Woodside Railway Station, New Zealand
Encyclopedia
Woodside
railway station is a single-platform rural railway station on the Wairarapa Line
serving the town of Greytown
in the Wairarapa
district of New Zealand
, about five kilometres away in the small settlement of Woodside
. The station is 30 minutes from Masterton
, one hour and six minutes from Wellington
, and is served by Wairarapa Connection trains.
The station building has in recent years been restored by the Woodside Station Preservation Society.
Woodside opened on 14 May 1880 with the extension of the line from Featherston to Greytown
. Until the line between Woodside and Masterton was completed and opened in November of that year, Woodside was the northernmost point of the Wairarapa Line operated by the Public Works Department, initially with two scheduled mixed services between Greytown and Wellington each day.
The amenities at Woodside initially consisted of a station building and station master’s house. The station building was on an island platform between the main line and the Greytown Branch, with the junction at the southern end of the platform. There was road access from north of the platform. The branch (eastern) side had two loops, with capacities for 18 and 11 wagons, while on the main line (western) side there were two loops with capacities for 44 and 35 wagons.
Upon the closure of the Greytown Branch in 1953 the main line yard was removed, and the station building relocated to a new platform on the western side of the main line. A new crossing loop was installed, and the branch sidings reconfigured. The Greytown station building was relocated to Woodside and modified to serve as a goods shed. The goods shed is disused and all loops have been removed.
With the opening of the line through to Masterton and the reversion of the line to Greytown to branch-line status, Woodside became known as Woodside Junction until the closure of the Greytown Branch in 1953: the platform name board read “Woodside Junction. Change here for Greytown.”
A shuttle bus service to Greytown, operated by Tranzit Coachlines, connects with commuter trains.
Woodside
- Australia :*Woodside, South Australia, a town*Woodside, Victoria, a town*Woodside Petroleum, an Australian company- Canada :*Woodside National Historic Site, the boyhood home of William Lyon Mackenzie King...
railway station is a single-platform rural railway station on the Wairarapa Line
Wairarapa Line
The Wairarapa Line is a secondary railway line in the south-east of the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city of Wellington with the Wairarapa region. The line ends at Woodville, where it joins the Palmerston North - Gisborne Line...
serving the town of Greytown
Greytown
Greytown may refer to one of several places:*Greytown, New Zealand, a town in the southern North Island's Wairarapa region*Greytown, Nicaragua, the capital city of the municipality of San Juan de Nicaragua*Greytown, KwaZulu-Natal, a town in South Africa...
in the Wairarapa
Wairarapa
Wairarapa is a geographical region of New Zealand. It occupies the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service towns, with Masterton being the largest...
district of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, about five kilometres away in the small settlement of Woodside
Woodside
- Australia :*Woodside, South Australia, a town*Woodside, Victoria, a town*Woodside Petroleum, an Australian company- Canada :*Woodside National Historic Site, the boyhood home of William Lyon Mackenzie King...
. The station is 30 minutes from Masterton
Masterton
Masterton is a large town and local government district in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a region separated from Wellington by the Rimutaka ranges...
, one hour and six minutes from Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, and is served by Wairarapa Connection trains.
The station building has in recent years been restored by the Woodside Station Preservation Society.
History
The original survey for the Wairarapa Line, completed in 1876, considered two possible routes for the line between Featherston and Masterton: the Central route and the Western route. Despite the protestations of the residents of Greytown, the Western route was chosen due to concerns about the possibility of flooding north of Greytown, which meant that the line bypassed Greytown and passed through Woodside instead.Woodside opened on 14 May 1880 with the extension of the line from Featherston to Greytown
Greytown Branch
The Greytown Branch was a five-kilometre branch line railway off the Wairarapa Line at Woodside in the Wairarapa district of New Zealand's North Island. It followed an almost straight course over flat terrain...
. Until the line between Woodside and Masterton was completed and opened in November of that year, Woodside was the northernmost point of the Wairarapa Line operated by the Public Works Department, initially with two scheduled mixed services between Greytown and Wellington each day.
The amenities at Woodside initially consisted of a station building and station master’s house. The station building was on an island platform between the main line and the Greytown Branch, with the junction at the southern end of the platform. There was road access from north of the platform. The branch (eastern) side had two loops, with capacities for 18 and 11 wagons, while on the main line (western) side there were two loops with capacities for 44 and 35 wagons.
Upon the closure of the Greytown Branch in 1953 the main line yard was removed, and the station building relocated to a new platform on the western side of the main line. A new crossing loop was installed, and the branch sidings reconfigured. The Greytown station building was relocated to Woodside and modified to serve as a goods shed. The goods shed is disused and all loops have been removed.
With the opening of the line through to Masterton and the reversion of the line to Greytown to branch-line status, Woodside became known as Woodside Junction until the closure of the Greytown Branch in 1953: the platform name board read “Woodside Junction. Change here for Greytown.”
Services
There are five Wairarapa Connection trains both ways on Monday to Thursday, six on Friday and two each way on Saturday and Sunday.A shuttle bus service to Greytown, operated by Tranzit Coachlines, connects with commuter trains.
External links
- Passenger service timetables from Metlink and Tranz Metro.
- Tank locomotive WF 400 on a Greytown train at Woodside, a photo of a Greytown Branch train waiting at Woodside station.
- Woodside - change for Greytown, a photo showing passengers transferring between trains at Woodside station.