Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company

Wellington & Manawatu Railway Company
W&MR No.9 locomotive (later reclassified as an N class) in service at Paekākāriki c. 1900.
Overview
HeadquartersWellington
Reporting markW&MR
LocaleWellington,  New Zealand
Dates of operation1881–1908
SuccessorNew Zealand Railways Department
Technical
Track gauge3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Length135 km (84 mi)
Wellington and
Manawatu Railway
Longburn
Linton
Tokomaru
Makerua
Shannon
Kereru (Koputaroa)
Levin
Ohau
Ohau River
Manakau
Otaki
Te Horo
Hadfield
Waikanae
Otaihanga
Paraparaumu
Wainui
Paekakariki
Tunnels 8–13
Pukerua
Plimmerton
Pauatahanui inlet
Paremata
Porirua
Tawa Flat
Johnsonville
Tunnels 6 & 7
Khandallah
Crofton
Tunnels 1–5
Wellington
Thorndon
(Wellington)
Thorndon Railway Station c.1900
opened 1886, closed 18 June 1937

The Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company (WMR or W&MR) was a private railway company that built, owned and operated the Wellington-Manawatu railway line between Thorndon in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, and Longburn, near Palmerston North in the Manawatu, between 1881 and 1908, when it was acquired by the New Zealand Government Railways. Its successful operation in private ownership was unusual for early railways in New Zealand.