Erua was a station on the

North Island Main Trunk The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...

line, in the

Ruapehu District Ruapehu District is a territorial authority in the centre of New Zealand's North Island. It has an area of 6,734 square kilometers and the district's population in was . Features The district is landlocked, and contains the western half of the ...

of New Zealand. It served the small village of

Erua Erua is a small town on the North Island Central Plateau in New Zealand. The town is located on New Zealand State Highway 4 immediately to the south of the town of National Park. The town is administered by the Ruapehu District Council and f ...

. For a month in 1908 it was the terminus of the line from

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. Makatote Viaduct and tramway are about south of Erua.

History

Surveying for the route between Hīhītahi and

Piriaka Piriaka is a small rural settlement beside the Whanganui River, about southeast of Taumarunui on State Highway 4 (SH4), in New Zealand's King Country. Its name is Māori, from ''piri'' (to cling close) and ''aka'' (bush climbers of various kin ...

began in 1894. From 1 April 1908 the line from Auckland was extended from National Park to Erua. That reduced the coach journey to the southern railhead at Ohakune to . From 1 May 1908 Erua was supplanted by Makatote as the railhead. On 9 November 1908 NZR took over from the

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

the

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kuiti and 55 km west of ...

to Erua line and on 14 February 1909, the line south to

Waiouru Waiouru is a small town in the Ruapehu District, in New Zealand's Manawatū-Whanganui region. It is located on the south-eastern North Island Volcanic Plateau, north of Palmerston North and 25 kilometres south-east of Mount Ruapehu. The town ...

. Goods trains ran south from Erua from 7 January 1909. Four 5-roomed houses and a 6th class station were built in 1908, with a by shelter shed and urinals on a by platform, a by goods shed with verandah, a loading bank, cattle and sheep yards and a cart approach. A

passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...

could take 49 wagons. Erua was described as a

tablet Tablet may refer to: Medicine * Tablet (pharmacy), a mixture of pharmacological substances pressed into a small cake or bar, colloquially called a "pill" Computing * Tablet computer, a mobile computer that is primarily operated by touching the s ...

station from 1908. There was a Post Office at the station from 1912 to 1937. Overnight, on 30 May 1921, the station burnt down. It closed to goods traffic, except in wagon lots, on 11 August 1969 and to all traffic on 13 September 1986, prior to electrification. There is now only a single line through the former station site. File:Freight train and steam locomotive at Erua Railway Station ATLIB 271379.png, Erua between 1912 and 1916 File:Scene at Erua railway station with goods carriages and dwellings ATLIB 267646.png, Erua station about 1920 File:Erua, with the railway station. ATLIB 289869.jpg, Erua between 1912 and 1916. Already most of the bush shown in the 1908 photo had gone

Timber

Like the other stations along this part of NIMT, Erua had freight from several timber mills. To supply timber to the Frankton Junction Railway House Factory, a sawmill NZR opened a forestry block. 57 were working in it in 1924, though the number was reduced from 1927 and it closed in 1928. To work this block, NZR built a siding from Pokaka, which continued to have some use until about 1932. A tablet lock was added to Karioi Sawmill Co.'s siding between Erua and Pokako in 1930. There were several other timber companies at Erua, including Wanganui Sash and Door, whose tramway closed in December 1956. Waikune Prison had a sawmill near the station until 1927.

Marton Sash and Door Tramway

Crighton Bros had a tramway, which ran about west from the station. Some of the tramway became part of a Marton Sash and Door cycleway in 2014. The Marton mill at Erua burnt down in 1939, though it still had a tramway in 1942.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Photos �
1957 aerial view of the station and railway cottages
Railway stations in New Zealand Rail transport in Manawatū-Whanganui Buildings and structures in Manawatū-Whanganui Railway stations opened in 1908 Ruapehu District Railway stations closed in 1986