Early Railway Construction
Carved mostly through dense bush, the path of the railway line also had handicaps to overcome in the construction. Notably these were the rolling country east of Halcombe, a major bridge over the Rangitikei river, and lastly the high escarpment between Kakariki and Greatford. |
Railway Stations
The original Halcombe station, built by William Nicholson for £157.5s, was completed on 14 April 1877. However, this was soon moved to Greatford when it was decided that Halcombe should provide the refreshment stop on this line. A much larger (104ft x 20ft), purpose-built station was erected by J & C Bull and opened on 5 August 1879. This housed a post office, telegraph office, kitchen, licensed bar and a refreshment room. Within a few years a dining room and ladies waiting area were added, with a much-needed verandah built in 1912. A storage shed was another later addition. Another local railway station was at Kakariki which opened in 1879 consisting of a shelter shed and a passenger platform as well as sidings for trains. A drawing by Edith Halcombe circa 1878 Although Te Papa has this as being drawn around 1878, it shows additions to the station made later than this. |
In the 1880s, passenger trains between Whanganui and Foxton used to meet at Halcombe and the trains were shunted up to the station, back-to-back. Accounts detail where a person decided to test the strength of the trains so coupled the two together. When the guard blew his whistle for the trains to depart the engines groaned and puffed, struggled and smoked. The Whanganui engine appeared to be getting the better of the tug-o-war before the prank was discovered. It did not end as well for the perpetrator who was charged with the crime!
In its heyday in the early 20th Century, the railway was a remarkably busy centre. At one stage there was an average of 35 trains daily, 14 of these at night. Annual ticket sale returns from the Halcombe Station show the number of passengers grew into the 20th Century, then again between the two world wars before dropping off from the 1950’s. In 1920 there were 11,029 individual and 133 season tickets sold, the highest number in the period 1881 to 1950. |
An aerial view of Halcombe c1950 showing the railway station, goods shed, stock enclosures, loading ramps and shunting areas. The stationmaster’s house is to the right of the goods yards, with two workers’ cottages to the bottom of the photo.
Note that where the trains are standing on the lines is where the walkway is today. Large amounts of ballast and potentially drums of chemicals were stored, and possibly buried here. As well, oily material coming from the trains drained into the soil. This partly explains the tremendous effort that went into getting vegetation to grow on the walkway. |
Derailment Drama
Wd 360 was derailed at Halcombe on 14 November 1902. This was an excursion train running from Wanganui to Palmerston North to the West Coast and Manawatu A&P Show. There were 290 people on board. Only minor injuries were incurred in the accident. Source; Wanganui Herald Volume, 8 May 1902 (Page 2) [Papers Past] |
Kakariki Flood
April 1897 saw the highest flood ever in the Rangitikei River. On Good Friday, a huge landslide at Mangaweka which was blocking the river, gave way wreaking havoc on all in its path. The water rose rapidly taking people by surprise, taking out the Onepuhi and Kakariki bridges, cutting off all road and rail communication. At Onepuhi, the river stretched from one cliff to the other looking like an arm of the sea. The New Plymouth – Wellington mail train had passed over the bridge less than half an hour before it was washed away. Boats were used until temporary bridges were built. The replacement bridge was a combined road and railway bridge. A gate was at each end of the bridge, with a gate keeper employed 24 hours a day to close the gates when trains were due. A new railway bridge was built in 1938 with the old bridge having only road traffic. Source: 'The Floods in the Rangitikei', Wanganui Chronicle, 21 April 1897, (Page 2) [National Library of New Zealand/Papers Past] |
“Carting wool was no trouble in the old days. Here Mr. T. P James and his team have brought in 78 bales of wool from Manson’s woolshed to the Halcombe railway station. In the photograph are seen two wagons and a wharf dray.”
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Wellington to New Plymouth Railcars
Halcombe was the timetabled crossing place of the two train services to and from Wellington and New Plymouth. Railcars would meet at Halcombe or Kakariki, where they were able to cross on a railway siding. The train crews changed railcars for them to finish their day back at their respective home depots of New Plymouth and Wellington. The building to the right of the nearest railcar is all that remained of the original station and became the replacement station until the station was finally closed. |
From the 27 March 1983, NZ Rail closed Halcombe as a stop for all rail traffic. Subsequently all remaining structures and sidings were removed, with a double track constructed at Rangitawa, just west of Halcombe.
Today rail traffic thunders along the railway line through Halcombe, with no visible remains of the station and goods yards which were once the heart of Halcombe. |