Aorangi railway station
Aorangi railway station | |||||||||||
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![]() Aorangi in 1967, showing the bridge over the Oroua, meat works, sidings and possible site of station shelter | |||||||||||
General information | |||||||||||
Location | New Zealand | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 40°14′36″S 175°35′06″E / 40.243305°S 175.585032°E | ||||||||||
Elevation | 70 m (230 ft) | ||||||||||
Owned by | KiwiRail | ||||||||||
Line(s) | North Island Main Trunk | ||||||||||
Distance | Wellington 150.9 km (93.8 mi) | ||||||||||
Platforms | 1 | ||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
Opened | 1 October 1876 | ||||||||||
Closed | 2 November 1987 | ||||||||||
Electrified | 25 kV 50 Hz AC June 1988 | ||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||
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Aorangi railway station was a small station on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand.[1][2]
The station was opened in 1878; and closed on 10 August 1959 for passengers and 2 November 1987 for goods traffic.[3] There is now only a single line through the station site.[4] Te Araroa long distance walkway passes the station site.[5]
History
[edit]By July 1876 the rails were in place, linking Palmerston North and Feilding,[6] and ballasting was finished in September.[7] The formal opening of the railway was on 19 October 1876.[8] Charles Bull had a sawmill at Aorangi until about 1886.[9] It had a private siding 4 chains (260 ft; 80 m) on the Feilding side of Aorangi from 1878,[10] but there was a complaint about trains not stopping for passengers in 1883.[11] By 1896 there was a shelter shed and passenger platform and also a cart approach by 1911.[10]
By 1959 there was still a shelter, platform and Borthwicks' private siding, which was the only source of local rail traffic after closure of the station on 10 August 1959.[10] A 1949 aerial photo seems to show a shelter,[12] where the 1967 photo (to the right) shows a white mark at the foot of the photo. In 1989 there was still a passing loop and private siding.[10]
Aorangi Bridge
[edit]The railway crosses the Oroua River between Aorangi and Feilding[13] on Aorangi Bridge, which was rebuilt in 1930[14]-31,[15] when the curve was eased from a radius of 14 chains (920 ft; 280 m) to 20 ch (1,300 ft; 400 m). It has ten 20 ch (1,300 ft; 400 m) 60 feet (18 m) spans,[16] with a total length of 183 m (600 ft).[17]
A footbridge over the river was built in 1883.[18] The first road bridge opened on 21 March 1893.[19] It was replaced by a ferro-concrete bridge in 1930.[20]
The road and railway bridges were partly swept away in a flood on 17 April 1897.[21]
Freezing works
[edit]A siding for the Oroua Freezing works was put in during its construction in 1915.[22] West Coast Meat & Produce Co Ltd had the works formally opened by Prime Minister, Bill Massey, on 17 April 1916.[23] Later that year the company changed its name to Feilding Farmers’ Freezing Company Ltd.[24] They sold the works to Thomas Borthwick and Sons (Australasia) Ltd in 1931,[25] who had a small shunting locomotive at Aorangi from 1931 to 1973.[26] Rail traffic was reduced in 1944 by allowing road haulage for up to 20 mi (32 km) parallel with the railway.[27] The works became part of AFFCO[28] from May 1992, after re-building in September 1991.[29] The works is no longer rail connected.[30]
References
[edit]- ^ New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas (First ed.). Quail Map Co. 1965. pp. 3 & 4.
- ^ Pierre, Bill (1981). North Island Main Trunk. Wellington: A.H&A.W Reed. pp. 289–290. ISBN 0589013165.
- ^ Scoble, Juliet (2012). Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations in New Zealand.
- ^ "Te Araroa Trail". Google Maps. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
- ^ "Feilding to Palmerston North — NZ Walking Access Commission Ara Hīkoi Aotearoa". www.walkingaccess.govt.nz. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT, BY THE MINISTER FOR PUBLIC WORKS, THE HON. EDWARD RICHARDSON". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 25 July 1876. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
- ^ "THE FIELDING SETTLEMENT (REPORT ON THE PROGRESS AND PRESENT CONDITION OF). APPENDIX TO THE JOURNALS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 1877". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
- ^ "LOCAL AND GENERAL. WANGANUI CHRONICLE". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 20 October 1876. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "Local and General News FEILDING STAR". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 14 October 1886. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Stations" (PDF). NZR Rolling Stock Lists. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ "LOCAL AND GENERAL. FEILDING STAR". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 7 April 1883. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "Retrolens Survey Number: SN543 Photo Number: 32". 23 May 1949.
- ^ "Oroua River, Manawatu-Wanganui". NZ Topo Map. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- ^ "A Reconstructed Railway Bridge — Views of the new railway bridge recently constructed over the Oroua River (on the Auckland-Wellington Main Trunk Line, between Wellington and Marton), and of the men who carried out the work | NZETC". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- ^ "LOCAL AND GENERAL. MANAWATU HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 17 March 1931. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
- ^ "NEW RAILWAY BRIDGE. MANAWATU STANDARD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 28 August 1929. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
- ^ New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas (First ed.). Quail Map Co. 1965. pp. 3 & 4.
- ^ "Our Feilding Letter. MANAWATU TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 17 September 1883. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "Opening of the Aorangi Bridge FEILDING STAR". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 23 March 1893. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "MANAWATU HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1 March 1930. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "Oroua River flood - 1897 37-12". www.feildingheritage.nz. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "OROUA FREEZING WORKS. FEILDING STAR". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 9 April 1915. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "Oroua Freezing Works. MANAWATU TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 17 April 1916. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "Feilding Farmers' Freezing Company. MANAWATU TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 13 September 1916. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "FEILDING FREEZING WORKS. MANAWATU STANDARD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 3 September 1931. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "New Zealand Rolling Stock Register - Internal Combustion section". www.nzrsr.co.nz. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "CARTAGE OF FAT LAMBS. MANAWATU STANDARD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 26 December 1944. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "AFFCO Manawatu MBP". www.affco.co.nz. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "Meat Processing Plant Discharge Consents Application and Assessment of Environmental Effects" (PDF). March 2015.
- ^ "Basemaps | Land Information New Zealand". basemaps.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- Defunct railway stations in New Zealand
- Rail transport in Manawatū-Whanganui
- Buildings and structures in Manawatū-Whanganui
- Railway stations opened in 1878
- Railway stations closed in 1987
- 1878 establishments in New Zealand
- 1987 disestablishments in New Zealand
- Feilding
- Railway stations in New Zealand opened in the 1870s
- Railway stations in New Zealand closed in the 20th century