Whakarongo railway station

Last updated

Whakarongo railway station
Whakarongo 1950.jpg
Whakarongo in 1950
General information
LocationNew Zealand
Coordinates 40°19′27″S175°40′25″E / 40.324172°S 175.673731°E / -40.324172; 175.673731
Elevation56 m (184 ft)
Line(s) Palmerston North–Gisborne Line
Platforms1
Tracks1
Construction
Platform levels1
ParkingNo
Bicycle facilitiesNo
History
Opened1891
Closed1967
Notes
Previous Station (original): Terrace End Station
Previous Station (current): Palmerston North Station
Next Station: Ashhurst Station

The Whakarongo Railway Station was a passenger rail station on the Palmerston North to Gisborne line, in the suburb of Whakarongo in the north of Palmerston North. The station was situated between the Terrace End Station and Ashhurst Station.

Contents

The station opened on 9 March 1891. [1] It closed to passengers in the 1960s and was demolished in 1967 [2] likely due to the opening of the new Palmerston North Railway Station. An adjacent goods-yard was uplifted in the 1980s, with closure to all traffic on 30 October 1983. [3] Only a single track through the station site now remains. [4]

History

When, to avoid confusion with other places, the name was changed from Stoney Creek on 11 July 1890, there were variants of the new name. Whakaronga appeared in several parliamentary reports, [5] [6] Wahakaronga in one newspaper [7] and Whahakamanga in another. [8]

It had a shelter shed, a passenger platform with a cart approach and a passing loop for 16 wagons. In 1899 it was noted that there were portable hurdles and a gangway for loading stock. [9]

Whakarongo was 107 miles 40 chains 107 mi 40 ch (173.0 km) from Napier and 4 mi 29 ch (7.0 km) from Palmerston North, [9] until the Milson deviation opened on 21 October 1963. [3] It is now 6.07 km (3.77 mi) from Milson Junction, [9] which is 2.48 km (1.54 mi) from the new Palmerston North station. It was 7.31 km (4.54 mi) west of Ashhurst. [10]

A railway deviation, known as the Whakarongo Deviation, between Milson and the station was originally planned in the 1920s. Work was begun but was stopped for World War Two and the track uplifted. This deviation followed along McLeavey Drive, and now borders the Kelvin Grove Cemetery and Linklater reserve. [11] It would have been 2 mi 11 ch (3.4 km) via the Whakarongo deviation. [12] The deviation was estimated to cost £50,000. [13]

The Railways Department built workers' cottages nearby to serve the yard and station.

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Terrace End
Line and station closed
  Palmerston North to Gisborne line
New Zealand Railways Department
  Ashhurst
Line open, station closed

Related Research Articles

Bunnythorpe is a village in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island, 10 km (6 mi) north of the region's major city, Palmerston North. Dairy farms predominate the surrounding area but the community facilities include Bunnythorpe School, with a roll of about 80 pupils as of 2010, as well as a rugby football club, country club and several manufacturing plants. The population was 687 in the 2018 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palmerston North railway station</span> Railway station in New Zealand

Palmerston North railway station is a main station on the North Island Main Trunk serving the city of Palmerston North in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tokomaru railway station</span> Defunct railway station in New Zealand

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linton railway station, Palmerston North</span> Defunct railway station in New Zealand

Linton railway station was a flag station at Linton in Palmerston North on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longburn railway station</span> Defunct railway station in New Zealand

Longburn railway station was a station in Longburn, on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand. The platform, which is across from the Fonterra Factory, remains but the structure has been demolished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Awapuni railway station</span> Defunct railway station 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palmerston North Central railway station</span> Defunct railway station in New Zealand

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greatford railway station</span> Defunct railway station in New Zealand

Greatford railway station was a station on the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) in New Zealand, south of Marton. It is in the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Only a substation and a passing loop remain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maewa railway station</span> Defunct railway station in New Zealand

Maewa railway station was a tablet station on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand. A passing loop remains at the station site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aorangi railway station</span> Defunct railway station in New Zealand

Aorangi railway station was a small station on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taonui railway station</span> Defunct railway station in New Zealand

Taonui railway station was a station on the North Island Main Trunk and in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. From 1879 to 1886 it was the junction for the Taonui Branch. A passing loop remains at the station site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bunnythorpe railway station</span> Defunct railway station in New Zealand

Bunnythorpe railway station was a station on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand, serving the village of Bunnythorpe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hastings railway station, New Zealand</span> Defunct railway station in New Zealand

The Hastings railway station in Hastings, New Zealand is the main railway station in Hastings and an intermediate stop on the Palmerston North–Gisborne Line. The station is on the corner of Russell Street and St Aubyn Street, and is close to the centre of Hastings. It is no longer used by any regularly-scheduled passenger services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ormondville</span> Settlement in Manawatū-Whanganui Region, New Zealand

Ormondville is a locality in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located inland, south of Waipukurau and west of Flemington, Hawke's Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashhurst railway station</span> Defunct railway station in New Zealand

Ashhurst Railway Station exists on the Palmerston North–Gisborne Line between Palmerston North and the Manawatū Gorge serving the town of Ashhurst. The station existed as a flag-stop station before being made a formal stop in 1892. The station was sold in 1980 and the buildings and facilities were demolished in 1981, being replaced by a simple concrete shelter. The station was closed in 2001. No regular passenger service uses the line and there are no-longer any structures at the station; only the abandoned platform remains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Te Aute railway station</span> Railway station in New Zealand

Opaparailway station is a preserved station on the Palmerston North–Gisborne Line in New Zealand's North Island that closed in 1981. It is in the Hastings District of Hawke's Bay, 23.56 km (14.64 mi) south of Hastings city, in a census meshblock with a population of only 222 in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matamau</span> Place in Manawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand

Matamau is a small village, on a ridge between the Matamau and Whakaruatapu Streams, tributaries of the Manawatū River, in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. State Highway 2 and the Palmerston North–Gisborne line run through the village. It has a rare surviving example of a basic railway station, a cafe, developed from the former post office and store about 1969, and a truck repair workshop. Until the 1870s it was densely forested, but most of the trees were felled and milled by 1910 and replaced by farms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Makotuku</span> Place in Manawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand

Makotuku is a locality in the Manawatu-Whanganui Region of New Zealand's North Island, about 3 km2 (1.2 sq mi) west of Ormondville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kopua railway station</span> Railway station in New Zealand

Kopua in New Zealand is now a sparsely populated area, immediately south of the border of the Manawatū-Whanganui and Hawke's Bay regions, with 150 people scattered over a 40 km2 (15 sq mi) meshblock. For two years it briefly flourished as a village, centred on a railway station on the Palmerston North–Gisborne line, opened on 25 January 1878, when it became the southern terminus of the line from Napier and Spit. Building to the south was delayed by the need to erect 3 large viaducts over the Manawatū River and its tributaries, so the extension to Makotuku didn't open until 9 August 1880. Kopua then declined until the station closed on 8 May 1977. Only a single line now passes through the station site and there are remnants of cattle yards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piripiri, Manawatū-Whanganui</span> Place in Manawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand

Piripiri is a sparsely populated area in the Tararua District, in the Manawatū-Whanganui Region, on State Highway 2 and the Palmerston North–Gisborne line. It is 3 mi 8 ch (5.0 km) north of Dannevirke, and has 150 people scattered over a meshblock of 21.8 km2 (8.4 sq mi).

References

  1. "Opening of the Gorge Line of Railway FEILDING STAR". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 10 March 1891. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  2. "Whakarongo Railway Station – Manawatū Heritage". manawatuheritage.pncc.govt.nz. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  3. 1 2 Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations in New Zealand by Juliet Scoble (2012)
  4. "Stoney Creek Rd". Google Maps. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  5. "PARTICULARS OF LEASES OF RAILWAY PROPERTY". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1892. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  6. "RAILWAYS STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, HON. J. G. COATES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1923. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  7. "WOODVILLE EXAMINER". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 30 January 1891. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  8. "MANAWATU HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 29 January 1891. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 "Stations" (PDF). NZR Rolling Stock Lists. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  10. New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas (First ed.). Quail Map Co. 1965. pp. 3 & 4.
  11. "Call to preserve rail bridge to nowhere". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  12. "PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT. 1939. BY THE Hon. R. SEMPLE, MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1939. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  13. "History of the Scheme. MANAWATU TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 17 April 1929. Retrieved 14 March 2021.