Ongarue railway station

Ongarue railway station
Ongarue railway station November 1902
General information
Location	New Zealand
Coordinates	38°42′57″S175°16′56″E / 38.715787°S 175.282316°E / -38.715787; 175.282316
Elevation	193 m (633 ft)
Line(s)	North Island Main Trunk
Distance	Wellington 420.68 km (261.40 mi)
History
Opened	24 August 1901
Closed	Before 12/1975 [1]
Electrified	June 1988
Passengers
1944	27,378
Services
Preceding station   Historical railways   Following station Waione Siding Line open, station closed 4 mi 35 ch (7.1 km) towards Auckland   North Island Main Trunk KiwiRail   Te Koura Line open, station closed 7.74 km (4.81 mi) towards Wellington
Location

Ongarue railway station was a station on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand, serving the sawmill town of Ongarue. ^{[2] [3]}

In 1900 the station was known as Kawakawa and then Ongaruhe. ^[4]

From 1922 to 1958 most of the timber freight at the station came from the connected Ellis and Burnand Tramway.^{[ citation needed ]}

It was the scene of the Ongarue railway disaster in 1923, up to then, the worst rail crash in the country. ^[5] A memorial was unveiled at the site a century later, on 8 July 2023. ^[6]

In 1941 the station employed a stationmaster and two clerks. ^[7]

Ongarue 1902

Patronage

Passenger numbers at Ongarue railway station, based on Statements of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Years ending 31 March

Passenger numbers peaked in 1944, as shown in the graph and table below -

year	tickets	season tickets	staff	source
1912	4,613		4	"RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1912"
1913	5,464	32	4	"RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1913"
1914	5,776	71		"RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1914"
1915	8,119	81		"RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1915"
1916	7,528	39		"RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1916"
1917	7,737	48		"RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1917"
1918	7,976	46		"RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1918"
1919	7,721	88		"RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1919"
1920	8,986	100		"RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1920"
1921	9,622	69		"RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1921"
1922	11,541	96		"RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1922"
1923	12,633	149		"RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1923"
1924	12,430	132		"RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1924"
1925	13,347	62		"RETURN No. 12. Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1925"
1926	15,624	105		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1926"
1927	15,844	36		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1927"
1928	15,134	102		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1928"
1929	14,834	99		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1929"
1930	13,453	93		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1930"
1931	18,709	100		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1931"
1932	13,245	88		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1932"
1933	12,732	130		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1933"
1934	13,440	179		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1934"
1935	13,963	187		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1935"
1936	15,966	173		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1936"
1937	18,434	114		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1937"
1938	16,108	133		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1938"
1939	18,009	136		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1939"
1940	18,690	85		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1940"
1941	20,837	73		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1941"
1942	23,559	92		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1942"
1943	26,817	75		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1943"
1944	27,378	82		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1944"
1945	23,674	60		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1945"
1946	25,709	50		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1946"
1947	23,309	6		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1947"
1948	20,718	44		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1948"
1949	18,384	34		"STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1949"

References

1. Scoble, Juliet (April 2010). "Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations in New Zealand" (PDF). Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
2. New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas (First ed.). Quail Map Co. 1965. pp. 3 & 4.
3. Pierre, Bill (1981). North Island Main Trunk. Wellington: A.H&A.W Reed. pp. 289–290. ISBN   0589013165.
4. "Juliet Scoble: Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations in New Zealand" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
5. "Toll of the tracks. New Zealand Herald". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 7 July 1923. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
6. "Memorial honours those who died in Ongarue train disaster 100 years ago". RNZ . 8 July 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
7. "LIST OF PERSONS EMPLOYED IN THE RAILWAYS· DEPARTMENT" (PDF). NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 1 April 1941.

External links

• video of cab view through the station in 2024 (from 13 mins)
• 2016 photos -
  • Northern Explorer at Ongarue
  • old Auckland stock at Ongarue en route to Taumarunui
  • trains passing at Ongarue