Rimutaka Incline

From 1878 until the 1955 opening of the Rimutaka Tunnel, the railway between Wellington and Featherston featured one of New Zealand's steepest sections of rail: the Rimutaka Incline. This documentary explores the history of the incline, and interviews those who worked on the rails. The incline used the unusual Fell locomotive system to accommodate the steep incline and descent. Only 24 Fell locomotives are known to have been built — six of which operated on the Rimutaka. The H199, which features in this documentary, is the last remaining in the world. It is currently housed at Featherston's Fell Locomotive Museum.

Cross Creek Loco Depot was more than just a shed where H Class Fell Engines lived. Here, men kept locomotives alive by sheer naked cunning, for the Rimutaka Incline was always a place of torture.

– Narrator

Key Cast & Crew

David Sims

Director, Writer, Editor

Hugh Macdonald

Producer

Ian Johnstone

Narrator

Kit Rollings

Sound Design

Bruce Dunn

Camera