seven tonnes of freight railed out. Outram was very adequately served by road transportation and the railway was overdue for maintenance - it was clear it would not be beneficial to keep it open any longer. Accordingly, the line was closed to all traffic on 5 December 1953. Today It is typical for both nature and human activity to reduce or wholly destroy traces of closed railway lines, and little remains of the Outram Branch. In Outram itself, the goods shed has been incorporated as part of a road transportation company's depot, and outside of the town, across the Taieri River, School Road uses the old route of the railway for nearly three kilometres. Concrete abutments at the location of a long-gone bridge over a small creek are still present, as are some traces of the line's formation at points along its former route, and the site of the Dukes Road station still possesses its concrete platform. References Citations Bibliography Hermann, Bruce J; South Island Branch Lines p 27 (1997, New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society, Wellington) Railway lines in New Zealand Transport in Otago Mosgiel Railway lines opened in 1877 Railway lines closed in 1953 Closed railway lines in New Zealand 1877 establishments in New Zealand