Opaheke railway station
Defunct railway station in Auckland, New Zealand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Opaheke railway station was a flag station serving Ōpaheke on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand.[1][2] It was opened in 1875[3][4] as the Hunua railway station, renamed in 1912, then closed in 1955.[5]
Opaheke | |||||||||||
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Excerpt from orthophotomosaic captured 1942–1954 | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | New Zealand | ||||||||||
| Line | North Island Main Trunk | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | 20 May 1875 | ||||||||||
| Closed | 13 November 1955 | ||||||||||
| Former names | Hunua until 7 January 1912 | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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On the opening day Hunua was described as a small wayside station.[6] The station was first listed in the December 1875 timetable, being served by 2 trains a day, taking 92 minutes for the 21 mi (34 km) journey from the Auckland railway terminus.[7]
History
Hunua opened on 20 May 1875, as part of the Auckland and Mercer Railway, built by Brogden & Co, when it was extended from Penrose.[4][8][6]
It was a very small sixth class station,[9] with a shelter shed (20 ft (6.1 m) by 9 ft (2.7 m)).[10] By 1884 there was a passenger platform with cart approach and a loading bank.[citation needed]
In 1894 there was a petition for a goods shed to be built.[citation needed] In 1891 the Coultland Brothers obtained permission to lay a tramway from the station.[9] A suggestion was made in 1899 that a tramway could be laid between the station and the Hūnua coal seams.[11] However, it seems that the Hunua Colliery only used road transport to get its coal to the railway at Papakura.[12][original research?]
The station was renamed to Opaheke on 7 January 1912.[citation needed]
Duplication of the tracks between Papakura and Paerātā was completed on 3 December 1939.[10]
Across the road from the station the Opaheke Saleyards were opened in 1955, with the first sales held on 15 February.[13]
After closure on 13 November 1955, the station building was damaged by fire on 3 May 1956 and the rest offered for sale in May 1963.[10]
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