Taringamotu railway station

Taringamotu railway station was a station at Taringamotu on the North Island Main Trunk, in the Ruapehu District and Manawatū-Whanganui region, 402.49 km (250.10 mi) from Wellington,[1] 4.74 km (2.95 mi) north of Taumarunui, 6.05 km (3.76 mi) south of Okahukura and 173 m (568 ft) above sea level.[1]

Taringamotu railway station
Taringamotu derailment 1915
Location	New Zealand
Coordinates	38.85428°S 175.237513°E / -38.85428; 175.237513
Line(s)	North Island Main Trunk
Tracks	single
History
Opened	1 December 1903
Closed	16 April 1972 passengers 9 March 1987 goods
Electrified	25 kV 50 Hz AC June 1988
Previous names	Taringamutu until 7 August 1913

Goods traffic was reported to have started by November 1902.[2] A station master was appointed in 1911.[3] In 1920 he was working over 12 hours a day.[4]

The name was changed from Taringamutu to Taringamotu after Alexander Young had described it as an error in Parliament in 1913.[5]

Electric lighting came about 1936.[6]

Timber was the main traffic, transferring from the Taringamotu Tramway, but the station also handled other goods, such as 122 tons of fertilisers in 1926.[7]

Taringamotu railway station passenger use 1910-1927

Passenger numbers rose rapidly until 1916, as shown in the table and graph below -

year	tickets	season tickets	staff	sources	titles
1910	993		1	https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1910/I/2050	RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1910
1911	1,778		1	https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1911/I/2497	RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1911
1912	2,931	8	1	https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1912/II/2420	RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1912
1913	2,904		1	https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1913/I/3693	RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1913
1914	3,035	1		https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1914/I/2031	RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1914
1915	3,336	1		https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1915/I/1638	RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1915
1916	4,347	4		https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1916/I/1053	RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1916
1917	4,107	9		https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1917/I/1123	RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1917
1918	4,110	11		https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1918/I-II/1159	RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1918
1919	3,333	38		https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1919/I/1231	RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1919
1920	2,982	29		https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1920/I/1349	RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1920
1921	2,929	18		https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1921/I-II/1452	RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1921
1922	2,998	56		https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1922/I/1409	RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1922
1923	2,522	94		https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1923/I-II/1321	RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1923
1924	2,836	88		https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1924/I/2458	RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1924
1925	2,794	37		https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1925/I/1804	RETURN No. 12. Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1925
1926	2,476	60		https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1926/I/1930	STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1926
1927	559	15		https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1927/I/2230	STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1927

Incidents

The line wasn't fenced until 1909. In October 1905 a letter from 22 Māori farmers between Taumarunui and Taringamotu complained of the agreement to do so being broken, saying, "Fifteen horses have been killed, eight cows, and five pigs".[8]

In 1915 the Ongarue River undermined a bank and two engines and a van, which had been moving very slowly, were overturned. One fireman had a minor hand,[9] or head, injury.[10]

Two goods trains crashed in 1943, with slight injuries to drivers and firemen.[11]

Floods and slips closed the line nearby on several occasions.[12][13] In 2015 the wooden bridge over the Ongarue River was replaced in concrete and mass stabilisation was applied to the nearby embankment.[14]

References

1. New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas (Fourth ed.). Quail Map Co. 1993. ISBN 0 900609 92 3.
2. "NORTH TRUNK RAILWAY. AUCKLAND STAR". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 6 Nov 1902. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
3. "KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2 Dec 1911. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
4. "RAILWAY BOARD. DOMINION". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 6 Feb 1920. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
5. Parliament, New Zealand (1913). Parliamentary Debates: House of Representatives.
6. "NEW TIME-TABLE. AUCKLAND STAR". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 25 Jan 1936. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
7. "ARTIFICIAL MANURE. KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 7 Nov 1929. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
8. "Te Mana WhaTuahuru Report on Te Rohe Pōtae Claims Parts I and II Wai 898" (PDF). WAITANGI TRIBUNAL. 2018.
9. "MAIN TRUNK LINE. Embankment gives way. PRESS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 24 July 1915. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
10. "RAILWAY ACCIDENT. MANAWATU TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 24 July 1915. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
11. "TRAINS COLLIDE. AUCKLAND STAR". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 7 Dec 1943. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
12. "SLIPS ON THE RAILWAY. KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 23 May 1925. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
13. "NORTH ISLAND FLOODS. OTAGO DAILY TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 23 March 1933. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
14. "KiwiRail upgrade '007' licenced to thrill - Contractor Magazine". Retrieved 2020-03-19.

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

External links

• Timber mill in 1910