a high-priority public work and construction re-commenced on extending the line south towards Dunedin. Oxford Branch The Oxford Branch line was constructed to connect the town of Rangiora to agricultural areas to the west. The line originally connected with the Midland Line at Sheffield (Malvern) and was intended to have been the northern section of a proposed Canterbury Interior Line. The section between Sheffield and Oxford closed in 1930, with the remainder closed in 1959. Riccarton Racecourse Siding The Riccarton Racecourse Siding was a privately owned, long siding. It left the Main South Line just west of Sockburn Railway Station by curving north, then near the racecourse curved to the west to terminate within the racecourse grounds. It was constructed and owned by the Canterbury Jockey Club to boost attendance at their race meetings, and operated from 1877 to 1954. Southbridge Branch The Southbridge Branch was originally built to connect rich grain producing areas on the South Canterbury Plains with Christchurch and connected with the Main South Line in Christchurch at Hornby. Now, only a small portion of the line remains to serve industrial interests in the Hornby / Sockburn area of Christchurch and is known as the Hornby Industrial Line. Operations Up to the 1950s, much of the freight traffic in Canterbury involved services between rural areas and the major centres and ports. Manufactured imports were distributed mainly from Christchurch and Dunedin, with agricultural produce exported from Port Chalmers, Oamaru, Timaru and Lyttelton. The South Island Main Trunk connected the major centres to the branch lines rather than handling long-haul traffic. Since the 1950s, with the decline in the branch line network, the role of the South Island Main Trunk has changed with it now handling predominantly long-haul freight, a change brought about in part by the containerisation of freight handling and the inter-island ferries. Suburban and regional passenger services have operated to termini including Ferrymead, Lyttelton, Rolleston, Burnham, Whitecliffs, Springfield, Little River, Southbridge, Rangiora, and Ashburton. Some of these services were mixed trains, with both passenger carriages and goods wagons, and these generally operated where passenger trains could not be justified given the patronage. Such trains were operated to destinations including Little River, Southbridge and Springfield. The services to Lyttelton, Rangiora, and Ashburton were operated with locomotive-hauled passenger trains. From 1926 to 1934, an Edison battery-electric railcar operated passenger services between Christchurch and Little River. Occasional special or