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Taumarere railway station

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Coordinates: 35°21′39″S 174°05′38″E / 35.3609°S 174.0939°E / -35.3609; 174.0939
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Taumarere railway station
Taumarere railway station in 2024
General information
LocationNew Zealand
Coordinates35°21′39″S 174°05′38″E / 35.3609°S 174.0939°E / -35.3609; 174.0939
Line(s)Opua Branch
History
Opened24 December 1867
Services
Preceding station   Historical railways   Following station
Kawakawa
Line open,
station open
3.14 km (1.95 mi) towards Whangārei 		  Opua Branch
NZR 		  Te Akeake
Line open,
station open
1 mi 44 ch (2.5 km) towards Opua

Taumarere railway station was a station on the Opua Branch in New Zealand[1] and is a stop on the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway near Taumarere village. It is on the oldest railway built on the North Island,[2] which opened in 1867.[3] Taumarere station has had three locations, east of the village, west of the village and at the rugby ground.

History

[edit]

Coal was discovered at Kawakawa in 1864.[4] Rails[5] and wagons from the Auckland & Drury railway[6] were used for the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) gauge, horse-drawn tramway from the mine to the Derrick wharf on the Kawakawa River at Taumarere. The tramway opened on 26 December 1867[7] and was completed on 16 January 1868,[8] after which the mine was transferred to the newly formed Bay of Islands Coal Company.[9] Horses and the wooden tramway line were replaced on January 28, 1871, by the first steam engine to run in the North Island. In 1874 Bay of Islands Coal Company agreed with Auckland Province that the government would take over the tramway[10] and build the extension.[11] The line was closed from 2 to 11 December 1876 to allow for it to be converted to 3 ft 6 in gauge.[12] Work on the Kawakawa River viaduct and first mile of the extension to Opua was completed in April 1881,[13] a contract was let on 10 December 1880 for the remaining 4 mi 11 ch (6.7 km)[14] and a start was made in June 1881,[15][16] but it wasn't until October 1883 that authority was sought for a solid platform at the station, which was rebuilt[17][18] before 7 April 1884, when the extension opened.[19] When the line opened to Opua, the 38 chains (2,500 ft; 760 m) to the Derrick Wharf closed.[20] The company declined an offer to run the line,[17] as it did not wish to raise more capital,[21] so the track was operated by New Zealand Railways Department.[22] The company sold the tramway to the government and paid 6% of the total cost of the line to lease it back.[23]

Taumarere in 1958, when the station had a water tank and was west of the village

The station was originally closer to the village, between Bridge 5 (Tirohanga Stream) and the Rugby Club,[24] but, after closure on 7 April 1974,[25] it was moved east, near the bridge over the Kawakawa River.[26] In 1883, as a railway,[27] and then in 1890 as a tramway, a Kamo-Puhipuhi link was proposed,[28] with a possible Taumarere-Puhipuhi extension, including a 1 in 12 incline.[29] Possibly it was the same proposed tramway depicted in an undated plan of the station.[30] Taumarere had one[25] of the five stationmaster's houses built on the line about 1883.[31] By 1898 it had a platform, water tower, cattle yard and a passing loop and a loading bank was added in 1916. The siding was removed about 1955.[25] In 1963 the kauri-planked building was bought for £100. In 1997 it was given back to the railway. With closure of the railway in 2000, the building and its surrounds deteriorated, graffiti daubed, and the whole area became unkempt.[32] A wooden platform[33] was built at the rugby ground in 2011.[34]

Long Bridge

[edit]

Bridge 9 is a curved viaduct over the Kawakawa River, just to the east of the current station. When completed n 1882 it was 19.5 ch (1,290 ft; 390 m) long, on 19 x 20 ft (6.1 m) and 22 x 40 ft (12 m) spans,[35] 20 ft (6.1 m) above high tide level, with piles 30 ft (9.1 m) below the water.[36] In 2011[37] and 2015 the bridge was described as 340 m (1,120 ft) long, the longest curved wooden bridge in the southern hemisphere.[38] The original bridge and first mile of the extension cost £9,274.[39] The bridge was strengthened in 1927 to allow AB Class engines to use it[40] and steel girders replaced the decking in 1937.[41] In 2014 the Lottery gave over $470,000 to renew the bridge piles.[42]

  • Derrick Wharf and Long Bridge about 1884
    Derrick Wharf and Long Bridge about 1884
  • Long Bridge in 1958
    Long Bridge in 1958
  • Long Bridge from State Highway 11 in 2017
    Long Bridge from State Highway 11 in 2017

References

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  1. ^ "bayofislandsvintagerailway.org.nz". Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  2. ^ "Centenary Of First N.I. Line. Press". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 4 March 1968. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  3. ^ "Russell. Daily Southern Cross". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 9 January 1868. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Weekly epitome of news. New Zealander". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 19 March 1864. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Daily Southern Cross". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 13 November 1867. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Daily Southern Cross". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 9 November 1867. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  7. ^ "The Kawakawa coal mines. New Zealand Herald". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 13 January 1868. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  8. ^ "The Kawakawa coal mines. New Zealand Herald". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 21 January 1868. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Bay of Islands Coal Company. Daily Southern Cross". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 10 April 1868. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  10. ^ "New Zealand Herald". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 4 September 1874. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Public Works' Statement. Auckland Star". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 10 December 1879. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  12. ^ "New Zealand Herald". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 27 November 1876. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Scintillations. Auckland Star". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 26 April 1881. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  14. ^ "Appendix F. Schedule of Railway Contracts Current on the 1st April, 1880". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Country news. New Zealand Herald". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 6 July 1883. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  16. ^ "Annual report on railways in the north island by the engineer in charge". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1884. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  17. ^ a b "The Kawakawa railway extension. New Zealand Herald". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 25 September 1883. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  18. ^ Scoble, Juliet. "Station Archive". Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.
  19. ^ "New Zealand Herald". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1 May 1884. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  20. ^ "Return No. 19. Comparative statement of Mileage of Railways Open for Traffic and Under Maintenance on 31st March, 1885". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  21. ^ "Bay of Islands Coal Company. Auckland Star". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 10 August 1883. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  22. ^ "Bay of Islands coal company. Auckland Star". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 8 August 1884. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  23. ^ "Bay of Islands coal company. Daily Southern Cross". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 29 January 1876. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  24. ^ "1:63360 map Sheet: N15 Kaikohe". www.mapspast.org.nz. 1977. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  25. ^ a b c Scoble, Juliet. "Station Archive". Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.
  26. ^ "Taumarere, Northland". NZ Topo Map. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  27. ^ "New Zealand Herald". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 6 June 1883. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  28. ^ "The Kamo-Puhipuhi Tranway. Northern Advocate". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 24 May 1890. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  29. ^ "Puhipuhi forest and silver mines. New Zealand Herald". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 13 November 1889. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  30. ^ "Taumarere station - tramway access". MOTAT.
  31. ^ "Waikato Times". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 14 July 1883. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  32. ^ "Beez Neez now Chy Whella - B of I V.R." blog.mailasail.com. 20 December 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  33. ^ "Rugby Club Railway Station BOIVR". Google Maps. August 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  34. ^ "All aboard steam train for rugby fun". www.stuff.co.nz. 8 September 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  35. ^ "Annual report on railways in the north island by the engineer in charge". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1882. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  36. ^ "The Kawakawa railway extension. New Zealand Herald". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 25 September 1883. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  37. ^ "Carter promises bridge restoration". NZ Herald. 4 June 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  38. ^ Adina Brown, Rod Clough (November 2015). "NRC Coastal and Freshwater Heritage Survey" (PDF). Northland Regional Council.
  39. ^ "Auckland Star". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 12 March 1880. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  40. ^ "Whangarei news. Auckland Star". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 23 November 1927. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  41. ^ "Local & General. Northern Advocate". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 28 October 1937. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  42. ^ "LongBridge re-piling costs covered". www.pressreader.com. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
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