Puketutu was a flag station on the North Island Main Trunk line,[1] in the Waitomo District of New Zealand. It was 7.21 km (4.48 mi) north of Kopaki and 8.24 km (5.12 mi) south of Waiteti.[2]
Puketutu railway station | |||||||||||
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General information | |||||||||||
Location | New Zealand | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 38.43175°S 175.22917°E / -38.43175; 175.22917 | ||||||||||
Elevation | 206 m (676 ft) | ||||||||||
Line(s) | North Island Main Trunk | ||||||||||
Distance | Wellington 461.83 km (286.97 mi) | ||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
Opened | 8 May 1889 | ||||||||||
Closed | 23 October 1977 | ||||||||||
Electrified | June 1988 | ||||||||||
Previous names | Mokau until 11 May 1903 | ||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||
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Initial doubt about the route of the line to the south was resolved by a survey in 1884. It was then said that the bush might provide timber traffic for the railway for 50 years, until it was all converted to farm land.[3] Works were advanced enough for a ministerial party to ride the route to the south on horseback by 1890.[4] Most of the construction was done by cooperatives.[5]
The Public Works Department had contracted the Te Kuiti to Mokau Station section on 9 March 1887 and it opened just over 2 years later. Construction began on the section southward to Poro-O-Tarao tunnel in September 1892.[6] However, for twelve years, from 1889 until the line to Poro-O-Tarao opened on 1 April 1901, Puketutu was the terminus of the line,[7] though, from 18 January 1897, a weekly goods train ran to Poro-O-Tarao.[8] The delay was partly due to poor access and rugged country, but 2 years of the delay were due to economic recession, little work being done from 1890 to 1892.[6]
The name was changed from Mokau to Puketutu on 11 May 1903.[9]
Lack of fencing to the south was an issue when the line opened, with many cattle killed and trains delayed.[10] Although plans for fencing were made in 1885, before the land was bought, it wasn't until 1907 that fencing started and 1909 before it was finished.[7]
A 21 mi (34 km) branch line[11] down the Mokau valley to Piopio and Aria was surveyed, but rejected in a ballot (under the 1914 Local Railways Act) in 1922.[12] A 10 mi (16 km) extension south to a coal seam at Waitewhena was also considered.[13] From 1933 that mine was served via Ohura on the Stratford–Okahukura Line.[14]
A cattle yard was added in 1924.[15] A railway house was added in 1938.[16]
The line approaching the station was eased when it was electrified.[7]
Waitomo District, New Zealand | |
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Seat: Te Kuiti | |
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