Nouméa-Païta railway
| Nouméa-Païta railway | |
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Former station platform of Païta
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| Overview | |
| Status | Suppressed |
| Locale |  New Caledonia |
| Termini | Nouméa Païta |
| Stations | 8 |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1904 |
| Closed | 1940 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 29 km (18 mi) |
| Track gauge | 3 ft (914 mm) |
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Locomotive Marguerite
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The Nouméa-Païta railway was the only railway line serving the New Caledonia. It was opened in December 1914 between Nouméa, the capital, and Païta. The 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge tracks of the railway traveled the 29 kilometers (18 mi) between the two cities in one hour and fifteen minutes.
History
The idea of a railway connecting Nouméa to Bourail was first approved[by whom?] in 1884 with Nouméa linked to Dumbéa in 1904.[1]
The Nouméa-Païta railway closed on 1 January 1940 due to its low ridership.
In April 1942 the American 790th Railway Transportation Company reopened the line to operate railways for the Allied presence on New Caledonia.[2][3][4]
Subsequently[when?] the line was abandoned and demolished. The remains of the former railway station of Païta remain in the north of the town. The loading platform and the ramp are well-preserved and the foundations of various buildings are still visible. A small locomotive, nicknamed Marguerite, is preserved on the former railway ground. The locomotive was used until 1940.[5] The gauge, however, was dismantled and the former railway track is no longer visible.
Route
The line counted 8 stations within 3 municipalities of the Southern Province. It started in Nouméa city centre and counted a secondary station in the ward (Grand Quartier) of Riviére Salée.[6] It crossed the villages of Auteuil and Col de Tonghoué before to enter in Dumbéa. After, the line crossed the village of Nondoué and Mount Mou, referred to the nearby mountain,[7] few km before the last station, Païta. It counted a pair of tunnels (Tunnel de Tonghoué and Tunnel de l'Erambéré) and 3 bridges over the rivers La Ouanéoué, La Dumbéa[8] and Karikouié.
Gallery
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PaitaLocomotive.jpg
Locomotive Marguerite
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PaitaGare5.jpg
Former station of Païta
References
- ↑ Infos on newcaledonia.co.nz
- ↑ "Military railway of New Caledonia" (Google Books)
- ↑ Infos on angelfire.com
- ↑ "The Transportation Corps" (Google Books)
- ↑ Pierre Grundmann: Nouvelle Calédonie, p. 110. Paris 2012
- ↑ (French) See also: fr:Quartiers de Nouméa
- ↑ Mont Mou on peakery.com
- ↑ Rests of the rail bridge over La Dumbéa on Panoramio
External links
Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
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History of rail transport in Oceania
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- Pages with broken file links
- Articles with French-language external links
- Articles that mention track gauge 914 mm
- Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from June 2014
- Vague or ambiguous time from June 2014
- France articles missing geocoordinate data
- Rail transport in New Caledonia
- 3 ft gauge railways in New Caledonia
- History of New Caledonia
- 20th century in New Caledonia
- Railway lines opened in 1904
- Railway lines closed in 1940
