Station Sites

Some Railway Stations remain as much loved heritage and others have been returned to the Trail thanks to a great deal of community support and hard work.

Clyde Station - The Old Clyde Station sits in the heart of Clyde.  Built in 1907, it is now registered as an “Historic Place”.  The Station was the line's most western terminus until the Cromwell Station opened in 1921.

Clyde Railhead - The new Clyde railhead opened in 1980 for the construction of the Clyde Dam was reduced to handling wagon lot goods only from March 1984 with smaller consignments going to Alexandra.  The Clyde Railhead Site is now the Start/End of our Trail.

Galloway Station - Apart from the ladies' waiting room there is nothing to show that Galloway Station served the extensive farmland of Galloway Flat.  Long gone are the railway sidings, stockyards and railway houses.

 

Omakau Station - Construction brought the railway to Omakau in 1904.  The Station became one of New Zealand's biggest stock handling stations, loading almost 120 thousand head of stock in 1962 alone.

Lauder Station - The first sod was cut with a solid silver spade at the site of Lauder Station on 3 June 1899.  118 years later the Lauder Railway Station building is now back on site, hauled 400m by crane and truck from a private Lauder property.  The Lauder Beautification Society raised about $120,000 for the move and restoration.

 

Wedderburn StationThe original Wedderburn Station, built in 1900, has been recovered and restored to its original home (a Curling club had moved it 300m to the west). This is the last remaining Vogel 5 station and ticket office in New Zealand, with a simple lean-to design.

Ranfurly Station - Built in 1898, was the line's main crew and engine change-over station.  As recently as 1983 it had a Stationmaster, Office Assistant, Traffic Operator (Shunter), Train Examiner, an Inspector and his assistant, a Track Gang and a Bridge Gang.

Hyde Station - Built in 1894, is located almost 2km from Hyde Township.  Built on a site chosen as the only flat land suitable for a railhead, the Hyde Station included an engine shed and the line's first locomotive shed.  The Station was once very busy with railway wagons loaded with Hyde clay for pottery works in Christchurch and Auckland.

Prior to the station being owned by the Trust it was in private ownership.  The Trust wish to acknowledge Richard Hay for having the foresight to purchase the building including the retention of the yard and the railway memorabilia that now available for public viewing inside the station.

Middlemarch Station  - The station is still a significant building in Middlemarch and is part of a rural railway precinct that is known to be the most preserved in New Zealand. Built in 1891 at the end of the Taieri Gorge Railway it provided Otago Central farmers with access to the vital transport system for moving their produce to coastal markets.

The building, initially small, expanded to include a Post Office and a ladies waiting room that was later converted to an office for a caretaker.   In 1980 the stockyards closed and in 1990 when the Otago Central Branch closed the Taieri-Middlemarch section was purchased by Dunedin City Council.