Matapuna railway station

Matapuna railway station
Matapuna in 1909.
The cottage is probably the bridge-keeper's
General information
LocationNew Zealand
Coordinates38°52′53″S 175°17′36″E / 38.8815°S 175.2934°E / -38.8815; 175.2934
Elevation180 m (590 ft)
Line(s)North Island Main Trunk
DistanceWellington 394.8 km (245.3 mi)
History
Opened22 June 1903
Closed31 March 1987
ElectrifiedJune 1988
Services
Preceding station   Historical railways   Following station
Taumarunui
Line open, station open 		  North Island Main Trunk
KiwiRail 		  Manunui
Line open, station closed
Designated27 March 2009 (bridge)[1]
Reference no.9277

Matapuna had several sidings on the North Island Main Trunk line,[2] in the Ruapehu District of New Zealand, serving the east Taumarunui suburb on the north bank of the Whanganui River. It was 2.9 km (1.8 mi) north west of Manunui and 2.95 km (1.83 mi) east of Taumarunui. Work was largely complete by May 1903,[3] and freight was handled from 22 June 1903.[4] A fixed signal was placed at the station and a distant at the bridge in 1917[5] and the ballast pit siding was interlocked by tablet in 1918.[6] A racecourse opened to the south of the bridge in 1916[7] and some trains served the course on race days,[8] though no platform appears on aerial photos[9] and only the ballast pit was mapped.[10]

Before the railway came, a Ngāti Hāua kāinga was on the south side of the river, which could be forded, except when in flood.[1]

Matapuna Bridge about 1910
  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Scoble, Juliet. "Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations in New Zealand 1863 to 2010" (PDF). Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.
  3. ^ "MINISTERS ON TOUR. EVENING POST". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 25 May 1903. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  4. ^ "NEW ZEALAND HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 20 June 1903. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Railways Statement by the Minister of Railways, The Hon. W. H. Herries. Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1917 Session I, D-02". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Railways Statement by the Minister of Railways, The Hon. W. H. Herries. Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1918 Session I-II, D-02". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  7. ^ "COUNTRY NEWS. NEW ZEALAND HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 23 May 1916. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  8. ^ "WAIKATO TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 30 November 1929. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  9. ^ "Survey Number: SN178". Retrolens. 12 October 1948.
  10. ^ "Sheet: SAK105". www.mapspast.org.nz. 1936. Retrieved 20 July 2020.