List of Nelson railway stations
This is a list of the stations that were established on the Nelson Section, an isolated 96 kilometres (60 mi) long railway in the Tasman district of New Zealand’s South Island. Most stations handled passenger traffic until passenger services were withdrawn in 1954, and most also handled freight. One, Gowanbridge, was never used in revenue service, and Kawatiri had a relatively short lifespan of only 5 years and 21 days. All stations, other than Gowanbridge and Kawatiri, were closed to passenger services on 13 June 1954, and to goods services, along with the line, on 3 September 1955.
List
| Station | Distance (km) | Coords | Opened[1] | Closed[1] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Nelson (Wakefield Quay) | 00.00 | 41°15′45.1″S 173°16′13.7″E / 41.262528°S 173.270472°E[2] | 17 May 1880 | 3 September 1955 | Station building preserved by Nelson Railway Society. Currently located at Founders Heritage Park. |
| Nelson | 01.61 | 41°16′24.5″S 173°16′36.3″E / 41.273472°S 173.276750°E[2] | 29 January 1876[3] (Official Opening) 31 January 1876[4] (Scheduled service) |
3 September 1955 | Station buidling located near St. Vincent Street and Gloucester Street, where fire station is now located. Yards stretched to Haven Road.[5] |
| Hampden St. Crossing | 41°16′50.9″S 173°16′11.6″E / 41.280806°S 173.269889°E | - | Listed in some Working Timetables as a place where the train could stop if required for school students to disembark. Not a real station. | ||
| Bishopdale, Nelson | 04.67 | 41°17′50.1″S 173°15′49.0″E / 41.297250°S 173.263611°E | 29 January 1876 | 3 September 1955 | Triangle bounded by Clarence Drive, Waimea Road and the cycle path/rail route. Preserved as ″Station Reserve″ by the Nelson City Council, but no remains. |
| Stoke | 08.67 | 41°18′44.1″S 173°13′50.9″E / 41.312250°S 173.230806°E[2] | Immediately south of Songer Street. The exact line of the rail here is lost to housing. | ||
| Freezing Works | 11.10 | 41°19′41.3″S 173°12′29.8″E / 41.328139°S 173.208278°E | April 1909 | Sidings alongside (now) Kotua Place, stretching south from Elms Street. | |
| Richmond | 13.52 | 41°20′9.20″S 173°10′55.24″E / 41.3358889°S 173.1820111°E | 29 January 1876 | Located in triangle bounded by Lower Queen Street, Stratford Street, Beach Road (now Richmond Deviation)[6] | |
| Appleby | 15.13 | 41°20′37.7″S 173°9′57.6″E / 41.343806°S 173.166000°E | 23 April 1895 | Immediately north of overbridge? Historical evidence needed. | |
| Hope | 16.74 | 41°21′9.4″S 173°9′8.6″E / 41.352611°S 173.152389°E | 29 January 1876 | From aerial photos, station was located adjacent to where the cycle trail meets Ranzau Road; the road had an overbridge over the rail line. | |
| Brightwater | 21.24 | 41°22′36.3″S 173°6′35.1″E / 41.376750°S 173.109750°E | Railway cut diagonally through reserve next to 4 Square on Ellis street; continuing through the now-back yards of houses on Ben Nevis Cres. | ||
| Spring Grove | 23.50 | 41°23′4.6″S 173°5′10.1″E / 41.384611°S 173.086139°E | Telenius Road; there's railway crossing and station signs here. The railway alignment clearly visible on Google Earth between here and Wakefield, mostly farm tracks and tree-lines. Station building preserved by Nelson Railway Society. Renamed to "Grove Station" and located at the end of Sovereign Street. | ||
| Wakefield | 27.84 | 41°24′19.1″S 173°2′34.8″E / 41.405306°S 173.043000°E | Station area now a small reserve, parking area, section of SH6. | ||
| Wai-iti | 32.19 | 41°25′41″S 172°59′50″E / 41.42806°S 172.99722°E | Evidence of exact location needed. 4.35km from Wakefield places it 500m or so before river crossing. Rail route visible in Google Earth. | ||
| Foxhill | 34.12 | 41°26′24″S 172°58′29″E / 41.44000°S 172.97472°E | 25 July 1881 | Precise location uncertain. 6.28km from Wakefield, 1.51km from Belgrove leaves a gap of about 800 metres, by Google Maps. | |
| Belgrove | c35.63 | c.1890 | First location of this station was about 100 metres south-west of the highway due to the original route chosen for the railway which was later changed. Station building preserved at Belgrove. | ||
| Belgrove | 35.63 | 41°26′58.2″S 172°57′33.7″E / 41.449500°S 172.959361°E | c.1890 | 3 September 1955 | The second location of Belgrove station was established with the change of route from 1890. Located at the Belgove Windmill. |
| Motupiko | 51.34 | 41°27′22.9″S 172°50′14.2″E / 41.456361°S 172.837278°E | 16 February 1899 1 March 1899[7] (Scheduled service) |
Located alongside SH6, a few hundred metres south of the Kohatu junction; Aerial photos available.[8] | |
| Mararewa | 56.49 | 41°24′42.6″S 172°50′20.2″E / 41.411833°S 172.838944°E | 22 October 1906 | Located alongside Motueka Valley Highway, adjacent to a small cemetery; Aerial photos available.[8] | |
| Tapawera | 59.22 | 41°23′22.5″S 172°49′27.6″E / 41.389583°S 172.824333°E | 6 August 1906[9] | Matai Crescent and Main Road Tapawera; Aerial photos available.[8] | |
| Rakau | 63.73 | 41°24′46.8″S 172°47′32.0″E / 41.413000°S 172.792222°E | Relying on maps at nzrailmap.nz;[10] historical evidence needed. | ||
| Tadmor | 68.08 | 41°26′18.24″S 172°45′14.4″E / 41.4384000°S 172.754000°E | Remnants of platforms clearly visible in Google satellite imagery (2026). | ||
| Kiwi | 76.28 | 41°30′21.6″S 172°44′58.1″E / 41.506000°S 172.749472°E | 18 December 1908 | Station building preserved at Tapawera, housing a museum. Remnants of platform clearly visible in Google satellite imagery (2026). | |
| Tui | 81.43 | 41°32′15.8″S 172°43′34.2″E / 41.537722°S 172.726167°E | 2 September 1912[11] | Station building preserved by Nelson Railway Society. Located near Miyazu Japanese Gardens, Nelson. Original location, relying on NZ Rail Maps[10] again. | |
| Kaka | 85.94 | 41°33′48″S 172°41′34″E / 41.56333°S 172.69278°E | Relying on NZ Rail Maps[10] again. | ||
| Glenhope | 96.64 | 41°38′51.4″S 172°38′59.3″E / 41.647611°S 172.649806°E | Station building preserved, at original location. | ||
| Kawatiri | 103.20 | 41°41′37.28″S 172°37′2.92″E / 41.6936889°S 172.6174778°E | 21 June 1926 | 21 June 1931 | Junction SH6/SH63. Now a reserve with displays and short walks. Shelter is not from the original station. |
| Gowanbridge | 109.50 | 41°42′45.4″S 172°33′21.2″E / 41.712611°S 172.555889°E | August 1930 | 3 October 1932 | Never used for timetabled or revenue traffic. |
Note, Mararewa is described as a ″stopping place for passengers″[1] by Juliet Scoble, and did not reopen after June 13, 1954.
See also
- Nelson Section
- Nelson Railway Society, which has the Tui railway station
References
- 1 2 3 Juliet Scoble (April 2010), Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations in New Zealand (PDF), Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand, Wikidata Q140753070
- 1 2 3 Map of Nelson and Environs (NZMS 17 Nelson) (1st ed.). Department of Lands and Survey. August 1954. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ "Opening of the Nelson and Fox Hill Railway". The Colonist. 1 February 1876. p. 3. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
- ↑ "untitled". Nelson Evening Mail. 28 January 1876. p. 2. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
- ↑ "Nelson city with railway buildings in the foreground". Rob and Lynn Packer Collection, Tasman District Libraries. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
- ↑ "Map of the Nelson A&P Assn. grounds in 1900". Tasman District Libraries. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
- ↑ "N.Z.R. Nelson Section". Nelson Evening Mail. 2 March 1899. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Nelson Section [7]: Belgrove-Tapawera 1". New Zealand Rail Maps. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
- ↑ "Opening the Tadmor Railway". The Colonist. 8 June 1906. Retrieved 29 July 2006.
- 1 2 3 "Nelson Section [6]: Tapawera-Glenhope". New Zealand Rail Maps. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- ↑ "The Glenhope Railway Extension". The Colonist. 2 September 1912. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
- Quail Map Company (1993). Yonge, John (ed.). New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas (Fourth ed.). England: The Quail Map Company. p. 17. ISBN 0-900609-92-3.
- O’Donnell, Barry (2005). When Nelson Had A Railway: The Life And Death Of New Zealand’s Last Isolated Railway 1876–1955. Wellington: Schematics Limited. ISBN 0-476-01119-1.