Opua railway station was a station on the Opua Branch in New Zealand, serving the port of Opua.[1][2][3]
Opua railway station | |||||||||||
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 Opua station and wharf in 1950 | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | New Zealand | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 35°18′49″S 174°07′16″E / 35.313491°S 174.12123°E | ||||||||||
| Elevation | 3 m (9.8 ft) | ||||||||||
| Line(s) | Opua Branch | ||||||||||
| Distance | Westfield Junction 298.96 km (185.77 mi) | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | 7 April 1884 | ||||||||||
| Closed | goods 18 September 1993 passengers 21 June 1976 | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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It had a 5th class station, passenger platform, crane, stationmaster's house, urinals, a 40 ft (12 m) x 30 ft (9.1 m) goods shed and an engine shed. In 1940 the turntable was lengthened to 62 ft (19 m). There was a Post Office at the station from 1884 until 1968.[4]
There were railway lines on the wharf from at least 1895 until 11 April 1978, when sleepers were placed to prevent access to wharf as it was unsafe. On 13 February 1981 the station closed to all but private siding traffic.[4]
When the North Auckland Line was fully opened in 1925, the Opua Express passenger train operated thrice weekly from Auckland to Opua. From November 1956 Opua was served only by mixed trains between Whangarei and Opua, the last running on 18 June 1976. The station, and a large part of the cliff behind it, was demolished between 1966 and 1973[5] and a new station built in 1969.[4][6] Moerewa Dairy Factory and Affco Meat Works used the railway for export via Opua until 1985. The line was leased to the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway from 1989[4] until 2001, when the Land Transport Safety Authority withdrew the line's operating licence.
References
edit- ^ "bayofislandsvintagerailway.org.nz". Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
- ^ Scoble, Juliet. "Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations in New Zealand 1863 to 2010" (PDF). Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.
- ^ New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas (Fourth ed.). Quail Map Co. 1993. ISBN 0-900609-92-3.
- ^ a b c d "Stations" (PDF). NZR Rolling Stock Lists. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ "Opua, Northland". National Library of New Zealand. 1 January 1973. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- ^ "Winstone Publication: 1969 Railway Station office being transported by Hardie Brothers (Northland) Ltd to its new site at Opua, Bay of Islands". The Fletcher Trust Archive Collection Online. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
External links
editPhotos
- 1909 train and ship at wharf
- 1934 train at Opua wharf
- 1952 train at Opua station
- 1960, 1962 aerial view and late 1960s
- 1970s Opua station
- 1973 mixed train at the station and turntable
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