical Train Stops

Train Stops   at Ngaio, Khandallah and Wadestown are operated mechanically by a rod from the points motor. Other train-stops in the Wellington suburban area are electrically operated.

Photograph Gallery

A selection of photographs taken on the Johnsonville Line.

Tablet Working Tawa - Kaiwarra

Although it is not not part of the Johnsonville Branch I have included this interesting diagram showing signalling arrangements between Tawa and Kaiwarra in 1936. The diagram shows one of the temporary arrangements as the deviation was brought into use. The junction of the "Branch Line" at Tawa is also shown.

Special Locks And Keys

In 1913 the loop facing points and semaphore signals at Johnsonville were interlocked with special locks and keys. It is possible that these were Woods locks, although I do not have any evidence. The proposed installation was described in Train Advice 1913/12.

Diverging Routes

In 1969 NZR signal engineers seem to have changed the way they signalled loop exits. Then, in 1998, they used low-speed lights to prove a track unoccupied at loop entry, which is contrary to standard practice.

Described in my Signalling Diverging Routes - A Conundrum page.

What Does Yellow Mean?

On the Johnsonville Line a yellow on a "Distant" signal is ambiguous.

The proposed installation of Advance Caution will reduce the ambiguity.

Stopping On Green To Reduce Delays

Although it is not intuitive, there are situations on the Johnsonville Line where delays can be reduced by a train stopping on green and proceeding on yellow.

Eight-car Train

After a train failure an eight-car EMU ran on the Johnsonville Line. This caused an interesting signalling situation at Khandallah, where the unusually long train crossed a two-car set.

Signalling & Interlocking Circulars

A list of relevant Signalling & Interlocking circulars.

References

References

Local Instructions
Ngaio L26   July 1969. (206k)
Johnsonville L29   July 1969. (205k)