There have been four station sites at Longburn. From 1873 it was on the Foxton-Palmerston North tramway. When the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company (WMR) opened from 1885, a station was built to the south of the Foxton line[5] (see photo to right), in 1905 a new station opened on the Awapuni side of the junction and, after the Milson Deviation opened in 1959, a new station was built to the north[6] in 1962.
The station was originally called Long Burn,[7] then Longburn Junction[8] and Longburn.[9] The junction role was diminished once the WMR became part of New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) and, since closure of the Foxton branch, it has only had junctions with sidings.
Fonterra transports milk collected from farms by rail from southern Hawke's Bay to Longburn[12] and runs two trains a day to Whareroa.[13]
History
Long Burn station opened on the Foxton tramway on 26 July 1873,[14]31.2km (19.4mi) from Foxton.[2] The station reopened with conversion of the wooden tramway to a railway on 20 October 1876,[14] though Longburn wasn't shown in the timetable when services through to Whanganui began in 1878.[15] By 1884 it had a shelter shed, platform, cart approach and a loop for 18 wagons.[16]
The station was the northern terminus of the WMR. The line through Longburn is now part of the North Island Main Trunk Railway, completed in 1909.
A special train ran over the WMR as far as Ohau in April 1886.[17] The line between Longburn and Wellington was completed in 1886 and at Longburn, passengers and goods transferred between the WMR south to Wellington and the NZR network. Longburn became a junction from Monday 2 August 1886, when WMR trains started to run between Longburn and Ōtaki.[8] WMR trains were noted as connecting with New Plymouth and Foxton trains at Longburn on 30 October 1886.[16] Special trains ran from Whanganui and Wellington to the WMR's last spike ceremony at Otaihanga on 3 November 1886.[18] The first through train from Wellington to Palmerston North ran on 30 November 1886,[19] but the regular timetable only provided for connections at Longburn.[20] Times were altered on the Foxton to New Plymouth line to fit in with WMR trains.[21]
WMR wrote in September 1890, "Traffic requires that we should run daily instead of five days a week, and would be obliged if you would arrange to connect with our trains morning and evenings as usual at Longburn, commencing on and after Thursday, 9th instant." From 1888 to 1934 there was an engine shed and turntable.[16]
Cattle yards opened in 1889, with sheep yards in 1904 . They were enlarged and altered, until 1970, when the sheep yards were sold for removal. By 1979, no animals were being railed into or out of Longburn. The yards officially closed on 25 February 1980.[16]
From 1890 at least 8 railway houses were built. By 1980 there were three railway houses. A stationmaster's house was built by WMR in 1887 and occupied by a NZR stationmaster from May 1887. By 1896 there was a station building, platform, cart approach, loading bank, urinals and a loop for 23 wagons.[16]
From 1892 to 1929 there was a Post Office at the station. By 1892 there was a goods shed, which in 1911 was noted as 40ft x 30ft.[16]
£1,336 was allocated for a new joint NZR/WMR station, with verandah,[16] built on the Awapuni side of the junction,[22] which opened on 23 October 1905.[23] By then WMR trains were running through to Palmerston and beyond.[24] To cater for the change, the Junction Hotel was rebuilt in 1906.[25] By 1911 the station had a loading bank, cattle and sheep yards, crane and a loop for 60 wagons, extended to 83 wagons in 1942. In 1923 electric lighting was added.[16]
On 8 December 1908, the WMR was absorbed into the NZR and Longburn lost its significant interchange status. However the Foxton Branch was retained and only closed in 1959. The line to Palmerston North was rerouted via the Milson Deviation from 1962.
On Sunday 25 February 1962 a new station building opened to the north of the Junction station, with a luggage and parcels office (17'-0” x 9'-6”), booking office (26'-6” x 16'-0” overall), and staff room (18'-6” x 9'-6”), conveniences, a passing loop, three loops, goods shed, loading bank, loading shelter and an unformed road to the station.[16]
Sunday 5 July 1981 was the last day Longburn was open to passengers.[16] It remained open for goods and parcels until 13 October 1986,[14] though a 1985 report said the station building was derelict, but 4 platform lamps remained. In 1995 the station building and platform were extant.[16]
Longburn signalbox, which had been south of the 1906 station, was moved to Feilding in March 2021.[26] From 1901 there was block working between Palmerston North and Longburn. In 1908 tablets were added, though removed between Longburn and Foxton from 22 August 1932.[16]
WMR Manawatū River bridge near Longburn, looking south in about 1886
Private sidings existed from 1884, belonging at various times to Manawatu Cheese & Butter Co, Beale & Co's slaughter house, Longburn Freezing, Kiwi Bacon, Karanga Meat, National Mortgage & Agency, Co-operative Wholesale Society, Kairanga Dairy, Rongotea Dairy and Sanitarium. In 1999 Kiwi Co-operative Dairies opened a new cheese powder plant.[16]
Manawatū River bridge
About 2.5km (1.6mi) south of Longburn the NIMT crosses the Manawatū River on a 366m (1,201ft) long bridge. It replaced the original 361m (1,184ft) timber bridge,[2] which was about 1km (0.62mi) further upstream,[27] from 18 October 1960.[2] Work on the original bridge started in 1882.[16] The 20-span bridge has steel girders, resting on reinforced concrete piers.[28]
Related Research Articles
The Foxton Branch was a railway line in New Zealand. It began life as a tramway, reopened as a railway on 27 April 1876, and operated until 18 July 1959. At Himatangi there was a junction with the Sanson Tramway, a line operated by the Manawatu County Council that was never upgraded to the status of a railway.
The Palmerston North–Gisborne Line (PNGL) is a secondary main line railway in the North Island of New Zealand. It branches from the North Island Main Trunk at Palmerston North and runs east through the Manawatū Gorge to Woodville, where it meets the Wairarapa Line, and then proceeds to Hastings and Napier in Hawke's Bay before following the coast north to Gisborne. Construction began in 1872, but the entire line was not completed until 1942. The line crosses the runway of Gisborne Airport, one of the world's only railways to do so since Pakistan's Khyber Pass Railway closed.
Waikanae railway station in Waikanae on the Kāpiti Coast, New Zealand is the terminal station on the Kapiti Line for Metlink's electric multiple unit commuter trains from Wellington. The railway is part of the North Island Main Trunk line that connects Wellington and Auckland.
Ōtaki railway station is a station on the North Island Main Trunk railway line serving Ōtaki in the Kapiti Coast District of New Zealand. It is served by the Capital Connection long distance commuter train between Wellington and Palmerston North.
Shannon railway station is a station on the North Island Main Trunk serving Shannon in the Horowhenua District of New Zealand. It is served by the Capital Connection long distance commuter train between Wellington and Palmerston North.
Hautere railway station was a flag station on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand.
Te Horo railway station was a flag station at Te Horo, in the Kāpiti Coast District on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand.It was served by diesel shuttles between Te Horo and Wellington. Only equipment sheds and a passing loop now remain at the station site.
Hadfield railway station was a flag station, sometimes shown as Hatfield, on the North Island Main Trunk and in the Kāpiti Coast District of New Zealand.
Koputaroa railway station was a station at Koputaroa in Horowhenua District on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand.
Queen Street (Levin) railway station was a station on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand, serving Levin.
Ōhau railway station was a station at Ōhau on the North Island Main Trunk in the Horowhenua District of New Zealand. It closed on 2 November 1987, though most services had stopped in 1971. Only a 1989 equipment building and a passing loop remain.
Manakau railway station was a station at Manakau in Horowhenua District on the Wellington–Manawatu section of the North Island Main Trunk in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The station was sometimes known as Manukau and officially changed to Manakau on 28 February 1900. It opened in 1886 and closed in 1982. A shed, a hut and a passing loop remain at the site of the station.
Makerua railway station was a station in Horowhenua District on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand. Only a single track now passes through the station site.
Tokomaru railway station was a station on the North Island Main Trunk. It served Tokomaru in Horowhenua District the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand.
Linton railway station was a flag station at Linton in Palmerston North on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand.
Awapuni railway station was a station in Kairanga County, on the Foxton Branch and, from 1908, the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand, now in the Palmerston North suburb of Awapuni. It was beside the Mangaone Stream, near its confluence with the Kawau Stream, about 400 m (440 yd) west of Maxwells Line on the north side of Pioneer Highway. Nothing remains of the former station, except a wide verge, partly occupied by a cycleway, built in 2015.
Palmerston North Central railway station was a station on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand and the Palmerston North–Gisborne Line. The station opened in 1876 and closed in 1963.
Maewa railway station was a tablet station on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand. A passing loop remains at the station site.
Feilding railway station was a station on the North Island Main Trunk line in Feilding, New Zealand. It was opened on 1 October 1876 and closed on 25 June 2012. The station is now used by Feilding Information Centre and an occasional excursion train.
Marton railway station was a station and rail junction on the Marton–New Plymouth Line, opened on 4 February 1878. After the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) made a junction to the south of Marton, a new station was built there and the old station renamed and downgraded, in 1898.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
