NO PADDLES REQUIRED UP THIS CREEK

Driving Creek Railway is just 3km out of Coromandel and attracts visitors from all over the world.  A unique and quirky narrow gauge railway set on a picturesque hillside of native forest and bush is more than sufficient to earn its popularity.  But the story behind its development is far more intriguing and engaging than just another tourist magnet.

The railway consist of 3km of narrow gauge track built on hilly scrub covered land.  It includes several bridges, a double-deck bridge, three short tunnels, two spirals and five reversing points on its climb up to the aptly named summit at Eyefull Tower which has panoramic views across the peninsula.

Station

Terracotta Tiled Tunnel

 Rima Reversing Point

The project was started in 1973 by Kiwi potter Barry Brickell and was intended for bringing clay down from the hills on his estate for use in the pottery and also to supply wood to fuel the kilns. Much of the line was hand-built by Barry himself.  Although he was originally a school science teacher, he had no formal engineering training;  he taught himself the skills needed to survey a route and lay the track.  For the structural elements such as the bridges he observed how pioneers in the coal and gold mining industries had solved similar problems.  Barry enjoyed the engineering challenge and continued to extend the railway purely for his own pleasure. It was only opened to the public in 1990 after some encouragement by his accountant and bank manager who had suggested that it would be beneficial to re-balance his finances at the time.

Double-Deck Bridge

The line and terminus at Eyefull Tower was completed in 2002.  And Barry has replanted much of the hillside with native Kauri trees to restore the site to how it was before land was cleared for farming by British settlers.

Eyefull Tower

We noticed that there was a certificate from New Zealand's professional engineering institution recognising Barry's skill and ingenuity in constructing the railway.  Barry is apparently 79 years young and although he has chosen a site alongside the track for his ashes, he says he has much more work to do yet.

A wonderful railway in a delightful setting; and what a great story too.