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Mercer railway station

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Mercer railway station in Mercer, New Zealand, is 72 km from Auckland and 609 km from Wellington on the North Island Main Trunk line. It opened on 20 May 1875 and was closed to passengers about 1970 and to goods in the 1990s. It burnt down in 1879[2] and also in 1900.[3] Until 1958 it was the first refreshment stop south of Auckland.[4]

Mercer railway station
1910 Mercer station viewed from east with Waikato River in middle distance.
Price, William Archer, 1866–1948 Collection of post card negatives. Ref: 1/2-001041-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington
General information
LocationMercer
New Zealand
Coordinates37°16′39″S 175°02′52″E / 37.27750°S 175.04778°E / -37.27750; 175.04778
Owned byKiwiRail Network
Line(s)North Island Main Trunk
Tracksdouble track from 11 November 1951[1]
History
Opened20 May 1875
Closed1986

History

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The line was extended to Mercer on 20 May 1875, though the pioneer British contractors, John Brogden & Sons, ran an excursion train the day before. The New Zealand Herald said, "This will be a busy station for some time to come, it being the terminus." It described the route as crossing Mangatawhiri swamp, then running beside the South Road, with a short branch line being constructed to connect with the Waikato Steam Navigation Company's boats. It said the station and other buildings were still being built.[5] 'Some time to come' ended just over 2 years later, when the line was extended to Ngāruawāhia on 13 August 1877. The refreshment room was built in 1876/77 for £245[6] and extended in 1878/79 for £180.[7]

The service began with two trains per day each way between Auckland and Mercer taking 2hrs 50mins.[8] The station was unfinished when the railway opened.[9]

An 1880 advert for reopening of the refreshment rooms said trains waited 20 minutes.[10]

In 1902 the newly rebuilt station was described as, "a long wood and iron building, which contains a large refreshment room and bar, ladies' room, public room, booking office, stationmaster's room, and post and telegraph department. There is also a large engine shed, besides a pump house and coal shed, and there are eight cottages in the immediate vicinity", with 9 staff – stationmaster, porter, cadet, 2 engine drivers, 2 firemen, and 2 greasers.[11]

Until New Zealand Railways took over in 1917,[12] the "refreshment rooms" were managed by the Mercer Railway Hotel, opposite the station. The hotel was rebuilt in 1898, with 15 bedrooms, 3 sitting rooms and a 50-seat dining room.[11] The refreshment rooms gained importance when dining cars on main trunk expresses were removed as a wartime measure.[13]

The refreshment rooms became the target of poet A.R.D Fairburn's witty tongue with this very famous quip.

"The thought occurs to those who are entrained: The squalid tea of Mercer is not strained."[14]

 
tickets sales 1881–1950 – derived from annual returns to Parliament of "Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended"

Traffic grew to a peak in World War 2, as shown in the graph and table below.

year tickets season tickets staff ref.
1881 1,763 3 [15]
1882 4,824 1 [16]
1883 4,330 3 [17]
1884 5,726 4 [18]
1885 5,536 2 5 [19]
1886 4,614 5 4 [20]
1887 4,675 1 2 [21]
1888 7,0455 2
1889 8,127 3 3 [22]
1890 [23]
1891 7,686 3 3 [24]
1892 7,969 3 3 [25]
1893 7,519 5 3 [26]
1894 7,869 5 4 [27]
1895 7,951 7 4 [28]
1896 7,953 4 4 [29]
1897 8,652 4 5 [30]
1898 8,446 6 5 [31]
1899 9,605 3 5 [32]
1900 10,482 3 5 [33]
1901
1902 15,449 6 [34]
1903 16,365 1 8 [35]
1904 15,183 1 9 [36]
1905 14,912 14 9 [37]
1906 12,529 21 11 [38]
1907 11,619 29 10 [39]
1908 14,898 4 12 [40]
1909 13,977 8 12 [41]
1910 12,768 9 12 [42]
1911 11,055 20 11 [43]
1912 11,295 13 17 [44]
1913 14,199 52 17 [45]
1914 15,337 156 [46]
1915 15,898 144 [47]
1916 18,400 135 [48]
1917 20,601 113 [49]
1918 20,560 154 [50]
1919 20,680 111 [51]
1920 19,363 142 [52]
1921 21,203 125 [53]
1922 16,450 106 [54]
1923 14,535 101 [55]
1924 15,700 102 [56]
1925 17,615 107 [57]
1926 14,711 107 [58]
1927 14,696 68 [59]
1928 11,536 84 [60]
1929 10,218 133 [61]
1930 9,110 133 [62]
1931 11,892 94 [63]
1932 11,587 95 [64]
1933 14,141 99 [65]
1934 16,227 131 [66]
1935 18,030 127 [67]
1936 18,030 124 [68]
1937 19,560 111 [69]
1938 19,365 138 [70]
1939 19,802 175 [71]
1940 19,718 114 [72]
1941 19,667 128 [73]
1942 22,580 89 [74]
1943 25,422 92 [75]
1944 30,297 166 [76]
1945 31,073 145 [77]
1946 25,651 119 [78]
1947 21,410 185 [79]
1948 15,495 478 [80]
1949 14,838 337 [81]
1950 16,452 240 [82]

Accidents and tunnel

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An engine cleaner died in 1899 after trying to jump onto a moving engine.[83]

A Wellington to Auckland "Limited" express derailed on 28 October 1940 killing the driver and fireman and injuring 12 passengers. An estimate put the speed at 75 mph (though some at the inquiry gave evidence of normal speed)[84] on the 30 mph (48 km/h) 8-chain radius curve, just south of the station, near the former 30.5 m (100 ft)[85] tunnel opened out in 1937.[86] The engine, K900,[87] tipped on its side and was overrun by six carriages.[88] Removal of the tunnel allowed double tracking and easing of the speed limit to 45 mph (72 km/h).[89] The curve has been greatly eased in the 2006 Mercer to Long Swamp Expressway 4-laning of 12 km of SH1, which included this 1 km of rail deviation.[90]

Another derailment at Mercer was on 3 September 2013, when a freight train blocked both the road and railway.[91]

Future services

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In 2011 a feasibility report on reinstating passenger services said a station with a platform 155m long and 750mm high for 6-car trains would cost $4m. The proposal was shelved. It is believed by some that the figure is overly inflated to kill off the proposal.[92] Today, the Te Huia Hamilton - Papakura services passes Mercer but does not stop.

Mainline Steam depot

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Heritage operator Mainline Steam Heritage Trust is developing a new depot at Mercer.[93] By June 2020 three of their locomotives were stored in a siding at Mercer.[94]

References

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  1. ^ New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas (4th ed.). Exeter: Quail Map Co. 1993. p. 4. ISBN 0-900609-92-3.
  2. ^ Papers Past Hawke's Bay Herald, 20 May 1879
  3. ^ Papers Past NZ Herald 8 Feb 1901
  4. ^ Te Ara – Waikato Heads to Meremere
  5. ^ New Zealand Herald, Volume XII, Issue 4217, 20 May 1875, Page 3: THE AUCKLAND AND MERCER RAILWAY
  6. ^ "Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives – Public Works Statement by the Minister for Public Works, The Hon. John Davies Ormond, Friday, 10th August, 1877". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  7. ^ "Railways - Miscellaneous Liabilities on 30th September, 1879". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  8. ^ "Untitled". New Zealand Herald. 21 May 1875. p. 2. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  9. ^ "The Auckland And Mercer Railway". New Zealand Herald. 20 May 1875. p. 3. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Papers Past — Waikato Times — 21 February 1880 — Page 1". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  11. ^ a b NZ Electronic Text Collection – The Cyclopedia Company Ltd, 1902
  12. ^ Paekakariki Station Precinct Trust Museum Archived 7 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "Refreshments – The North Island main trunk line | NZHistory, New Zealand history online". www.nzhistory.net.nz. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  14. ^ Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "2. – Waikato places – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand". www.teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
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  83. ^ THE MERCER RAILWAY FATALITY New Zealand Herald, 9 December 1899, Page 5
  84. ^ Papers Past – Auckland Star, 27 November 1940, Page 8
  85. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  86. ^ "Demolition of Mercer Tunnel Completed. FRANKLIN TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 11 January 1937. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  87. ^ "MOTAT". Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  88. ^ "New Page 2". Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  89. ^ "TUNNEL REMOVAL. AUCKLAND STAR". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 25 June 1936. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  90. ^ Bloxham Burnett roading project from 1998 Archived 7 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  91. ^ "Highway re-opens after train derailing". 3 September 2013.
  92. ^ Waikato Regional Council – Hamilton to Auckland Passenger Rail 2011 Working Party report
  93. ^ "Mainline Steam - The Mercer Project". Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  94. ^ "Waikato Expy". Google Maps. June 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
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Photos

Map

Timetables

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Pokeno
Line open, station closed 		  North Island Main Trunk
New Zealand Railways Department 		  Amokura
Line open, station closed
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