railway stations

Down at the station

For many years the railway station was a prominent and familiar landmark in New Zealand cities, towns and rural districts. Before most people had cars or telephones, let alone television and the Internet, the railway provided many communities with their main connection to the outside world.

In the 1950s New Zealand had more than 1350 railway stations, ranging from grand urban monuments to tiny weatherboard sheds. As passenger numbers declined and rail services were cut over the following decades, many stations became redundant. Hundreds were closed and demolished; others suffered from problems with vandalism and graffiti.

In the heyday of rail travel, the station was a vibrant hub of community life. It was a place of welcome and farewell, joy and sadness, hope and disappointment. The station was where people went to meet or send off wedding and funeral parties, family, friends and lovers, and touring circuses and theatrical companies. As well as passengers, trains offloaded well-stuffed sacks of letters, magazines and parcels, newspapers and movie reels for the local cinema. Many local business activities were timed to coincide with the arrival and departure of trains.

'The refresh'