railway stations

Railway stations

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  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.

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• Page 2 – A community hub

  In the heyday of rail travel the station was a vibrant hub of community life.

• Page 3 – Station style

  Railway stations came in all shapes and sizes, ranging from imposing big-city monuments to elegant wooden provincial structures and tiny rural shelter sheds.

• Page 4 – The dark side

  Like other public facilities, railway stations often attracted loafers and drunks, bored teenagers or lonely souls seeking human contact.

• Page 5 – The changing rail landscape

  Today fewer than 100 railway stations survive, and only about 40 wooden stations remain on their original sites.

• Page 6 – Further information

  This web feature was written by Neill Atkinson and produced by the NZHistory.net.nz team. LinksThe North Island main trunk line (NZHistory.net.nz)Rail tourism (NZHistory.net.n

The North Island main trunk line

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  All aboard! The North Island main trunk railway was 100 years old in 2008. Take a trip back in time to explore the epic story of its construction, the heyday of the steam passenger train and the place of the iconic railway refreshment room in New Zealand life.

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• Page 5 - RefreshmentsRefreshments are an essential and often talked about part of any train

NZ Railways at war

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  The railway system and its workforce was one of the most valuable assets available to the New Zealand state to support the national effort during the First World War

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• Page 3 - NZ Railways in 1914On the other side of the world, New Zealand’s rail network was a small link in the vast wartime supply