Mangaweka railway station was a station on the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT), serving the village of Mangaweka in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The original station opened in 1902 and closed on 15 November 1981.^[1][2][3] A new station then opened to the east,^[4] on the Mangaweka deviation on 18 November 1981, though only for parcels, small lots, and as a passing loop,^[5] which still remains.^[6]

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Mangaweka railway station
Mangaweka railway station about 1902
General information
Location	New Zealand
Coordinates	39.821179°S 175.77522°E / -39.821179; 175.77522
Elevation	327 m (1,073 ft)
Line(s)	North Island Main Trunk
Distance	Wellington 231.04 km (143.56 mi)
History
Opened	3 November 1902
Closed	Passengers 18 April 1971 Goods before 1993
Electrified	June 1988
Services
Preceding station   Historical railways   Following station Utiku Line open, station closed 12.65 km (7.86 mi)   North Island Main Trunk KiwiRail   Ōhingaiti Line open, station closed 8.9 km (5.5 mi)

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The station was important as the terminus of the line from Wellington from 1902 to 1904.

An advert for timber for the station building was placed on 13 December 1901.^[7] Dates from 3 July to 30 August 1902 are mentioned for opening goods traffic to Mangaweka and 30 October for inspection of the 9 mi 20 ch (14.9 km) line from Mangaonoho to Mangaweka. New Zealand Railways (NZR) took the line over from the Public Works Department on Monday, 3 November 1902, when the stationmaster was transferred from Ōhingaiti to Mangaweka and the station was noted as having a passenger platform, 84 wagon passing loop, privies, urinals, goods shed 72 ft (22 m) by 42 ft (13 m), loading bank, sheep and cattle yards, water service (one 2,000 gallon vat), coal shed 24 ft (7.3 m) by 16 ft (4.9 m), engine shed 72 ft 6 in (22.10 m) by 21 ft 6 in (6.55 m), with a 59 ft (18 m) long pit, and stationmaster's house. On 1 November 1904 a cart approach and crane were also mentioned and a warehouse crane and stockyard upgrade came in 1913.^[5]

Dates for the extension northwards are also varied. 9 June to 4 August 1904 are given for when the 7 mi 75 ch (12.8 km) extension from Mangaweka to Utiku opened for goods. Passenger trains started running to Taihape on Friday, 12 August 1904, though it wasn't until Tuesday, 1 November 1904 when NZR took over the 12 mi 76 ch (20.8 km) Mangaweka to Taihape section.^[5]

In 1957 the passing loop was extended and motor points and colour light signals installed.^[5]

When passenger trains stopped calling from Sunday, 18 April 1971, much of the station building had been demolished, though in 1980 a station building, goods shed, loading bank, and 1½ ton crane remained. A new station opened on Wednesday, 18 November 1981,^[5] but closed before 1993.^[1]

Tunnel 10 on the NIMT is Mangaweka.^[8] The 600 yd (550 m) tunnel was completed in January 1898, when it was known as Powhakaroa Tunnel.^[9] Its northern portal is just south of Mangaweka and its southern end is near Pouwhakaura.^[10] It is lined with concrete blocks, which were made in a nearby temporary shed.^[11]

Mangaweka was one of the stopping points for NIMT expresses in 1910^[12] and still in 1932.^[13] In 1931 the station was staffed by a grade 6 stationmaster and clerk and a grade 7 relief clerk.^[14] It still had 3 staff in 1941.^[15]

Mangaweka had its annual returns of traffic recorded, as did Utiku to the north and Ōhingaiti to the south.^[16] Passenger numbers grew whilst the station was the terminus of the line and during the World War 2, before tailing off towards 1950, as shown in the graph and table below.

A slip derailed a locomotive at the entrance to the tunnel in 1913.^[65] A goods train derailed, breaking several trucks and some track, in a cutting on the Mangaweka side of Mangaweka Viaduct in 1930.^[66][67]