Fairlie Branch

The Fairlie Branch (also known as the Eversley Branch) was a branch line railway in southern Canterbury which formed part of New Zealand's national railway network. Construction began in 1874, and at its farthest extent, it terminated just beyond Fairlie in Eversley. Its closure came in 1968, but a portion remains open in Pleasant Point as the Pleasant Point Museum and Railway.

Construction

Proposed in the early 1870s, the local government voted in favour of a branch line from Timaru to Pleasant Point in December 1872 and a construction contract was let in the following March. After a railway act approving the line was passed later in 1873, construction could commence, and it did so on 18 February 1874. The branch left the Main South Line in Washdyke, now a northern suburb of Timaru, and headed northwest towards Pleasant Point. Construction of this 14.42 km of railway proceeded without any notable difficulties, opening for service on 24 December 1875 - though trains had been able to run to Pleasant Point as early as two months previously. An extension followed swiftly, and the 27 km addition to Albury opened on 1 January 1877.