Makerua railway station

Makerua railway station
1961 one inch map
General information
Location	New Zealand
Coordinates	40.512653°S 175.453649°E / -40.512653; 175.453649
Elevation	8 m (26 ft)
Line(s)	North Island Main Trunk
Distance	Wellington 111.32 km (69.17 mi)
History
Opened	2 August 1886
Closed	23 October 1966[1]
Services
Preceding station   Historical railways   Following station Tokomaru Line open, station closed 7.24 km (4.50 mi)   North Island Main Trunk KiwiRail   Shannon Line open, station open 4.69 km (2.91 mi)

Makerua railway station was a station in Horowhenua District on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand.[2][3] Only a single track now passes through the station site.[4]

History

Makerua shelter shed about 1910

Makerua was opened as a flag station[5] by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company on Monday 2 August 1886, when trains started to run between Longburn and Ōtaki,[6] though a special train had run from Longburn to Ohau in April 1886.[7] The first through train from Wellington to Palmerston North ran on 30 November 1886.[8] Makerua didn't appear in timetables until 1888.[9] Palmerston to Wellington trains started to call at the station from 1910.[10]

In 1889 a new siding and platform were built at Makerua. By 1911 it had a shelter shed, platform and a loop for 16 wagons. From 1929 a tablet was used. A new station was built in 1946.[11]

A private train on the Mako Toa Swamp passing under Government Railway at Tokomaru

The Makerua Swamp was to the north west of the railway, where 11 mi (18 km) of tramway had been laid by 1903.[12] There were also many other flax mills in the area.[13]

Trains were blown off the lines at Makerua in 1916[14] and in 1936,[15] when the shelter shed was also blown over.[16] An anemometer installed at Shannon in 1937[11] now checks wind speeds.[17]

On 23 October 1966,[18] or 1967 Makaroa closed to all traffic.[11]

References

1. Juliet Scoble: Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations in New Zealand
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. "State Hwy 56". Google Maps. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
5. "WELLINGTON AND MANAWATU RAILWAY COMPANY, LIMITED. TIME TABLE. EVENING POST". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 31 July 1886. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
6. "EVENING POST". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 21 July 1886. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
7. "Wellington- ManaWatu Railway. MANAWATU STANDARD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 27 April 1886. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
8. "WELLINGTON-MANAWATU RAILWAY LINE. NEW ZEALAND TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 30 November 1886. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
9. "Railways. WELLINGTON-MASTERTON RAILWAY TIME TABLE. NEW ZEALAND TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 30 October 1888. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
10. "NEW RAILWAY TIME-TABLE. MANAWATU STANDARD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 24 March 1910. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
11. "Stations" (PDF). NZR Rolling Stock Lists. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
12. "NEW ZEALAND MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 30 December 1903. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
13. Flaxmills of Makerua Swamp by Ian Matheson, 1978, retrieved 12 April 2021
14. "TERRIFIC GALE. TAIHAPE DAILY TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 3 August 1916. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
15. "DEVASTATING GALE SWEEPS MANAWATU. MANAWATU HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 4 February 1936. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
16. "THE STORM. MANAWATU STANDARD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 4 February 1936. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
17. "Report 06-108, passenger Train 9328, derailed after running into landslide debris, 2.474 km Johnsonville Line, between Wellington and Wadestown" (PDF). 26 August 2006.
18. Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations in New Zealand by Juliet Scoble (2012)

External links

• Auckland Weekly News photos - 1936 Railway carriages blown off the line by the force of the wind at Makerua and Miranui Flaxmill in 1909
• Miranui Tramway
• 1:50,000 map