Karioi 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 se ...

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 t ...

of New Zealand. 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 ...

remains.

Name

The name was changed to Ninnia, or Ninia in 1907, but reverted to Karioi in 1910, though Ninia was still on the 1926 map. Ninia was also later used, further north on the NIMT, at Waione Siding. Karioi settlement lay to the south at what is now Karioi Domain.

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. Bush felling for the railway started in 1900. The rails were extended to the station in March, or April 1907 and the line opened from

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 ...

to Rangataua for goods traffic on 12 August 1907. A road to the station was built in 1907 for £1,078.10s. A 3rd class station was built by March 1908 with a budget of £7,672, though that may have included Ohakune. When opened Karioi had rooms for a stationmaster, luggage, urinals and ladies, on a by platform. There was also a by goods shed with verandah, a loading bank, cattle and sheep yards, two water tanks and a cart approach. There was a tablet and fixed signals. Cottages for railway staff were built from 1904 to 1919. A crossing loop could take 85 wagons. There was a Post Office at the station from 1913 to 1951. Approval to remove the station building was given in 1971. On 31 January 1982 the station closed to all traffic except in wagon lots and closed to that on 23 June1984.

Mangawhero Sawmilling tramway

An agreement to log was made in 1906. Mangawhero Sawmilling Co's logging tramway ran east from the station between about 1922 and 1929. About 1926 the mill bought 3 Nattrass Tractors and were quoted as saying, "After spending £7000 on a tramway, and purchasing a locomotive (unable to shift any timber because of the grade being one in nine), one million and a half feet of timber accumulated, and your Rail Tractor saved the situation." The line was worked by an NZR P class (1876) loco, transferred from the

Sanson Tramway The Sanson Tramway in the Manawatu region of New Zealand operated from 1885 until 1945. Owned by the Manawatu County Council, it connected with the national railway network at Himatangi on the Foxton Branch. It was never part of the national ...

in about 1922, but it was dismantled by 1932. Lake_Rotokura_and_Ruapehu

Lake Rotokura

To the north of the station, Lake Rotokura and Dry Lake are maar crater lakes. A half hour walk from the station leads to the lake. It remains surrounded by beech forest, in which

tūī The tūī (''Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae'') is a boisterous medium-sized bird native to New Zealand. It is blue, green, and bronze colored with a distinctive white throat tuft. It is an endemic passerine bird of New Zealand, and the only spe ...

kākā The New Zealand kākā (''Nestor meridionalis'') is a large species of parrot of the family Nestoridae found in New Zealand's native forests. The species is often known by the abbreviated name kākā, although it shares this name with the rece ...

korimako The New Zealand bellbird (''Anthornis melanura''), also known by its Māori names korimako, makomako, and kōmako, is a passerine bird endemic to New Zealand. It has greenish colouration and is the only living member of the genus ''Anthornis''. T ...

, piwakawka and toutouwai are commonly seen. Mistletoe is being monitored in the area.

References

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External links

Bullock cart at the railway in 1909

Google Street View of station site in 2011

Northern Explorer at Karioi in 2013
Buildings and structures in Manawatū-Whanganui Railway stations in New Zealand Rail transport in Manawatū-Whanganui Railway stations opened in 1907 Railway stations closed in 1984 Ruapehu District