Woodville railway station is the northern terminus of the Wairarapa Line and is located at the junction with the Palmerston North–Gisborne Line in the small Tararua town of Woodville, east of Palmerston North in New Zealand's North Island.
Woodville was the railhead of the line from Napier until the line was completed through the Manawatū Gorge, connecting it with Palmerston North in 1891. It was not until 1897 when the Wairarapa Line finally reached its northern terminus that Woodville again became a station of some importance, 10 years after it opened. As a junction, Woodville has hosted a variety of services from the Wairarapa, Manawatū, and Hawkes Bay regions, but has been closed to passenger services since 2001.
The station remains distinctive for its unique (to New Zealand) balloon loop track arrangement, which allows trains from Hawke's Bay direct access to the Wairarapa and vice versa without having to run the locomotive around the train. This means that trains from any direction can use the station, and the loop can also be used to turn locomotives when Woodville is the terminus of a journey.
History
Operation
Early years: 1887–1897
Woodville was initially a station on the Palmerston North – Napier line that was constructed southwards from Napier in the 1880s. The railhead finally reached Woodville in 1887, with the first official train arriving on 22 March 1887. Woodville remained the terminus of the line over the next four years as it was extended through the Manawatū Gorge, finally reaching Palmerston North in March 1891.
Passenger services from Woodville west to Palmerston North and south into the Wairarapa were provided by private coach operators. The Wairarapa services connected Woodville to the railhead of the Wellington – Woodville railway, which for much of this time was located at Eketahuna. Those passengers travelling north from Woodville to the Hawkes Bay region were catered for by mixed train services, but following the completion of the line through to Palmerston North in 1891, the Napier Express service between Napier and Palmerston North via Woodville was inaugurated. It connected with services operated by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway company at Longburn to Wellington, allowing passengers to complete their journeys between the Hawkes Bay region and Wellington by train. Passenger excursions were also popular, with trips being made to destinations such as Napier, Waipawa, and Foxton.
Heyday: 1897–1908 The connection of the Wellington – Woodville railway with the Palmerston North – Napier line at Woodville on 11 December 1897 ushered in a period of intense activity for Woodville station, as well as being a momentous occasion for the Railways Department. The government now had its own rail connection north from Wellington into the Manawatū and Hawkes Bay regions, which led to a significant increase in the amount of freight trafficked through Woodville.
The Napier Express passenger trains that used to terminate at Palmerston North were re-routed south from Woodville through the Wairarapa to terminate at Wellington following the completion of the Wairarapa Line. This change reflected the desire of the Railways Department to use its own lines where possible, and to avoid losing traffic to the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company. However, the move proved to be unpopular, as the journey time increased by an hour due to the operational requirements of the Rimutaka Incline.
Halcyon years: 1908–2001
Nationalisation of the Wellington – Manawatu line in 1908 resulted in several operational changes at Woodville. As the line was a superior route to Wellington compared with the Wairarapa Line over the Rimutaka Incline, as much freight as could be diverted to the new route was, and the Napier Express passenger trains were also diverted to run through Woodville via Palmerston North to Wellington. Following the opening of the Rimutaka Tunnel and deviation in 1955, the Wellington – Napier freight trains once again returned to the Wairarapa Line.
Woodville became the terminus of the Wairarapa Mail, a replacement locomotive-hauled passenger train introduced to provide passenger services to Wairarapa between Wellington and Woodville. In its later years, the Wairarapa Mail was extended from Woodville through to Palmerston North, operating as a mixed service between these two stations. Railcar services were introduced in 1936 over the same route using the new Wairarapa-class RM railcars, which eventually replaced the Wairarapa Mail in 1948 to due coal shortages. Despite this development, mixed trains on the northern section of the Wairarapa Line continued to operate. A mixed Woodville – Masterton and return service was run six days a week, Monday – Saturday, and in the opposite direction on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The daily nature of this service made it popular with students attending secondary school in Masterton. After the Rimutaka Tunnel opened, both the Wairarapa railcars and the mixed trains were withdrawn and replaced by the new twinset railcars. As at 1959, Wairarapa services were still terminating at Woodville using the Wairarapa dock siding, and it was not uncommon for two or three railcars to be waiting at Woodville to transfer passengers between services. Locomotive hauled passenger trains through the Wairarapa to Woodville were gradually re-introduced from the mid-1960s, fully replacing the railcars in 1977. Later, passenger trains were run as through services between Palmerston North and Wellington via Woodville, but demand for these services declined through the 1980s, leading to their cancellation from 1 August 1988.
In 1959, the following list of staff members was provided for Woodville: Position # Stationmasters 1 Section Officers 1 Shift Clerks 2 Cadets 2 Office Assistants 1 Exchange Attendant 1 Guards 4 Signalmen 7 Shunters and Traffic Assistants 11 Numbertakers 3 Traffic Assistants and Junior Porters 4 TOTAL 29
The Railways Department was keen to expand the use of railcars for passenger services following successful trials of the vehicles on select routes in the 1930s and 1940s. Accordingly, first Standard-class and later twinset railcars replaced the Napier Express passenger trains through Woodville from 1954. A locomotive-hauled passenger service was re-introduced from 1972, which was at first known as the Endeavour, and later the Bay Express from 11 December 1989. The Endeavour did not fully replace the railcars on this route until 1976. Declining patronage led to the cancellation of this service from 8 October 2001, and marked the closure of the station to timetabled passenger services.
Facilities
Original station: 1887–1964
There was some heated debate about the location of the station, after initial plans for the railway line to bypass Woodville were revised to include Woodville on the route. This was interpreted by the settlers of the area to mean that the line would run through the town, to which some vociferously objected. A meeting was organised to rally opposition to the move, but called off a few weeks later when the actual location of the station was revealed. The station was placed on the edge of the town to allow space for an engine shed and workshops.
The wooden station building was of a standard design, and had a long, sealed platform. On 8 July 1885 a contract was signed for station buildings, including a stationmaster's house and platelayers' cottages, which were completed by 7 January 1886. Further cottages or railway houses were added in 1887, 1897, 1926, 1928, 1931, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1949, 1953 and 1956. In 1886 further tenders were called for a 6th class station, with verandah, x goods shed, 2-stable engine shed and cattle and sheep yards. Munro Bros built the station and engine shed and Harris & McDonald the sheep and cattle yards, the work being completed by 10 May 1887. In July 1890 the Mayor of Woodville called a public meeting, which protested against removal of station buildings, but on 18 June 1891 the cost of shifting the engine shed from Woodville to Dannevirke was noted. However, on 9 February 1898 it was proposed an O class engine should run between Woodville and Masterton and a new engine shed was built in 1898 of galvanised iron, for 6 small engines, or 4 large. It had a large coal bunker and water tanks fed by a kerosene pump. By 1896 the station had been upgraded to 3rd class, with a platform, cart approach, goods shed, loading bank, cattle yards, water service, stationmaster's house, urinals and a passing loop for 40 wagons. In September 1897 a crane was added and by 1898 there were also sheep yards, coal accommodation, the rebuilt engine shed, fixed signals and the loop had been extended for 65 wagons. In 1900 the station was connected with the telephone exchange and the Borough water supply. A turntable was built in 1887 and extended by in 1921 to take AD class engines. In 1931 it was replaced by a turntable, which was made redundant by the balloon loop, decommissioned on 9 December 1974 and sent to Gisborne. A veranda covered the platform in front of the building, and extended a short distance to either side of the building. Two semaphore signal gantries rose up through the veranda, and several loops ran through the station yard. Other facilities were provided at the station at various times, including a social hall (later a second such facility was added, west of and near to the intersection of Station Street and McLean Street), a post and telegraph office, a crossing keeper for the McLean Street level crossing, a x goods shed, and a locomotive depot. There were dock sidings at both ends of the platform; the west (Palmerston North) end dock was renewed in 1921. There was a bookstall on the station from 1899, until at least 1924.
The station's 125th anniversary was celebrated on Saturday, 24 March 2012 at an event arranged by Woodville Districts Vision. In attendance were over 1,000 visitors including those who arrived on two special trains from Wellington and Palmerston North, as well as dignitaries from KiwiRail and the rail heritage community. The occasion also served as a reunion for former railways staff associated with the district and an opportunity to see rolling stock that used to work in the area.
Refreshment Room From 13 December 1887 Thomas Fairhurst leased the Woodville Refreshment Rooms from the Railways Department for £338 a year. Mr. E. W. Ruddick took over in April 1899 and operated a private dining room there until 1921. In 1919, on account of the inadequacy of the facilities during the busy season, he requested an extra room be provided. From 1 January 1921, the refreshment room was assimilated by the Railways Department and run by the Refreshment Branch. By the time the railcars arrived, the only victuals on offer were tea and sandwiches. Losses continued to mount for the Refreshment Branch due in part to faster trains, and following the recommendations of the 1952 Royal Commission, the Woodville refreshment room was immediately closed on 9 November 1952. The dining room was deemed to be in excess of the requirements of the Refreshment Branch, and reallocated for use as office space, including that of the Inspector of the Permanent Way, and the kitchen was converted for use as a communications equipment room. Woodville's dining room was once described by New Zealand author Katherine Mansfield as "a great barn of a place – full of primly papered chandeliers and long tables – decorated with paper flowers – and humanity most painfully in evidence."
In 1963, the east-end (Wairarapa) dock siding at Woodville was extended and the crossover was shifted to a more central position. This enabled the railcars to stop closer to each other, shortening the distance transferring passengers would have to walk between railcars.