Fernside railway station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Fernside
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| New Zealand Government Railways (NZGR) regional rail |
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| Location | Algies Road, Fernside, New Zealand |
| Coordinates | 41°5′15.2″S 175°21′39.4″E / 41.087556°S 175.360944°E |
| Owned by | Railways Department |
| Line(s) | Wairarapa Line |
| Platforms | Single side |
| Tracks | Main (x 1) |
| History | |
| Opened | 14 May 1880 |
| Closed | 26 September 1940 (freight) 30 March 1975 (passengers) |
Fernside railway station was a small train stop in New Zealand. It was located near Featherston in the North Island, right by the Tauherenikau River. This station was part of the Wairarapa Line. It opened in 1880 and closed almost 100 years later, in 1975. It was a "flag station," which means trains only stopped there if someone waved a flag to get on, or if a passenger on the train asked to get off.
Contents
History of Fernside Station
Station Buildings and Platform
When Fernside station first opened, it had a small shelter for passengers. There was also a cottage nearby. Later, a wooden platform was built for people to get on and off trains.
By 1953, the wooden platform was getting old and needed to be replaced. In 1963, the passenger shelter was in bad shape. It was so broken that fixing it would cost too much money. People thought about building a smaller, new shelter.
However, not many people used the station. So, the railway decided not to build a new one. They only did small repairs and painted the old shelter in 1965.
Stone Crushing Plant
Fernside station was not a very busy place for trains. But it had an interesting part of its history. In 1908, the Railways Department built a stone crushing plant there. This plant was near the Tauherenikau River.
Workers used small trucks to bring stones from the riverbed to the plant. These stones were then crushed. In 1912, a special side track, called a siding, was built to the plant. This allowed trains to pick up the crushed stone.
The plant stopped working in the early 1920s. But the siding stayed until the late 1930s. After this siding was removed, the station was not used much for sending goods. Because of this, it closed for freight (goods) in 1940.
Service Siding
Even after the freight siding was gone, another short track remained. This track was called a "backshunt" or service siding. It was used by railway workers who fixed bridges. They could store wagons with materials or small huts for workers there.
However, the workers often kept their huts in Featherston instead. They would travel to the bridge on small motor vehicles. In 1953, someone suggested closing this siding too. But the engineer in charge wanted to keep it open for bridge work. It was finally closed on July 30, 1962.
Train Services at Fernside
Early Train Services
The first trains to stop at Fernside were "mixed services." This means they carried both passengers and goods. These trains started running in May 1880. They traveled from Wellington to Greytown. Later that year, the train line opened all the way to Masterton.
By 1884, two mixed trains ran each weekday. They went both ways. Fernside was a flag station, so trains only stopped if someone needed to get on or off. They would also stop if there were goods to pick up or drop off.
Changes in Train Services
In 1897, the Wairarapa Line was finished up to Woodville. This allowed a new train, the Napier Mail, to use the line. This train was a faster service for passengers.
Later, in 1909, the Napier Mail changed its route. So, the main passenger train through the Wairarapa became the Wairarapa Mail. This train connected Wellington to Woodville.
Faster Railcars and Station Closure
In 1936, new, faster trains called "Wairarapa-type railcars" were introduced. These railcars made travel much quicker for passengers from Fernside. The Wairarapa Mail passenger trains continued to run, but less often. In 1944, they ran only three times a week because there wasn't enough coal. The Wairarapa Mail stopped completely in 1948.
A few years later, the Remutaka Tunnel was opened. This big tunnel changed how trains ran. The old mixed trains stopped, and the Wairarapa-type railcars were replaced by new "twin-set railcars."
However, more and more people started using private cars. This meant fewer people used small train stations like Fernside. The number of passengers kept going down. By 1959, Fernside was listed as a "stops if required" station. This meant trains would only stop if someone asked.
By 1975, so few people used the station that it was no longer needed. Fernside railway station closed to all traffic on March 30, 1975.
Fernside Station Today
Today, you can still see a small part of the old station. The front edge of the platform is still visible next to the train tracks. The station site can only be reached by a private driveway at the end of Algies Road.
