Te Horo railway station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Te Horo railway station
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Te Horo in 1961
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| Location | New Zealand | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 40°48′15″S 175°07′12″E / 40.80426°S 175.119887°E | ||||||||||
| Elevation | 19 m (62 ft) | ||||||||||
| Line(s) | North Island Main Trunk | ||||||||||
| Distance | Wellington 64.73 km (40.22 mi) | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | 1 December 1886 | ||||||||||
| Closed | 21 February 1971 | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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Te Horo railway station was a special kind of train stop called a flag station. This meant trains would only stop there if someone waved a flag to get on, or if a passenger on the train asked to get off. It was located in Te Horo, a place in the Kapiti Coast District of New Zealand. The station was part of the main railway line called the North Island Main Trunk.
Trains that used to stop at Te Horo were diesel shuttles, which are like small trains that travel back and forth between Te Horo and Wellington. Today, the station building is gone, but you can still see some equipment sheds and a "passing loop." A passing loop is an extra section of track that allows trains to pass each other or wait for another train to go by.
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History of Te Horo Station
The railway line that Te Horo station was on, called the Wellington-Manawatu Line, first opened on 30 November 1886. This was when the very first train traveled all the way from Wellington to Palmerston North. The company that built and ran this line was called the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company (WMR).
Te Horo station was officially added to the train timetable on 1 December 1886. The WMR company even advertised the station in 1887 while they were selling land nearby. This helped people know about the new station and encouraged them to buy land in the area.
Station Buildings and Services
For many years, Te Horo station was more than just a place to catch a train. From 1892 to 1910, a Post Office was run right at the station by a railway worker called a ganger. A ganger was a person in charge of a group of railway workers who maintained the tracks.
Over time, more buildings and features were added to the station. In 1893, a shed for goods was built. In 1901, the cattle yards were made bigger, and a special ramp and platform were added for loading sheep onto trains.
When the New Zealand Railways Department took over the railway line in 1908, they introduced a new system called "tablet signalling." This was a safety system that used special metal tablets to make sure only one train was on a section of track at a time.
The station was improved again in 1909. By 1911, it had a shelter shed, a platform for passengers, a way for carts to get close to the station, a goods shed, and areas for loading cattle and sheep. The passing loop, which helps trains pass each other, was also made longer over the years to hold more wagons.
Fire and Rebuilding
Sadly, the station building burned down on 4 November 1923. But it was quickly rebuilt in 1924. The new building was designed in a style common for railway stations at the time, known as a "Type B Troup station." These were standard designs created by a famous architect named George Troup.
The new station had a main lobby, a waiting room especially for ladies, and an office for the tablet porter, who managed the tablet signalling system. It was built mostly from matai wood, which is a strong native New Zealand timber. The waiting room even had benches made from kauri wood, another beautiful native tree.
Railway Houses and Closure
Several houses for railway workers were built near Te Horo station over the years, starting in 1892 and continuing until 1951. These houses helped workers live close to their jobs.
In 1959, the water tanks at Te Horo were removed. From 1962, Te Horo became an "unattended crossing station," meaning there were no staff permanently working there. By 1965, the goods shed was in poor condition, and most small packages were arriving by lorry (truck) instead of train.
The stockyards, used for loading animals, closed in 1966 and were removed in 1967. Finally, on 21 February 1971, Te Horo station completely closed to all train traffic. The 1924 station building was later sold to a local artist named Mirek Smišek in November 1971. He moved the building to his garden, and it is now listed as a heritage building by the Kapiti Coast Council.
The Tramway
Around 1902, there was a report that the WMR company had sold a large area of rimu forest. Rimu is another type of native New Zealand tree. A sawmill, which cuts logs into timber, and a "tramline" were planned to open soon after. A tramline is a small railway, often used to carry timber or other goods from a forest or mine to a main railway line.
In 1903, a company called Campbell Land & Timber Co got permission to build a tramway along Mangaone and Te Horo Roads. This tramway stretched about 8 kilometers (5 miles) east from Te Horo station. It was used to transport timber from the forest to the main railway line at the station. The tramway was no longer used by 1929.
Future of Te Horo Station
Even though Te Horo station closed many years ago, there has been talk about possibly reopening it. During the 2017 general election, some political parties suggested extending the electric train lines further north.
The Green Party proposed making the railway line electric all the way to Ōtaki. They saw this as a good alternative to building a new motorway called the Northern Corridor extension. The National Party also supported making the railway line electric. They believed it would help people living in areas like Manakau, Ōtaki, and Te Horo travel more easily to Wellington.
