Te Awamutu railway station

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Te Awamutu was a temporary terminus, serving the border town of Te Awamutu, on the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) in New Zealand from 1880, when the line was extended from Ōhaupō,[3] until 1887, when the line was extended south to Ōtorohanga.[4][5]

Te Awamutu railway station
Te Awamutu railway station about 1909.[1]
General information
LocationNew Zealand
Coordinates38°00′18″S 175°18′36″E / 38.0050°S 175.3101°E / -38.0050; 175.3101
Elevation50 m (160 ft)
Line(s)North Island Main Trunk
DistanceWellington 517.02 km (321.26 mi)
History
Opened1 July 1880
Closed10 April 2005[2]
ElectrifiedJune 1988
Services
Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Ngaroto
Line open, station closed
3.04 km (1.89 mi)
 North Island Main Trunk
KiwiRail
 Te Mawhai
Line open, station closed
4.16 km (2.58 mi)

History

Location

It was about 800 m (2,600 ft) from the town centre. A public meeting in 1878 supported a town centre site,[6] but 6 months later, Goodfellow's paddock was chosen.[7] Sir George Grey claimed that the station was so far from the town due to opposition from local residents,[8] though another source described them as, "interested landed proprietors".[9] In 1879 Rangiaohia Road Board asked for £750 to build the link road and footpaths, which were finished in 1880.[10]

Construction

1880 Te Awamutu timetable

The 10 km (6.2 mi) extension from Ōhaupō was built for £25,972 by Daniel Fallon,[11] who also built the Mercer to Ngāruawāhia section of the NIMT.[12] Work started in 1878.[13] On Wednesday, 19 May 1880 a test train, of two engines and 29 wagons of stone, reached Te Awamutu.[10] The line was opened on Thursday, 1 July 1880,[14] initially with one train a day,[15] after £352 had been spent moving Ōhaupō's engine shed and building cattle pens. In 1881 another £45 was spent to move the engine driver's cottage. Other houses were bought or built in 1885, 1954 and 1955.[10]

Extension

Surveying to extend the railway 14 mi 20 ch (22.9 km) from Te Awamutu to Ōtorohanga was started in 1883 by Charles Wilson Hursthouse.[16] The first sod ceremony was performed at the Puniu River on 15 April 1885.[17] Trains were working through to Ōtorohanga by January 1887,[18] and the extension opened on 6, or 8 March 1887, though the line wasn't handed over from the Public Works Department to the Railways Department (NZR) until Wednesday 9 March.[4][10][19]

Original station

By 1884 Te Awamutu had a 4th class station, platform, cart approach, a 100 ft (30 m) x 30 ft (9.1 m) goods shed, loading bank, cattle yards, water service, coal accommodation, engine shed, stationmaster's house, urinals and a passing loop for 37 wagons (extended to 55 by 1911 and 71 by 1980). A turntable was added in 1901, additions were made to the station in 1908, by 1911 there were sheep yards and fixed signals and in 1921 electric lighting was added.[10] The 1902 edition of The Cyclopedia of New Zealand described the station as, "of wood and iron, and contains a public vestibule and waiting room, ladies' waiting room, and general office. It has also a long passenger platform and a convenient goods shed. The stationmaster is assisted by a junior porter and a guard, and two gangers are resident in Te Awamutu."[20]

1958 station

A new 133 ft (41 m) x 18 ft (5.5 m) station was opened on 26 November 1958[10] by Mayor Clifton Frank Jacobs.[21] The platform was then 600 ft (180 m) long and 455 mm (17.9 in) high. In 1987 there was also a goods shed and shed for a shunting tractor. In 1943 there was a Royal New Zealand Air Force siding and in 1980 Dibble Brothers had a private siding for their fertiliser.[10]

Services

Trains calling at Te Awamutu included The Overlander, Blue Streak, Scenic Daylight, Daylight Limited, Northerner and Night Limited.

The station buildings were demolished in 2001 and replaced by a shelter until the station closed in 2005.[22] New Zealand Dairy Board (now Fonterra) rebuilt its freight connection about 2000.[23]

Te Awamutu dairy factory trip train. Mt Kakepuku in background. August 2014

Since 2005 there has been a large flow from the dairy factory to Crawford St depot in Hamilton.[24]There are still hopes that passenger services may resume. For example, in 2015, Waipa District Council said, "it is important to preserve the rail platform facilities and infrastructure in Te Awamutu to enable future passenger rail connections between Te Awamutu and Hamilton".[25] In 2021 it was agreed to remove the shelter due to vandalism.[26]

tickets sales 1881–1950 – derived from annual returns to Parliament of "Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended"

Patronage

As shown in the table and graph below, passenger numbers peaked in 1921 and again in 1944 -

yearticketsseason ticketsstaffsourcetitle
18811,4933https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1881/I/967RETURN No. 9. Statement of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ending 31 March 1881
18823,6014https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1882/I/824RETURN No. 10. Statement of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ending 31 March 1882
18833,3584https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1883/I/895RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1883
18843,8184https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1884/I/844RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1884
18854,1283https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1885/I/1156RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1885
18864,4152https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1886/I/1138RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1886
18873,9422https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1887/I/920RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1887
18884,8122https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1889/I/1068?large_image=trueRETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1888
18892,6232https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1889/I/1068RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1889
18912,2412https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1891/II/1264RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1891
18922,0602https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1892/I/1164RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1892
18932,5102https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1893/I/1494RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1893
18945,0613https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1894/I/1388RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1894
18957,7273https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1895/I/1586RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1895
18968,3823https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1896/I/1624RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1896
18978,5133https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1897/II/1610RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1897
189810,77713https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1898/I/1670RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1898
18998,7303https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1899/I/1824RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1899
19008,5503https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1900/I/1612RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1900
190215,5155https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1902/I/1436RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1902
190310,85154https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1903/I/1873RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1903
19047,80714https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1904/I/1848RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1904
19058,650604https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1905/I/3767RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1905
19069,664745https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1906/II/1600RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1906
190710,312394https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1907/I/2542RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1907
190812,158683https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1908/I/2061RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1908
190910,629615https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1909/II/1832RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1909
191011,073795https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1910/I/2050RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1910
191111,3901106https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1911/I/2497RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1911
191213,8592075https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1912/II/2420RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1912
191319,2761886https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1913/I/3693RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1913
191420,859218https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1914/I/2031RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1914
191521,231208https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1915/I/1638RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1915
191621,738203https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1916/I/1053RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1916
191721,419242https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1917/I/1123RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1917
191824,548321https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1918/I-II/1159RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1918
191925,961182https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1919/I/1231RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1919
192030,409117https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1920/I/1349RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1920
192132,830160https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1921/I-II/1452RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1921
192230,69771https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1922/I/1409RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1922
192328,725205https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1923/I-II/1321RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1923
192427,819231https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1924/I/2458RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1924
192525,517229https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1925/I/1804RETURN No. 12. Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1925
192626,420294https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1926/I/1930STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1926
192726,108357https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1927/I/2230STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1927
192822,673277https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1928/I/2628STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1928
192920,719240https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1929/I/2090STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1929
193016,547153https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1930/I/2212STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1930
193120,539170https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1931/I-II/1778STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1931
193218,094181https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1932/I-II/1934STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1932
193320,144232https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1933/I/1388STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1933
193424,461235https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1934/I/2278STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1934
193528,425259https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1935/I/1326STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1935
193629,629226https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1936/I/1552STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1936
193730,868252https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1937/I/1896STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1937
193828,341214https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1938/I/1652STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1938
193926,489190https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1939/I/1970STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1939
194025,546128https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1940/I/1314STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1940
194125,044168https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1941/I/1203STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1941
194230,08377https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1942/I/651STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1942
194340,44295https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1943/I/679STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1943
194442,160105https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1944/I/895STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1944
194532,84617https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1945/I/969STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1945
194632,44020https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1946/I/1548STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1946
194727,12323https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1947/I/2495STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1947
194821,87911https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1948/I/2521STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1948
194920,94813https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1949/I/2104STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1949
195021,79413https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1950/I/2366STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1950

References