Taringamotu railway station explained

Taringamotu railway station
Country:New Zealand
Coordinates:-38.8543°N 175.2375°W
Elevation:173m (568feet)
Owned:KiwiRail
Line:North Island Main Trunk
Distance:Wellington 402.49km (250.1miles)
Tracks:single
Opened:1 December 1903
Closed:16 April 1972 passengers
9 March 1987 goods
Electrified:25 kV 50 Hz AC June 1988
Former:Taringamutu until 7 August 1913

Taringamotu railway station was a station at Taringamotu on the North Island Main Trunk, in the Ruapehu District and Manawatū-Whanganui region.[1]

Goods traffic was reported to have started by November 1902.[2] A station master was appointed in 1911.[3] In 1920 he was working over 12 hours a day.[4] In 1924 it was a 6th grade post.[5] The stationmaster was withdrawn from 26 June 1926.[6] Reports mention a caretaker being at the station in 1948 and 1951.

The name was changed from Taringamutu to Taringamotu after Alexander Young had described it as an error in Parliament in 1913.[7]

In 1908 additions were made to the station buildings and a station house was built. By 1911 there was a shelter shed, platform, loading bank and a passing loop for 36 wagons.[8] Electric lighting came in about 1936.[9]

Timber was the main traffic, transferring from the Taringamotu Tramway, but the station also handled other goods, such as 122 tons of fertilisers in 1926.[10] Taringamotu Totara Sawmills' private siding was NaNmiles south of the station.

In 1939 the line between Taumarunui and Taringamotu became the first in the country to get CTC, meaning that Taringamotu closed as a tablet station.[11] Passenger numbers rose rapidly until 1916, as shown in the table and graph below –

yearticketsseason ticketsstaffsources
19109931RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1910
19111,7781RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1911
19122,93181RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1912
19132,9041RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1913
19143,0351RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1914
19153,3361RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1915
19164,3474RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1916
19174,1079RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1917
19184,11011RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1918
19193,33338RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1919
19202,98229RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1920
19212,92918RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1921
19222,99856RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1922
19232,52294RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1923
19242,83688RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1924
19252,79437RETURN No. 12. Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1925
19262,47660STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1926
192755915STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1927
Taringamotu closed to all traffic from 16 April 1972. In 1974 the crossing loop was extended.[12] The loop was closed on 9 March 1987.[13]

There is now just a single track and a 2-span girder bridge over the Ongarue River.[14]

Incidents

The line wasn't fenced until 1909. In October 1905 a letter from 22 Māori farmers between Taumarunui and Taringamotu complained of the agreement to do so being broken, saying, "Fifteen horses have been killed, eight cows, and five pigs".[15]

In 1915 the Ongarue River undermined a bank and two engines and a van, which had been moving very slowly, were overturned. One fireman had a minor hand,[16] or head, injury.[17]

Two goods trains crashed in 1943, with slight injuries to drivers and firemen.[18]

Floods and slips closed the line nearby on several occasions.[19] [20] In 2015 the wooden bridge over the Ongarue River was replaced in concrete and mass stabilisation was applied to the nearby embankment.[21]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas. Quail Map Co.. 1993. 0-900609-92-3. Fourth.
  2. News: NORTH TRUNK RAILWAY. AUCKLAND STAR. 6 Nov 1902. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2020-03-19.
  3. News: KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. 2 Dec 1911. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2020-03-19.
  4. News: RAILWAY BOARD. DOMINION. 6 Feb 1920. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2020-03-19.
  5. Web site: 1 Apr 1924. MEMBERS OF THE RAILWAYS DEPARTMENT. 2021-05-08. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.
  6. Web site: 2012. Station Archive. Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.
  7. Book: Parliament, New Zealand. Parliamentary Debates: House of Representatives. 1913. 457. en.
  8. Web site: 2012. Station Archive. Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.
  9. News: 25 Jan 1936. NEW TIME-TABLE. AUCKLAND STAR. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2020-03-19.
  10. News: ARTIFICIAL MANURE. KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. 7 Nov 1929. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2020-03-19.
  11. Web site: 1939. RAILWAYS STATEMENT (BY THE MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, HON. D. G. SULLIVAN). 2021-05-08. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.
  12. Web site: 2012. Station Archive. Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.
  13. Web site: Scoble. Juliet. 2010. Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations. Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.
  14. Web site: 69 Te Araroa Trail. 2021-05-06. Google Maps. en.
  15. Web site: Te Mana WhaTuahuru Report on Te Rohe Pōtae Claims Parts I and II Wai 898. 2018. WAITANGI TRIBUNAL.
  16. News: MAIN TRUNK LINE. Embankment gives way. PRESS. 24 July 1915. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2020-03-19.
  17. News: RAILWAY ACCIDENT. MANAWATU TIMES. 24 July 1915. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2020-03-19.
  18. News: TRAINS COLLIDE. AUCKLAND STAR. 7 Dec 1943. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2020-03-19.
  19. News: SLIPS ON THE RAILWAY. KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. 23 May 1925. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2020-03-19.
  20. News: NORTH ISLAND FLOODS. OTAGO DAILY TIMES. 23 March 1933. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2020-03-19.
  21. Web site: KiwiRail upgrade '007' licenced to thrill – Contractor Magazine. en-US. 2020-03-19.

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