Te Akeake railway station
Defunct railway station in New Zealand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Te Akeake railway station is a station on the Opua Branch in New Zealand.
Te Akeake railway station | |||||||||||
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 Te Akeake railway station in 2024 | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | New Zealand | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 35.3491°S 174.1081°E | ||||||||||
| Line | Opua Branch | ||||||||||
| Platforms | Yes | ||||||||||
| Tracks | Single line | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | 1888 | ||||||||||
| Closed | 1931 | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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The station, sometimes named Teakeake,[1] opened after an application for a stopping place, 1.5 mi (2.4 km) from Taumarere, was made on 7 July 1888. About 1898, after an "application from natives", on 28 December 1893, a shelter shed and platform were built.[2] It closed on 14 August 1931[3] and remained closed, when the platform was moved north from 3 mi 63 ch (6.1 km) from Kawakawa,[2] by about 900 m (980 yd).[4] The repositioned station reopened in December 2022 as a new terminal for the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway (BoIVR).[5]
Whangae Bridge
An 1883 account described a station being built between the tunnel and the bridge over the Whangae River. It also said the banks were being washed away until stone facings were added to them.[6]
From 14 August 1931 Te Akeake was replaced as a flag station by Whangae Bridge,[7] on the other side[8] of the 264 ft (80 m),[6] or 93 yd (85 m)[9] Opua Tunnel 14,[10] or Whangae Tunnel.[11][12] Opua Tunnel was closed by a slip in 1936.[13] The station closed on 1 September 1963.[3] For the Cycle Trail a steeply graded bypass has been built around the tunnel.[5]
It was 2 mi 34 ch (3.9 km) from the station it replaced, 1 mi 27 ch (2.2 km) from Opua, 4 mi 01 ch (6.5 km) from Taumarere and 51 mi 60 ch (83.3 km) from Whangārei, had a shelter shed[2] and was served by the Auckland–Opua Northland Express.[14]
Incidents
In 1964 a man died when a locomotive took a corner too fast and toppled into the water, just south of the tunnel.[11] A temporary siding was built to get the engines out of the creek.[15] The works were still in place in 2018.[16]
On Saturday 26 June 1999, near the same location, a Vintage Railway steam train from Opua to Kawakawa was derailed at low speed when the track spread. The safety report said track maintenance was inadequate.[17]
Cycle trail
Pou Herenga Tai – Twin Coast Cycle Trail opened along the rail line between Kawakawa and Ōpua in 2017.[18]
Taumarere (Long Bridge)-Te Ake Ake closed in 2021 to dig the rails out from under the trail, using $5.59m from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund. Kawakawa-Ōpua is leased from KiwiRail by BoIVR, which sublet the Ōpua-Taumarere to Far North District Council for the cycle trail until it was ready to extend the railway. The Ōpua-Te Ake Ake section of the trail reopened on 26 December 2022. Cyclists and walkers can use a train for a gold coin donation. A cycle trail alongside the railway is planned, when the line is reopened to Opua.[5]