to the south-side of the Mikonui River however, in spite of a public pressure the earmarked funds were insufficient to construct the bridge and funding lapsed. Despite the failure of the railway to progress beyond Ross, a number of bush tramways fanned out from the railway to provide more convenient access to sawmills and other industrial activity. The most notable of these was the one owned by Stuart and Chapman Ltd, which extended south from Ross for about 20 km to the Lake Ianthe area. Stations The following stations are or were located on the Ross Branch (in brackets is the distance from Greymouth): Elmer Lane (1 km) Wharemoa (2.25 km), also known as Karoro Caltex private siding (3.03 km) Warburton Street (3.58 km) - just south of the station was an NZR siding to a shingle deposit South Beach (5.71 km), also known as Nelson Creek; junction with Stratford, Blair & Co. tramway Keith Road (7 km) Paroa (8.51 km) Gladstone (10.65 km), junction with Ogilvie & Co. tramway from 1910 to approximately 1959 Camerons (13.26 km), junction with New River Gold Dredging Co. tramway Kumara (17.38 km) Chesterfield (22.91 km) Awatuna (25.83 km), junction with Awatuna Sawmilling Co. tramway Arahura (30.75 km) Kaihinui (32.7 km) Houhou (34.87 km), also spelt Hoho, junction with tramways of Baxter Bros. and J. C. Malfroy & Co. Seaview (36.55 km) Hokitika (38.45 km), private 1.4 km siding to Westland Milk Products factory Takutai (41.47 km), junction with Perry, Hegan & Co. tramway Mananui (45.49 km), junction with McCallum & Co. tramway Lake Mahinapua (48.45 km) Ruatapu (49.86 km), junction with Butler Bros. tramway from 1906 to 1958 Papakamai (?? km) Ross (61.43 km), junction with Stuart & Chapman Ltd tramway from 1919 until 1959 End of rails (61.88 km) All private tramways that had junctions with the Ross Branch were closed by the end of the 1960s. Operation Although sometimes considered to be part of the Midland Line, the Ross Branch was almost wholly operated as a separate route from Greymouth. The 1906 timetable showed 2 or 3 passenger trains a day. Locomotive depots were established in both Ross and Hokitika, and when the Otira Tunnel linking the West Coast to Canterbury opened in 1923, the section to Hokitika began to increase in importance. Carriages from the Christchurch-Greymouth express were attached to mixed trains and conveyed to Hokitika while the extension to