Hope railway station was a rural railway station serving the small town of

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

in the

Tasman district Tasman District () is a local government district in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It borders the Canterbury Region, West Coast Region, Marlborough Region and Nelson City. It is administered by the Tasman District Council, ...

of New Zealand’s

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. Hope is located on between the larger towns of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, to the north, and

Brightwater Brightwater (Māori language, Māori: ''Wairoa'') is a town southwest of Nelson, New Zealand, Nelson in Tasman Region, Tasman district in the South Island of New Zealand. It stands on the banks of the Wairoa River, Tasman, Wairoa River. Bright ...

, to the south. It was one of 25 stations on the

Nelson Section The Nelson Section was an isolated government-owned railway line between Nelson and Glenhope in the Tasman district of New Zealand's South Island. While part of the New Zealand Government Railways, the section was never connected to the nation ...

, and existed from 1876 to 1955. Facilities at this station included a small wooden passenger shelter,

goods shed A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train. A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built ...

and

siding Siding may refer to: * Siding (construction), the outer covering or cladding of a house * Siding (rail) A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch l ...

History

The first section of the Nelson Section to be built was from Stoke to Foxhill, as the route for this part of the line was the first to be confirmed while the route out of Nelson was still being debated. This included the construction of the Hope railway station, which was opened along with the first completed section from Nelson to Foxhill on 29 January 1876. Hope was one of seven stations on the Nelson Section between Nelson and Belgrove to have a goods shed, and came to the attention of the Nelson Progress League in 1949 because of the condition of the goods shed. The League was, at the time, conducting a campaign to encourage government investment in the line, and cited Hope as an example of the dilapidated state of the railway. The goods shed was later demolished and replaced with a smaller lean-to structure. In the 1950s, the Valetta Timber Company established a sawmill in a paddock behind the goods shed which included a private rail siding. This resulted in one of the busiest periods for revenue traffic for the station. This station was closed for three days in June 1954 until the Nelson Section was granted a reprieve, and closed permanently on 3 September 1955.

Today

The former Hope station yard is now part of the commercial premises of Taylor Timbers Ltd, a lumber wholesaler.

References

* {{Tasman District Defunct railway stations in New Zealand Rail transport in Nelson, New Zealand Railway stations closed in 1955 Buildings and structures in the Tasman District Transport in the Tasman District Railway stations in New Zealand opened in 1876 Railway stations in New Zealand closed in the 20th century

History

Today

See also

References