Foxton96
ARA No. 115 operating in Foxton, March 1999
A scene long since consigned to history in Foxton when Foxton visitor Jeff Wien from the US captured the Park Royal bodied Queen St. shuttle trolleybus travelling north along Harbour St. from the Purcell St. reverser.
No. 115 returned to MOTAT in Auckland in July 2003, and this section of the Foxton museum trolleybus system along Harbour St. South was removed in December 2010.
FOXTON TROLLEYBUS LINES COMING DOWN
By Paul Williams, Horowhenua Chronicle, March 10, 2023
Horowhenua District Council is to proceed with the removal of the overhead trolleybus lines in Foxton.
The Horowhenua District Council (HDC) will begin to dismantle the trolleybus lines in Foxton after an earlier order was reinforced in Levin District Court last week [on 3/3/2023].
Sections of the bus line and poles had been deemed a public health hazard. For the last five years, HDC had sought to have the entire network dismantled in the interest of public safety.
HDC had initially applied for orders from the District Court requiring the owners of the trolley bus lines to remove the system after a notice served under the Government Roading Powers Act 1989 was ignored.
Judge Christopher Tuohy had ordered that the entire trolleybus loop be removed by its owners within two months at an earlier hearing at Levin District Court in June, 2022.
When the matter was revisited again on Friday, Judge Tuohy said no court order was required for HDC to start dismantling the trolleybus network.
HDC could seek reimbursement for costs incurred up until the date of the second hearing, and it would be entitled to pursue recovery of that cost as a debt, he said.
The network was the responsibility of Wellington man Malcolm Little, who up until now had managed to stall the dismantling work, and had sought legal advice.
Little said he still wanted to see trolleybuses return to Foxton and continue a venture that was started by his late parents, Ian and Christina Little, in the late 1980s. He was now considering taking the matter to the High Court.
Little Sr established the Foxton Trolleybus Museum. He got a fleet of eight old buses going and created a circuit around the Wharf Street square in 1988, with help from local authorities. Trolleybuses were a familiar sight in Foxton for many years.
Ian Little died in July 2008 aged 76. Christina Little died in 2012, aged 65. The last time a trolleybus travelled its route in Foxton was in July 2016.
The issue first came to light with the construction and reconfiguration of the new carriageway on Main Street in 2017 at the corner of Wharf and Harbour Streets as part of the development of Te Awahou Cultural Park in Foxton.
HDC said it was proceeding with the removal as quickly as possible, citing the hazard the system presents to the public. It had asked electricity lines company Electra to provide an estimate and timeframe for the removal, which it expected to receive early next week.
Section 319 of the Local Government Act 1974 provides that the council has the power to construct, repair and upgrade all roads, which included provision for the removal of anything that posed a danger to people.
Under the Local Government Act 2002, it could undertake work that an owner or occupier of premises failed to do, despite being directed to do so.
UPDATE:
As at March 17, 2023, the overhead of the Foxton trolleybus loop around streets of the township had all been removed by Electra under the direction of the Horowhenua District Council. The removal, undertaken over 4 days, started on March 14th.
This outcome now sees the Ferrymead Heritage Park in Christchurch as the sole location where preserved trolleybuses can be still be viewed in operation in NZ. The preserved trolleybuses at the Ferrymead Heritage Park generally operate on the first Sunday of every month.
ARA No. 115 operating in Foxton, March 1999
A scene long since consigned to history in Foxton when Foxton visitor Jeff Wien from the US captured the Park Royal bodied Queen St. shuttle trolleybus travelling north along Harbour St. from the Purcell St. reverser.
No. 115 returned to MOTAT in Auckland in July 2003, and this section of the Foxton museum trolleybus system along Harbour St. South was removed in December 2010.
FOXTON TROLLEYBUS LINES COMING DOWN
By Paul Williams, Horowhenua Chronicle, March 10, 2023
Horowhenua District Council is to proceed with the removal of the overhead trolleybus lines in Foxton.
The Horowhenua District Council (HDC) will begin to dismantle the trolleybus lines in Foxton after an earlier order was reinforced in Levin District Court last week [on 3/3/2023].
Sections of the bus line and poles had been deemed a public health hazard. For the last five years, HDC had sought to have the entire network dismantled in the interest of public safety.
HDC had initially applied for orders from the District Court requiring the owners of the trolley bus lines to remove the system after a notice served under the Government Roading Powers Act 1989 was ignored.
Judge Christopher Tuohy had ordered that the entire trolleybus loop be removed by its owners within two months at an earlier hearing at Levin District Court in June, 2022.
When the matter was revisited again on Friday, Judge Tuohy said no court order was required for HDC to start dismantling the trolleybus network.
HDC could seek reimbursement for costs incurred up until the date of the second hearing, and it would be entitled to pursue recovery of that cost as a debt, he said.
The network was the responsibility of Wellington man Malcolm Little, who up until now had managed to stall the dismantling work, and had sought legal advice.
Little said he still wanted to see trolleybuses return to Foxton and continue a venture that was started by his late parents, Ian and Christina Little, in the late 1980s. He was now considering taking the matter to the High Court.
Little Sr established the Foxton Trolleybus Museum. He got a fleet of eight old buses going and created a circuit around the Wharf Street square in 1988, with help from local authorities. Trolleybuses were a familiar sight in Foxton for many years.
Ian Little died in July 2008 aged 76. Christina Little died in 2012, aged 65. The last time a trolleybus travelled its route in Foxton was in July 2016.
The issue first came to light with the construction and reconfiguration of the new carriageway on Main Street in 2017 at the corner of Wharf and Harbour Streets as part of the development of Te Awahou Cultural Park in Foxton.
HDC said it was proceeding with the removal as quickly as possible, citing the hazard the system presents to the public. It had asked electricity lines company Electra to provide an estimate and timeframe for the removal, which it expected to receive early next week.
Section 319 of the Local Government Act 1974 provides that the council has the power to construct, repair and upgrade all roads, which included provision for the removal of anything that posed a danger to people.
Under the Local Government Act 2002, it could undertake work that an owner or occupier of premises failed to do, despite being directed to do so.
UPDATE:
As at March 17, 2023, the overhead of the Foxton trolleybus loop around streets of the township had all been removed by Electra under the direction of the Horowhenua District Council. The removal, undertaken over 4 days, started on March 14th.
This outcome now sees the Ferrymead Heritage Park in Christchurch as the sole location where preserved trolleybuses can be still be viewed in operation in NZ. The preserved trolleybuses at the Ferrymead Heritage Park generally operate on the first Sunday of every month.