Aorangi railway station | |||||||||||
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![]() Aorangi in 1967, showing the bridge over the Oroua, meat works, sidings and possible site of station shelter | |||||||||||
General information | |||||||||||
Location | New Zealand | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 40°14′36″S 175°35′06″E / 40.243305°S 175.585032°E | ||||||||||
Elevation | 70 m (230 ft) | ||||||||||
Owned by | KiwiRail | ||||||||||
Line(s) | North Island Main Trunk | ||||||||||
Distance | Wellington 150.9 km (93.8 mi) | ||||||||||
Platforms | 1 | ||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
Opened | 1 October 1876 | ||||||||||
Closed | 2 November 1987 | ||||||||||
Electrified | 25 kV 50 Hz AC June 1988 | ||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||
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Aorangi railway station was a small station on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand.[1][2]
The station was opened in 1878; and closed on 10 August 1959 for passengers and 2 November 1987 for goods traffic.[3] There is now only a single line through the station site.[4] Te Araroa long distance walkway passes the station site.[5]
By July 1876 the rails were in place, linking Palmerston North and Feilding,[6] and ballasting was finished in September.[7] The formal opening of the railway was on 19 October 1876.[8] Charles Bull had a sawmill at Aorangi until about 1886.[9] It had a private siding 4 chains (260 ft; 80 m) on the Feilding side of Aorangi from 1878,[10] but there was a complaint about trains not stopping for passengers in 1883.[11] By 1896 there was a shelter shed and passenger platform and also a cart approach by 1911.[10]
By 1959 there was still a shelter, platform and Borthwicks' private siding, which was the only source of local rail traffic after closure of the station on 10 August 1959.[10] A 1949 aerial photo seems to show a shelter,[12] where the 1967 photo (to the right) shows a white mark at the foot of the photo. In 1989 there was still a passing loop and private siding.[10]
The railway crosses the Oroua River between Aorangi and Feilding[13] on Aorangi Bridge, which was rebuilt in 1930[14]-31,[15] when the curve was eased from a radius of 14 chains (920 ft; 280 m) to 20 ch (1,300 ft; 400 m). It has ten 20 ch (1,300 ft; 400 m) 60 feet (18 m) spans,[16] with a total length of 183 m (600 ft).[17]
A footbridge over the river was built in 1883.[18] The first road bridge opened on 21 March 1893.[19] It was replaced by a ferro-concrete bridge in 1930.[20]
The road and railway bridges were partly swept away in a flood on 17 April 1897.[21]
A siding for the Oroua Freezing works was put in during its construction in 1915.[22] West Coast Meat & Produce Co Ltd had the works formally opened by Prime Minister, Bill Massey, on 17 April 1916.[23] Later that year the company changed its name to Feilding Farmers’ Freezing Company Ltd.[24] They sold the works to Thomas Borthwick and Sons (Australasia) Ltd in 1931,[25] who had a small shunting locomotive at Aorangi from 1931 to 1973.[26] Rail traffic was reduced in 1944 by allowing road haulage for up to 20 mi (32 km) parallel with the railway.[27] The works became part of AFFCO[28] from May 1992, after re-building in September 1991.[29] The works is no longer rail connected.[30]