Pahiatua railway station facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pahiatua
New Zealand Government Railways (NZGR) Regional rail
Location	Pahiatua – Mangahao Road Tararua New Zealand
Coordinates	40°26′42.12″S 175°48′54.42″E / 40.4450333°S 175.8151167°E / -40.4450333; 175.8151167
Elevation	116 metres (381 ft)
Owned by	KiwiRail
Operated by	Pahiatua Railcar Society (lessee)
Line(s)	Wairarapa Line
Distance	154.62 kilometres (96.08 mi) from Wellington
Platforms	Single side
Tracks	Main line (1) Loops (2) Sidings
Train operators	Pahiatua Railcar Society
Construction
Structure type	at-grade
Parking	Yes
History
Opened	3 May 1897
Closed	1 August 1988 (passengers) January 2009 (freight)
Rebuilt	31 March 1971
Previous names	Scarborough

Pahiatua railway station is a historic train station located in the North Island of New Zealand. It sits on the Wairarapa Line, a railway track that connects different towns. The station first opened its doors in May 1897. This was just before the railway line reached Woodville later that year. The station is about 1.7 kilometers (1.1 miles) away from the town of Pahiatua itself. This was a bit different from the original plan, which aimed for the railway to go right through the town.

Pahiatua was an important town in the northern Wairarapa area. Because of this, its station was one of the few along the northern part of the line that always had staff working there. Even though passenger trains stopped coming in 1988, the station is still busy with freight trains. This is mainly because of the dairy factory nearby. It is also the main home for the Pahiatua Railcar Society, a group that looks after old trains.

History of Pahiatua Station

How the Station Operated

Early Days: 1897–1908

When Pahiatua station first opened, it was served by "mixed trains." These trains carried both passengers and goods. They were extended further north as more of the railway line was built. For a few months, these mixed trains were the only way for people to travel by train to Pahiatua.

At that time, a private company owned and ran the railway line between Wellington and Longburn. This meant that all government trains from Wellington had to use the Wairarapa line. This made stations like Pahiatua quite important. The popular Napier Express train, which usually went from Napier to Palmerston North, was changed to go through the Wairarapa to Wellington. It became the main passenger train stopping at Pahiatua, along with the mixed trains. This continued until 1908, when the Wairarapa Line became a less important railway route.

Middle Years: 1908–1988

The Pahiatua Railcar Society built this storage shed and workshop for railcars. It was finished in 2001.

In 1908, the government bought the private Wellington and Manawatu Railway. This changed how train services worked in the Wairarapa, especially north of Masterton. There were long and expensive delays because of the Rimutaka Incline, a very steep part of the track. So, many freight trains from the northern Wairarapa started going north through Woodville and Palmerston North to the main railway line to Wellington. However, mixed trains still ran through Pahiatua.

Soon after the government took over the private railway, the Napier Express train was rerouted. It started going through the Manawatu Gorge and then down the old private railway line to Wellington. After this, the main passenger train that stopped at Pahiatua was the Wairarapa Mail. In 1936, new passenger services began with the special Wairarapa-class railcars. These railcars added to, and later replaced, the Wairarapa Mail in 1948.

After the Remutaka Tunnel opened in 1955, the Wairarapa railcars were replaced by larger 88-seater twinset railcars. These became the main passenger service for Pahiatua for the next 22 years. A 1959 timetable shows that two railcar services went north and two went south every day, with an extra service on Fridays. Sometimes, if there were too many passengers for the railcars, regular trains with locomotives and carriages were used. These regular trains completely replaced the railcar services in 1977.

After the railcar services stopped, fewer and fewer people used the passenger trains on the northern Wairarapa Line. Eventually, there weren't enough passengers to make the service worthwhile. So, the passenger train service between Palmerston North, Masterton, and Wellington was stopped on August 1, 1988. This meant Pahiatua station closed for passengers, but it stayed open for goods trains.

Station Buildings and Features

Original Station: 1897

Pahiatua station officially opened on May 3, 1897. It was part of the railway section between Newman and Pahiatua. Soon after, the line extended further, reaching Mangatainoka in August and Woodville in December of that year.

This is the goods shed and loading bank at Pahiatua railway station. It's the only original building left from 1897.

The first station building was a standard design for towns like Pahiatua. It was made of wood and corrugated iron. The station had a building, a platform, a road for carts to reach the platform, and a large goods shed. There was also a loading bank, a crane, and yards for cattle. Inside the station building, there was a ticket office, a waiting room, an office for the station master, and other staff areas. A house for the station master was also built. In 1900, a roof was added over the platform, and telegraph services were set up in 1912.

For many years, the station did not have a good water supply. This was a problem, especially for fighting fires. The public bathrooms were also not very good. Changes were made to the station building over time as needed. However, regular maintenance was often overlooked. In 1957, there was a plan to update the station, but it wasn't until 1963 that money was put aside for renovations. By then, railway officials thought it would be better to build a new station instead.

New Station: 1971

Pahiatua's new station building, which opened in 1971.

A brand new railway station was built by railway staff in 1971. It cost about $20,000. The building had a concrete base, wooden walls, and an aluminum roof. It included a main office, the station master's office, a waiting room, a ticket office, and public bathrooms. The platform and fences around the yard were also replaced. This was one of the last wooden station buildings of its kind built by the Railways Department. After this, they started using more modern materials.

The official opening ceremony for the new station was held on March 31, 1971. Many people from the public were invited to attend.

This building is the Rolling Stock Storage Shelter at Pahiatua railway station. It was moved here in June 2002.

The Prime Minister, Sir Keith Holyoake, officially opened the station. About 100 guests and members of the public were there. Important guests included the son of Pahiatua's first station master and past station masters. The Prime Minister unveiled a special bronze plaque to mark the occasion. It read:

After the ceremony, the guests went to a local hotel for afternoon tea.

Pahiatua Station Today

These wagons are waiting to be picked up from the Fonterra dairy factory siding, which is just north of Pahiatua railway station.

Pahiatua is the only working train station between Masterton and Woodville. Today, it is the main base for the Pahiatua Railcar Society. They run their railway museum from here. The station is also used to organize freight trains when wagons are collected from the nearby dairy factory. KiwiRail owns the station, and the Pahiatua Railcar Society rents it.

Several buildings and features have been kept or added at the station. The 1971 station building is still there, as is the original goods shed. The railcar society has built its own buildings, including a Railcar Storage Shed and Workshop (built in 2001) and a Rolling Stock Storage Shelter (moved in June 2002). Besides the main railway line, there are two loops and several side tracks. These tracks serve the railcar shed, the goods shed, and the rolling stock storage shelter.

For seven years, starting in 1988, the northern part of the Wairarapa Line was almost unused, with no regular trains scheduled through Pahiatua. However, because the main line between Wellington and Palmerston North became very busy, freight trains from Wellington to Napier started using the Wairarapa line again from 1995. Later, in 2008, the Wellington to Napier freight trains were rerouted back to their original path through the Manawatu Gorge. This happened after some tunnels on that line were made bigger, allowing larger containers to pass through.

The Fonterra dairy factory nearby has been upgraded. This means trains will no longer need to transport milk from Pahiatua to another factory for processing. However, trains will still be used to move the finished dairy products.