Waro railway station

Waro railway station
Waro in 1902
General information
LocationNew Zealand
Coordinates35°35′20″S 174°17′14″E / 35.588787°S 174.287112°E / -35.588787; 174.287112
Elevation105 m (344 ft)
Line(s)North Auckland Line
DistanceWestfield Junction 233.56 km (145.13 mi)
History
Opened2 July 1894
Closed31 October 1960 passenger,
12 March 1972 goods[1]
Previous namesLimestone Rocks until 30 June 1894
Services
Preceding station   Historical railways   Following station
Otonga
Line open, station closed
4.21 km (2.62 mi) 		  North Auckland Line
KiwiRail 		  Hikurangi
Line open, station closed
1.73 km (1.07 mi)

Waro railway station was a flag station[2] on the North Auckland Line in New Zealand.[3]

The station was part of the Whangārei and Kamo section, opened on 2 July 1894.[4] The extension of the line north to Whakapara opened in 1896.[5]

A stationmaster's house was designed in 1895, though there seems to be no mention of it being built. From 1897 to 1899 there was a caretaker at Waro. Railway houses were built in 1894 and 1898. By 1897 the station had a shelter shed, passenger platform and sidings to several coal mines and limestone quarries.[6] Hikurangi Coal and Northern Coal had sidings between Waro and Otonga in 1911.[7] In 1916 there was concern about the danger to the railway from blasting at the Dominion Cement quarry,[6] had 20acres at Waro to extract white limestone.[8] and had been further enlarged by Wilsons Portland Cement by 1926.[9] Waro Mine produced 681,905 tons of coal, mainly for Wilson's Portland Cement,[10] but flooding brought about closure of the mines in the 1930s.[11] The sidings to the limestone quarries were still in use in 1964.[6] Waro station closed on 12 March 1972.[12]

Only a single track now runs through the station site.[13]

  1. ^ Juliet Scoble: Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations in New Zealand
  2. ^ "WHANGAREI SECTION. TIME-TABLE. NORTHERN ADVOCATE". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2 August 1906. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Whangarei Railway Station". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  4. ^ "THE PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT. AUCKLAND STAR". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 12 October 1894. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  5. ^ "PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT. AUCKLAND STAR". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 29 October 1896. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "Station Archive". Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand. 2012.
  7. ^ "NORTH AUCKLAND RAILWAY (REPORT OF COMMISSION ON THE)". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1911. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  8. ^ "DOMINION CEMENT. AUCKLAND STAR". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 19 January 1918. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  9. ^ "FINANCE, COMMERCE AND MARKETS. AUCKLAND STAR". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 7 June 1926. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  10. ^ "MINES STATEMENT. BY THE HON. C. E. MACMILLAN, MINISTER OF MINES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1935. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  11. ^ "CLOSING OF WARO MINE. NEW ZEALAND HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2 December 1933. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  12. ^ Juliet Scoble: Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations in New Zealand
  13. ^ "Basemaps". basemaps.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 14 May 2021.