Ngaroto railway station

Ngaroto railway station
Ngaroto on 1946 one inch to one mile map
General information
LocationNew Zealand
Coordinates37°58′54″S 175°18′31″E / 37.981686°S 175.308495°E / -37.981686; 175.308495
Elevation57 m (187 ft)
Line(s)North Island Main Trunk
DistanceWellington 520.06 km (323.15 mi)
History
Opened1 July 1880
Closed15 December 1957[1]
ElectrifiedJune 1988
Previous namesNinia
Services
Preceding station   Historical railways   Following station
Lake Rd
Line open, station closed
3.4 km (2.1 mi)
towards Waitematā 		  North Island Main Trunk
KiwiRail 		  Te Awamutu
Line open, station closed
3.04 km (1.89 mi)
towards Wellington

Ngaroto railway station was a station on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand, 3.42 km (2.13 mi) south of Lake Rd,[2][3] 2 mi (3.2 km) north of Te Awamutu,[4] beside the entrance to Yarndley's Bush. Lake Ngaroto is visible from the railway to the north of the station.

Te Awamutu dairy factory trip train climbing north to Ngaroto station site over the bank raised in 1928. Mt Kakepuku in background. August 2014
Ngaroto railway station in 1943

The station was planned in 1879[5] and opened in 1880 at the same time the NIMT was extended to Te Awamutu, though it wasn't mentioned in the press until postal contracts were being let in 1881.[6] By 1884 Ngaroto had a 4th class station, passenger platform, cart approach, 60 ft (18 m) x 30 ft (9.1 m) goods shed, loading bank, stationmaster's house and urinals. From 1883 to 1917 there was a Post Office at the station. There were cattle yards by 1897 and sheep yards by 1911. A crossing loop could hold 41 wagons. There was a proposal to close the station in 1886.[5] It was staffed until 1887,[7] when a ganger took on running the post office.[5] In the early years it was a vital part of local farm transport.[8]

Apart from electrification, the only significant work since then seems to have been in 1928, when a lengthy embankment and raised bridge over the Mangapiko Stream lifted the line about 5 ft (1.5 m), to ease the climb from Te Awamutu to Ngaroto.[9]

Ngaroto only featured in annual reports for 3 years –

year tickets season tickets staff ref.
1885 380 1 [10]
1886 346 1 [11]
1887 286 22 1 [12]
  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. ^ Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 230, 28 September 1926, Page 8 – Main Trunk Blocked. Goods Train Derailed. Leaves Rails at Ngaroto
  5. ^ a b c "Stations" (PDF). NZR Rolling Stock Lists. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  6. ^ Auckland Star, Volume XI, Issue 3163, 8 September 1880, Page 1
  7. ^ "Page 3 Advertisements Column 4 WAIKATO TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1 October 1887. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  8. ^ New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13357, 11 December 1906, Page 5 Shortage of Railway Trucks
  9. ^ New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19947, 16 May 1928, Page 10 Main Trunk Line. Improvement to Gradient. Te Awamutu to Ngaroto
  10. ^ "Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives | 1885 Session I RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31st March, 1885". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives | 1886 Session I". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives | 1887 Session I". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 7 May 2018.