Talk:Taupo Totara Timber Railway/Archives/2024/August

Proposed sale to NZR

The 1911 proposal to extend the TTT Railway to Taupo followed a board shake-up in 1907. Two of the original promoters, Tudor Atkinson and James Fulton, resigned from the board and Atkinson resigned his position as General Manager. F.G. Dalziell took over as chairman. Dalziell promoted the extension, which was discussed by a Parliamentary Committee in late 1911 (AJHR1911). Fulton's concept of light "contour" railways reflected his enthusiasm for "opening up the country". A 1902 circular to shareholders mentioned the possibility of extending the railway to Taupo. The circular reproduced a report from James McKerrow, which suggested that the NZR could be persuaded to reinstate the Putaruru Lichfield line, and that the TTT should haul government rolling stock over its line to a mill at Ongaroto. The original business was structured as a pair of companies. The Wellington Industrial Development Company, and the Taupo Totara Timber Company Limited. Personal communication suggests the WID's role was to operate the railway. Potential clientele included the "Selwyn Settlement" on land at Lichfield acquired from the Thames Valley Land Company. Dalziell consolidated the two companies into a new company (The Taupo Totara Timber Co, not "Company") in 1913. The company planned to float a second company called the "Taupo Railway Company", which would hold the railway as authorised in the 1914 legislation. The railway would remain in private ownership, and the TTT would receive shares to the value of the existing line. In effect, the railway would become a partly owned subsidiary, with Taupo would not have sold the TTT's shareholding if the extended railway proved to be profitable. In light of this situation, the sentence, "This reflected the company's ultimate intention to sell the line to NZR" appears to speculate on the motivation of the original directors. Is there hard evidence that the TTT directors set out to build a railway they could sell to the Government? The circular to shareholders suggests an opportunity to develop a private railway serving Taupo, alongside the operation of the sawmilling company. It is impossible to know the true motivations of the TTT directors. I have deleted the sentence. Later we can add factual information the railway and its operations. Kbwc56 (talk) 23:15, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

Proposed article on TTT Co

The Taupo Totara Timber Company was, in its day, a significant contributor to the NZ building industry. It seems to me that an article on the company would be a useful addition to Wikipedia. I am putting together an article over at http://en.wiki.x.io/wiki/User:Kbwc56/sandbox/TTT-draft Kbwc56 (talk) 00:58, 17 August 2024 (UTC)