Cliff Road railway station was a

flag station In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a bus stop, stop or train station, 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 drop ...

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 ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. It opened in 1888 and closed in 1982. Only a single track now passes through the station site and no buildings remain.

History

The route of the

Hunterville Hunterville is a small town in the Rangitikei District, Rangitikei district of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located halfway between Taupo and Wellington on State Highway 1, and as of the 2018 census has a population of 408. The town ...

branch (later incorporated into the NIMT) was inspected on foot in 1884. A station at Cliff Road was planned from 1885, when authority was requested for £50.9/- for alterations to the station, though the station doesn't seem to have existed until 1888. A report said goods were first carried on the branch on 19 October 1887, though the line was said to be almost ready to open in December 1887 and an estimate of May 1888 opening was given, but the official opening of the Marton to Hunterville section was on Saturday 2 June 1888, when the station was served by two trains a week, reported as losing £15 a week. A Certificate of Inspection for the line was issued on Wednesday, 6 June 1888. By 1894 the branch had two trains a day. In 1890 special trains ran to Cliff Road for Marton hack races. Although an application for cattle yards was made in 1893, it seems none was provided, though sheep were handled at the station. By 1896 there was a shelter shed, platform, loading bank, urinals 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 o ...

for 24 wagons. By 1899 a cart approach existed. An 1897 petition asked for a goods shed. In 1904 it was decided to move a spare engine shed from

Wanganui District Whanganui District is one of the districts of New Zealand. It includes the city of Whanganui and surrounding areas. Geography Formerly spelled "Wanganui", the Whanganui District Council resulted from the amalgamation of Wanganui and Waitotara co ...

and convert it to a goods shed for about £75. By November 1904 Cliff Road had a by goods shed. In 1913, to ease dray access to the siding, £70 was spent to shift loading back to the north end of the yard and extend the approach road. The station had a caretaker from at least 1912 to 1951. Houses were built for railway workers in 1919 and 1920. In 1939 the loop siding at Cliff Road was lifted for use at

Whangamōmona Whangamōmona is a small township in the Stratford, New Zealand, Stratford District and Manawatū-Whanganui, Manawatū-Whanganui Region of New Zealand. It lies on New Zealand State Highway 43, State Highway 43, the "Forgotten World Highway", no ...

. Seven wagons were derailed at the station in 1942. A report on 19 June 1959 said there was still a shelter shed, platform, 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 sc ...

locked loop siding, goods shed, loading bank and sheep yards. Traffic was then mostly inward loads of bulk lime, manure and occasional livestock and, outwards, potatoes and straw. On Monday, 10 August 1959 the station closed for passengers, parcels, and goods in small lots. By 1971 the goods shed was rarely used. From 1 September 1972 until 1 October 1978 the shed was leased to Marton Lime Company. From Sunday, 25 April 1982 the station closed to all traffic.

Bridge strikes

The

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...

, on what is now

State Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered S ...

, was the subject of a court case about a car collision with a train as early as 1913. The defendant S. J. Gibbons was awarded the amount of £15 as claimed in a precedent-setting case. Trees were felled in 1916 to improve sight-lines for motorists. The crossing was replaced by a bridge under the railway in about 1938. In 2007 a truck hit the bridge and its debris was hit by another truck, which caught fire. Sleepers on the bridge burnt and had to be replaced. Another truck hit the bridge in 2017 and overturned.

References

{{reflist

External links

* 1907 derailment, due to slip, about a mile and a half north of Cliff Rd - report

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/RAMA19070617.2.4

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WC19070617.2.5

an
photo
Rail transport in Manawatū-Whanganui Buildings and structures in Manawatū-Whanganui Rangitikei District Defunct railway stations in New Zealand Railway stations in New Zealand opened in 1888 Railway stations in New Zealand closed in 1962