The Rotorua Rail Mystery

The Rotorua Rail Mystery

In the bushes of Rotorua, embedded in the forest, is a stone memorial. People have always wondered why it was there and how it got there.

It all started when rail engineers Henry Henry and William Williams found a lush forest full of manuka trees near Rotorua. The two decided to make a railway line to the forest.

First, they had to negotiate about the route. Frank Franks’s idea was to extend the route of the PNGL (Palmerston North to Gisborne Line) to Rotorua. But that was too expensive. So the route that was chosen was won by NZR (New Zealand Rail) CEO Jaxon Jackson for a route going off the main trunk line at Hamilton and going to Rotorua at Morrinsville. However, on the construction of a viaduct, the work train fell off the bridge and into the forest below.

But how did it fall off?  Workers said that it ‘drove off,’ others believe it just blew off because they forgot to put on the brakes. One claimed he saw someone in the cab. He even took a picture for proof.

No one owned up to driving someone to suicide. It still remains a mystery, but it was believed to be Frank Franks, because his route wasn’t picked.

Once the train wreck was cleared, a memorial was built at the spot.

By AP 10 years old