The tramway with a track gauge of was used from approximately 1910 to the mid 1960s. Approval for tramway access to Taringamutu station was granted to Taringamutu Sawmilling Co in 1905. The tramway probably began operating in mid 1908, after Taringamutu Totara Sawmills Ltd had been floated in 1907 to raise £60,000 in capital for building two more sawmills and completing the tramway. Taringamotu Totara Sawmills' private siding right began on 1 January 1909. After 1956 it shuttled just between Taringamotu railway station on the North Island Main Trunk and the Taringamotu Totara Sawmill Company, which operated from 1907 to 1956.Carolyn M. King, D. John Gaukrodger and Neville A. Ritchie: The Drama of Conservation: The History of Pureora Forest, New Zealand. Springer, 2015, p. 103. It was sufficiently well constructed that the NZR would allow their wagons to be used on the tram. For a long time the Railway Enthusiasts Society of Auckland's excursion trains stopped on several occasions at the siding to take a ride on the tram. The former route can still be determined up to the mill, but not beyond.Wheel5800: Taringamotu tram. Photos of 24 February 2011 on Flickr. Retrieved on 8 May 2018.
