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Kakahi railway station

{{short description|Railway station in New Zealand}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}

{{Use New Zealand English|date=June 2021}}

{{Infobox station

| name = Kakahi railway station

| type =

| image = Kakahi 1908.jpg

| image_caption = Kakahi 1908

| address =

| country = New Zealand

| coordinates = {{Coord|-38.938500|175.387200|region:NZ-AUK_type:railwaystation|display=inline,title}}

| elevation = {{convert|266|m|abbr=on}}

| owned =

| line = North Island Main Trunk

| distance = Wellington {{convert|382|km|abbr=on}}

| platform =

| tracks =

| other =

| structure =

| levels =

| parking =

| bicycle =

| accessible =

| code =

| zone =

| opened = 11 October 1904

| closed = 25 June 1978

| rebuilt =

| electrified = June 1988

| former =

| mpassengers =

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| pass_system =

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| services = {{s-rail|title=Historical railways}}

{{rail line

|previous=Piriaka
Line open, station closed
{{convert|5.27|km|abbr=on}}

|next=Ōwhango
Line open, station closed
{{convert|10.11|km|abbr=on}}

|route=North Island Main Trunk
KiwiRail

}}

| embedded =

}}

File:Kakahi_station_about_1915.jpg

Kakahi was a station on the North Island Main Trunk line,{{Cite web|last=Scoble|first=Juliet|date=|title=Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations in New Zealand 1863 to 2010|url=http://railheritage.org.nz/assets/Dates_and_names.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124135845/http://railheritage.org.nz/assets/Dates_and_names.pdf|archive-date=24 January 2018|access-date=|website=Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand|url-status=dead}} in the Ruapehu District of New Zealand, serving Kakahi. It formally opened on 9 November 1908.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Stations|url=http://railheritage.org.nz/assets/Heritage_listings.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208074304/http://railheritage.org.nz/assets/Heritage_listings.pdf|archive-date=8 February 2013|access-date=2020-08-10|website=NZR Rolling Stock Lists|language=en|url-status=dead}} The rails were laid south of Piriaka by May 1904{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=5 May 1904|title=MAIN TRUNK RAILWAY. WAIKATO TIMES|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT19040505.2.13|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-11|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} and a daily ballast train was running by October,{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=12 Oct 1904|title=TAUMARUNUI. WAIKATO TIMES|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT19041012.2.12|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} which also carried passengers.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=19 Apr 1905|title=THE KING COUNTRY. AUCKLAND STAR|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19050419.2.84|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} Kakahi Bridge has five spans of {{Convert|44|ft||abbr=on}} and one of {{Convert|23|ft||abbr=on}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=3 Apr 1906|title=WELLINGTON TO AUCKLAND. NEW ZEALAND TIMES|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTIM19060403.2.41|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-15|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} supplied by G. Fraser & Sons of Auckland, which delayed construction to the south.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT BY THE HON. W. HALL-JONES, MINISTER FOR PUBLIC WORKS, 28th OCTOBER, 1904.|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1904/I/1624|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-16|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} It crosses the Kakahi Stream,{{Cite web|title=Kakahi, Manawatu-Wanganui|url=https://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap/nz53766/Kakahi/|access-date=2021-01-18|website=NZ Topo Map|language=en}} which was sometimes called the Waitea River.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=1 Oct 1906|title=NORTH ISLAND MAIN TRUNK RAILWAY . BRIDGE OVER WAITEA RIVER, AT 127 MILES 45 CHAINS FROM MARTON JUNCTION ; ONE STEEL GIRDER SPAN OF 22 FT., FOUR OF 33 FT., AND ONE OF 44 FT. CREEK BED TO RAIL LEVEL, 55 FT. PROGRESS|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/P19061001.2.14.8|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-18|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}

An island platform and shelter were built in 1907, extended to {{Convert|22|ft||abbr=on}} x {{Convert|9|ft||abbr=on}} in 1908, with a lobby, urinals and a storeroom, plus a {{Convert|30|ft||abbr=on}} x {{Convert|20|ft||abbr=on}} goods shed.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=29 Oct 1908|title=KAKAHI. KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/KCC19081029.2.6|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} A stockyard was added in 1912 and extended in 1945, but closed on 26 January 1971. The shelter was removed in 1958 and the building on 26 November 1966, though in 1968 a new {{Convert|12|ft||abbr=on}} x {{Convert|8|ft||abbr=on}} weatherboard, lean-to shelter was built for parcels and phones. The passing loop for 31 wagons was extended for 66 in 1937.

Electric block tablet signalling was installed in 1913,{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=1913|title=RAILWAYS STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, THE HON. W. H. HERRIES.|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/AJHR1913-I.2.3.3.2|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} a new type of exchanger installed in 1965 and Centralised Traffic Control started on 15 May 1967.

An engine turning triangle was built in 1951/1952 south of the viaduct, but appears to have been disused by 1969.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=19 January 1969|title=Survey Number: SN1889|url=https://files.interpret.co.nz/Retrolens/Imagery/SN1889/Crown_1889_5070_20/High.jpg|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Retrolens}}

On Sunday 25 June 1978 Kakahi closed to all traffic, though the loop remains in use.

Incidents

From Piriaki, through Kakahi, to just south of Ōwhango, the line climbs a hill on the west side of the Whakapapa River,{{Cite web|title=Kakahi, Manawatu-Wanganui|url=https://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap/nz53766/Kakahi/|access-date=2020-08-13|website=NZ Topo Map|language=en}} increasing to a maximum gradient of 1 in 50 on the Ōwhango bank.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=15 Aug 1999|title=Report 99-119 Train 281 fall from cab Owhango (near Taumarunui)|url=https://www.taic.org.nz/sites/default/files/inquiry/documents/99-119.pdf|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Transport Accident Investigation Commission}} As early as 1906 groynes were added to protect the line from the river and a cutting collapsed. In 1908 it was noted that the hill was slipping,{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=7 July 1908|title=AUCKLAND STAR|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19080707.2.45|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} engines were derailed in 1915{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=23 Jul 1915|title=WASH-OUT ON MAIN TRUNK. WAIKATO TIMES|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT19150723.2.18|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} 1925{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=25 Jun 1925|title=LOCAL AND GENERAL. KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/KCC19250625.2.15|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} and 1959,{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=July 1996|title=Riding the long steel road|url=https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/riding-the-long-steel-road/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=New Zealand Geographic|language=en-NZ}} trains were delayed in 1918,{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=1 Jul 1918|title=ANOTHER LANDSLIP. AUCKLAND STAR|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19180701.2.44|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} 1924,{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=7 Apr 1924|title=SEVERE WEATHER. WAIKATO TIMES|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT19240407.2.23|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} 1925,{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=27 Jan 1925|title=WASHOUT ON LINE. KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/KCC19250127.2.21|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} 1926,{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=9 Nov 1926|title=SLIPS ON MAIN TRUNK. WAIKATO TIMES|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT19261109.2.50|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} 1933,{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=23 Mar 1933|title=SERIOUS RAILWAY DISLOCATION. KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/KCC19330323.2.20|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=30 Jun 1933|title=SLIPS ON RAILWAY. AUCKLAND STAR|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19330630.2.112|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} 1939,{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=5 Sep 1939|title=BOULDER ON LINE. AUCKLAND STAR|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19390905.2.84|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} 1940{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=26 Feb 1940|title=LONG DELAY. AUCKLAND STAR|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19400226.2.89|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} and 1945{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2 Nov 1945|title=SLIP CLEARED. AUCKLAND STAR|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19451102.2.69|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} and a length of railway was realigned in 1923.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=7 Jul 1923|title=Deviation at Kakahi. AUCKLAND STAR|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19230707.2.12.6|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} The 1933 disruption was long enough for an advert to refer to the 3/- charge for the bus replacement link.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=23 Mar 1933|title=AUCKLAND STAR|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19330323.2.46.5|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}

Sawmill

In November 1904 the Public Works Department set up a mill and a horse tramway to cut kahikatea, mataī, rimu and tōtara from {{Convert|1200|acre||abbr=on}}, for sleepers, bridges, etc during the NIMT completion, cutting about {{Convert|11000|board feet||abbr=on}}, or superficial feet, a day.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=3 Feb 1905|title=THE TIMBER INDUSTRY. NEW ZEALAND HERALD|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19050203.2.37|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=20 Jun 1904|title=IN THE KING COUNTRY. WAIKATO TIMES|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT19040620.2.17|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2 Nov 1906|title=A GOVERNMENT SAWMILL. KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/KCC19061102.2.10|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=22 September 1908|title=Public Works Statement. By the Hon. William Hall-Jones, Minister of Public Works.|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1908/I/1971|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} About 45 staff worked the mill.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=1908|title=KAKAHI GOVERNMENT SAWMILL (RETURNS RELATIVE TO).|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/AJHR1908-I.2.3.2.12|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} It was transferred from PWD to NZR on 30 July 1909 and £3000 was spent on improvements.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=5 Dec 1910|title=DEBATE IN PARLIAMENT. NEW ZEALAND HERALD|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19101205.2.131?|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-13|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} Electric light was installed in 1912, but in 1914 the tramway was in a bad condition, in 1917 the sawmill was dismantled and in 1921 the sidings were removed. However, in 1955 a siding was provided for Kakahi Timber Co Ltd.

See also

Taupo railway proposals - Kakahi-Pukawa line

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • [https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/photos/id/183173 1904 photo of groynes being built in the Whanganui River]
  • [https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/photos/id/144608 1905 photo of bridge construction]
  • [https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/photos/id/185060 1908 photo in Auckland Weekly News]
  • 1908 photo of viaduct
  • [https://piriakacommunity.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/old-days0017.jpg 1911 photo of Piriaka]
  • Video - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA0RRofwG5g train at Piriaka in 2017]

Category:Railway stations in New Zealand opened in 1904

Category:Ruapehu District

Category:Rail transport in Manawatū-Whanganui

Category:Buildings and structures in Manawatū-Whanganui

Category:Railway stations in New Zealand closed in 1978