Early European settlers drove sheep around the shoreline rather than attempt to cross the Remutaka Range between Wellington and Wairarapa. When a railway was built over the mountains in the 1870s, the steep gradient on the Wairarapa side required Fell engines, which have extra horizontal wheels on a central rail. Fell engines were used on the line until a 9-kilometre tunnel opened in 1955.
Listen to a Roadside Story about the Remutakas. Roadside Stories is a series of audio guides to places around New Zealand.
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YouTube: Manatu Taonga's channel
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