Marton railway station was a station and rail junction on the

Marton–New Plymouth Line The Marton–New Plymouth line (MNPL) is a secondary main line railway in the North Island of New Zealand that links the Taranaki and Manawatū-Whanganui regions. It branches from the North Island Main Trunk railway (NIMT) at Marton and runs ...

, opened on 4 February 1878. After 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 ...

(NIMT) made a junction to the south of Marton, a new station was built there and the old station renamed and downgraded, in 1898. The station served Marton, the largest town in the Rangitīkei District, which is in the

Manawatū-Whanganui Manawatū-Whanganui (; spelled Manawatu-Wanganui prior to 2019) is a region in the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand, whose main population centres are the cities of Palmerston North and Whanganui. It is administered by the Manawat ...

region of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It is now disused, except for an occasional excursion train. The pedestrian subway linking to the station remains in use. Marton_railway_station_in_1896

History

The first railway to Marton was on the line linking the ports of Foxton and

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...

to their hinterland. It opened in sections. 1878_Marton_Wanganui_railway_timetable

The line from Whanganui to Turakina opened on Thursday 17 May 1877, declared a public holiday by Whanganui's mayor. Stewart & Co built the extension from Turakina to Marton. The earthworks to Marton were said to be completed by the end of 1876. However, trains weren't extended south until 4 February 1878. Two months later there was criticism that Marton station was too small and too far from the town; in 1875 there had been a plan for the station to be further east, which would have been closer to the town centre. The contract for the final link, from Feilding to the

Rangitīkei River The Rangitīkei River is one of New Zealand's longest rivers, long. Its headwaters are to the southeast of Lake Taupō in the Kaimanawa Ranges. It flows from the Central Plateau south past Taihape, Mangaweka, Hunterville, Marton, and Bu ...

, was let on 28 June 1876. Special trains ran from

Halcombe Halcombe is a small settlement in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the North Island, New Zealand. It is situated 13 km north west of Feilding and 4 km east of the Rangitikei River, between State Highway 1 and State Highway 54. Hal ...

and from

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

to Marton in April 1878. The Foxton to Whanganui line was fully opened on 20 May 1878. Marton Junction was formed when the Hunterville branch opened to Kaikarangi on Saturday, 2 June 1888.

Mixed train A mixed train or mixed consist is a train that contains both passenger and freight cars or wagons. Although common in the early days of railways, by the 20th century they were largely confined to branch lines with little traffic. Typically, servic ...

s from the branch called at the junction to shunt wagons, before continuing to Marton. In March 1895 a telephone was provided to link Marton and Marton Jct. In 1887 further contracts for NIMT were suspended, as there was doubt as to whether it would go via Stratford, or by an extension of the Hunterville Branch. Although no conclusive decision had been reached on the routes, even by 1900, Marton station was moved to the junction in 1898.

Pukepapa railway station

The original Marton station was renamed Pukepapa from Wednesday 1 June 1898 and became a

flag station In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a stop or station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or dropped off. In this way, st ...

for passengers only, when the new station opened at the junction, to the south east. Pukepapa closed on 10 August 1959. G F Baker completed a station at Marton on 10 October 1876. Alexander & McFarlane added more buildings by 15 May 1878 and Andrew C Riggs added more by 2 January 1880. By 1884 there was a 4th class station, by goods shed, loading bank, cattle and sheep yards, stationmaster's house, passenger platform, cart approach and 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 ...

for 15 wagons. Marton_plan_1907

Marton Junction

Plans were made and initial contracts signed in 1885 for a new station and engine shed at the junction and a road to link it to High Street, at a cost of £4120 for works and £679 for buildings. It was ready to open by 27 July 1885. From 5 November 1886 trains stopped at Marton Junction for goods traffic only, though goods weren't carried on the new branch until at least 19 October 1887. Originally there was no shelter on the platform at the new station. One was erected between November 1889 and March 1891. By 1896 there was a shelter shed, passenger platform, crane, water service, coal accommodation, engine shed, stationmaster's house and a passing loop for 40 wagons. A bookstall was discussed in 1898 and out for tender in 1911. From its official opening on 1 June, it had a stationmaster and its name was changed from Marton Junction to Marton. By 1 December 1898 it also had a cart approach (Henderson Brothers offered land for the road in 1896), by goods shed, loading bank, cattle and sheep yards, engine turning triangle, fixed signals and urinals. In 1905 it was noted that it was a lean-to type station building, with a round-roof goods shed. It was also noted that the reversing triangle, put in for the

Royal Train A royal train is a set of railway carriages dedicated for the use of the monarch or other members of a royal family. Most monarchies with a railway system employ a set of royal carriages. Australia The various government railway operators of A ...

in 1901, was of little use for ordinary shunting and out of use. Railway houses were built in 1898, 1913, 1953, 1954 and 1955 and the stationmaster's house improved in 1900. There was a post office and public telephone at the station from November 1898 until 31 August 1934. Station Rd had a gas lit footpath added in 1911. and the station, yard, and engine shed were gas lit in 1916. In 1928 Marton had two signal cabins. In 1929 a

turntable A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

was built. In 1991 it was noted as being in very poor condition and not needed. In 1987 train examining was removed from Marton. Chart_of_Marton_railway_station_passengers_1881-1950

Chart_of_Marton_railway_station_passengers_1881-1950

Marton had its annual returns of traffic recorded, as did Turakina and Hunterville to the north and Greatford to the south. For example, it had 48,744 passengers in 1923, and a large inward flow of sheep and pigs at 53,362. In 1931 the station employed 15 salaried staff, in addition to those in the locomotive, maintenance, signal & electrical and traffic branches.

Refreshment rooms

On 24 December 1898 the refreshment rooms at Halcombe were replaced by those at Marton. More rooms were built in 1901 and a counter refreshment room added in 1905. In 1917, when dining cars were removed from trains, a set table refreshment room opened. From 1940 to 1954 there was a railway hostel for female refreshment room staff. With faster trains and railcars the need for refreshment stops reduced, and they closed on 14 June 1954.

1960s rebuilding

In October 1963 Blain Building Coy Ltd, Halcombe started work on a £40,749.18.0 contract to demolish the old station and build a new one. It was done in stages, with the old station building demolished in August 1964 and the new station, by , opened on Thursday, 1 April 1965. On 1 April 1993 a third of the new station building was destroyed by fire. A new diesel and wagon depot was built in 1966 by W M Angus Ltd, Wanganui. It was by , with a steel frame, concrete ends and corrugated aluminium sheeting on the sides and roof.

Services

The first trains connected Marton and Whanganui from 4 February 1878. They ran twice a day in each direction. From 1879 the service was extended south to link with the Feilding-Foxton service. The

New Plymouth Express The ''New Plymouth Express'' was a passenger express train operated by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) between Wellington and New Plymouth. It ran from 1886 until 1955 and was sometimes known as the ''New Plymouth Mail'' due to the Ra ...

Night Limited The ''Night Limited'' was an express passenger train that operated in New Zealand between Wellington and Auckland, utilising the entire length of the North Island Main Trunk. It commenced service on 15 December 1924 and was replaced by the S ...

Scenic Daylight The ''Scenic Daylight'' was a daytime express train in New Zealand, introduced on 17 December 1960 between Auckland and Wellington along the North Island Main Trunk Railway, replacing the ''Daylight Limited''. The service was steam-hauled initia ...

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

Silver Fern ''Alsophila dealbata'', synonym ''Cyathea dealbata'', commonly known as the silver fern or silver tree-fern, or as ponga or punga (from Māori or ),The Māori word , pronounced , has been borrowed into New Zealand English as a generic term fo ...

, Blue Streak,

Northerner Northerner may refer to: * A person from a Northern Region from a State, Province, or Country; For Example: ** Someone from Northern England ** Someone from the Northern United States * Translation of Beifangren "北方人", endonym for someone fro ...

and Overlander all stopped at the station. The first Auckland - Wellington through expresses ran on 14 February 1909, taking 19 hours 13 minutes, and stopping at Marton. As early as 1917 a bus competed for Whanganui passengers, following cuts in railway services.

Freight

Malteurop has a two sidings south of Marton, built in 1979, where it makes about 45,000 tons of malt a year and imports barley from

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

. Since the disruption of the

2016 Kaikōura earthquake The 2016 Kaikoura earthquake was a magnitude 7.8 (Mw) earthquake in the South Island of New Zealand that occurred two minutes after midnight on 14 November 2016 NZDT (11:02 on 13 November UTC). Ruptures occurred on multiple faults and the e ...

, most of the barley has been shipped via Whanganui. Much of the malt is sent to

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 ...

for

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

and DB breweries. In 2020 a plan was announced for a $9.1m forestry based rail hub. The former goods yard was derelict in 2019.