Rimutaka Incline Rimutaka Incline The Rimutaka Incline was a , gauge railway line on an average grade of 1-in-15 using the Fell system between Summit and Cross Creek stations on the original Wairarapa Line in the Wairarapa district of New Zealand. The term "Rimutaka Incline" is sometimes used incorrectly to refer to other parts or all of the closed and deviated section of the Wairarapa Line between Upper Hutt and Speedy’s Crossing, near Featherston. The incline formation is now part of the Remutaka Rail Trail. The construction of a railway from Wellington to Masterton was authorised in the Railways Act passed on
Beaminster Tunnel a white cross which can still be seen "in situ". The tunnel reduced the road's gradient from 1-in-6 (17%) to 1-in-10 (10%) and shortened it by a mile (1.6 km), as well as lowering its maximum elevation by . At the time of its opening, only a handful of road tunnels had been built in Britain; it pre-dates the construction of the first railway tunnels, and it is now the only pre-railway road tunnel in the country still in use. The tunnel was formally opened on 29 June 1832 with enthusiastic celebrations including a 21-gun salute fired from the top