Maewa railway station | |||||||||||
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| Maewa railway station and cemetery in 1949 | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | New Zealand | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 40°11′25″S175°33′03″E / 40.190152°S 175.55088°E | ||||||||||
| Elevation | 120 m (390 ft) | ||||||||||
| Line | North Island Main Trunk | ||||||||||
| Distance | Wellington 157.89 km (98.11 mi) | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | 27 February 1914 | ||||||||||
| Closed | pre 1993 [1] | ||||||||||
| Electrified | June 1988 | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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Maewa railway station was a tablet station on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand. [2] [3] A passing loop remains at the station site. [4]
In 1987 the loop was measured to be 157.89 km (98.11 mi) from Wellington, [5] though the old station was slightly further north at 158.61 km (98.56 mi). [2]
Near the former station the Steam Traction Society [6] runs a steam fair for traction engines. [7] Another collection of old vehicles is nearby at Austin Mews. [8]
Also nearby is Feilding Cemetery. The first recorded burial there was in November 1886, [9] though the trustees discussed the neglected state of the cemetery in 1882 [10] and the cemetery predated the railway. [11]
Trains started to run on the line when the Feilding – Halcombe Section opened on Monday 22 April 1878. [12] To ease congestion between Palmerston North and Marton, the loop was opened at Maewa [13] in 1914, [14] it being noted on 27 February that a tablet porter was needed. [5] It was not intended for passenger traffic, [15] though described as a flag station in 1921. [16] From 1933 a goods train stopped at Maewa, carrying Feilding passengers visiting the cemetery. [17] The station closed before 1993. [14] Electric lighting was introduced in 1938, [18] the loop was extended in 1939 [19] and work was done to ease the gradient for trains from Halcombe, [20] though it still didn't stop trains stalling on it. [21]