Paerata railway station was 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, s ...

, south of Auckland, 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 ...

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, serving the

Paerata Paerata is a small settlement immediately to the north of Pukekohe, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 22 some south of the Manukau Harbour. Wesley College is located close to the northern edge of Paerata. The ...

settlement. The station was opened on 20 May 1875. It was closed to passengers on 24 July 1972, and to all traffic on 1 October 1982. A crossing loop was retained. In 1981 Paerata junction to the Waiuku Branch was re-designed and resignalled, with a new connection towards Pukekohe.

History

The line from

Ōtāhuhu Ōtāhuhu is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand – to the southeast of the CBD, on a narrow isthmus between an arm of the Manukau Harbour to the west and the Tamaki River estuary to the east. The isthmus is the narrowest connection between th ...

reached Paerata in 1873 and opened to

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on 20 May 1875. A building was erected in 1874 for £30. By 1884, when Paerata first appeared in timetables, there was a shelter shed 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 22 wagons. By 1896 there was also a passenger platform with a cart approach and a 28 wagon loop. Sheep yards and a loading bank followed and, from 1906, a Post Office was run by station staff, which moved to Messent's store in 1923. In preparation for the Waiuku Branch, the loop was extended in 1913 to 70 wagons, two cottages and a goods shed were built in 1914 and the station became an

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...

in 1917. The gradient on the Karaka bank, between Runciman and Paerata, was eased from 1 in 40 to 1 in 100 between 1914 and 1916. The work included large cuttings and embankments. A cutting about north of Paerata suffered from 5 slips in the next decade. One of the slips in 1916 was temporarily bypassed by relaying track on the old alignment. A new passing loop was also added at Karaka, north of Paerata. Paerata became a junction station from 10 December 1917, when the first section of the Waiuku Branch opened as far as Patumahoe. The initial service on the branch in 1922 was only a train each way on Tuesdays and Fridays. Automatic signalling replaced token blocks in 1926. In 1928 35 wagons were derailed between Pukekohe and Paerata. Duplication of line between Papakura and Paerata was completed by 3 December 1939 and to Pukekohe in 1941. From 1923 until at least 1943, the

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had a private siding. On 24 July 1972 Paerata closed to all traffic, except in wagon lots. The stockyards were removed and the goods shed moved to Ōtāhuhu Rail Weld Depot in 1973. In 1978 the goods shed loop was sold to

Glenbrook Vintage Railway The Glenbrook Vintage Railway (GVR) is a heritage steam railway in Glenbrook, New Zealand. The GVR is run by a trust board of three trustees elected and appointed from Railway Enthusiasts Society (RES) membership. The board appoints a general m ...

. The station closed to all traffic on 17 July 1977. By 1982 the station building had been demolished.

New station

New train stations for Drury West and

are included in a July 2017 proposal for Auckland infrastructure spending of $600 million to support new housing announced by the government. They will be built and owned by a new Crown Infrastructure Partners body, as the Auckland Council has reached its borrowing limit. The new station will be just east of Paerata Rise, about north of the original station.

References

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External links

1927 photo of station1972 aerial photo

1973 photos of station
Defunct railway stations in New Zealand Buildings and structures in the Auckland Region Rail transport in the Auckland Region Rail transport in Auckland Railway stations opened in 1875 Railway stations closed in 1982

History

New station

See also

References

External links