Subscribe to download
Kakariki Gorge

The Kakariki Gorge is set in the North Island of New Zealand (anywhere high altitude or with a large river that has a horseshoe bend in it, with lots of native bush as well). The name Kakariki comes from the Maori word for green, as the scenery here is particularly green. This is caused by the frequent low cloud and regular mist/rainfall.

Operations:
Trains on the gorge are mostly DL hauled, occasionally with a DC or DF tagging along as well.
Trains going up the gorge, from Ward, are empty, with either an empty flatbed or empty log consist with a couple of steel export cars on the front or rear.
Trains going down the gorge, to Ward, are just full versions of the above consists.
The layout is completely set up for AI, with speed restrictions, whistle posts and correct signaling in place.

Story:
The Kakariki Gorge layout is made with a story in mind as well, which I shall explain starting from the spawn point (the bottom) following the route the railway takes to the top.

The layout starts at a small railway town called Ward. Once very popular for the passenger trains that used to stop at its station for the now demolished tearoom, the station is now very derelict with only the original ticket office and bathrooms remaining. Because no more trains stop there, and the freight yard has been turned into a storage spot for ex-Auckland suburban SD stock, the town itself has now dwindled to just a few streets with houses, a school and a few shops. At the very far end of Ward, just by the staging yard, there are a few pillars extending out into the river. These will be the supports for a new bridge bypassing the entire gorge, which will reduce journey times and help make the trip safer and more appealing to customers.
When making this layout, I tried to take inspiration from as many New Zealand places as possible, and Ward is no exception. The station and yard has parts of Taumaranui and Taihape in them, with the "disused station/yard" theme coming from both, and the storage of old trains coming from Taumaranui.

Moving on from ward, the train passes over a small waterfall and rounds a few bends before arriving at the first major bridge on the route. Built in the early 1900s, this steel and wood viaduct crosses the river below. If the line had been built any later, this bridge probably would not have been built, due to settlers starting a forestry business on the original "cheap" plan for the route.
This bridge was based off of the many viaduct found on the North Island Main Trunk in the Central North Island

Crossing over a pond, the line straightens out properly, and you may be able to get some good views of the river to the left before plunging into the only tunnel on the route. This tunnel was made when the NZGR had just received a generous grant from the government, so instead of going around the mountain, the railways decided plow right through it.
This tunnel is based off of the Otira tunnel on the Midland lime in the South Island.

Emerging from the tunnel, the train is faced with a 20kph speed limit as it crosses one of the few remaining shared road/rail bridges in New Zealand. Under the concrete bridge, the river rages below.
This section was based off of the road/rail bridge on the Manawatu Gorge, which unfortunately is used just rail traffic now.

And that's it: you round the bend and you're at the staging yard, the end of the line, where once again you will see construction of the new bridge.

As always, please leave feedback, I'm always interested to here what people think of my layouts.