Manawatu rail: Pukenui Traditional Cache
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One of a series of simple, easy to find, caches at railway stations in and around the Manawatu.
Welcome aboard the MCC's Sanson tramway service to the Pukinui gravel pit! End of the line! Last stop Ohakea.
I cannot lay a cache for Ohakea, as it would be inside the airbase, and the military do not like geocaches. So I'll talk about it here.
Ohakea
By 1918 road traffic was providing such cheaper tariffs for goods transport that the railway had to drop their prices. World War II was the saviour. In 1937 the government decided a new airbase was required, and Ohakea was chosen. The tramway already went right past the site, so all that was needed was to build the sidings and shed and start delivering the materials needed for Ohakea's construction. Thus Ohakea Station was the last station to be built on the line. The air force base construction was hard on the line as railway maintenance had been minimal for quite some time and a full maintenance crew were put to work replacing rails. Stockyards at Rosina and Sanson had been scrapped in 1939 and temporary facilities were reinstated in 1942. The Council adjusted their prices for the hauling of metal and were making such an embarrassing profit off the Ohakea construction site that the ledger entries were moved off "receipts" and into "misc"!
A report to the council in 1942 stated that the shortage of petrol, vehicles tires, etc. were the only things keeping the rail service running, so not surprisingly, the end of the war marked the end of the line. The last service ran November 29, 1945. In November announcements appeared in the news papers announcing rails and sleepers for sale. While most of the evidence has gone, you can still see signs of the tramway's existence, as cattle stops over farm roads all over the district.
Pukenui
By 1900 the Council was getting so much roading metal delivered from the Terrace End gravel pit that it looked at extending the rail line from Sanson to the Rangitikei River (the Speedy Line pit had long been abandoned). The government Public Works Department would not give a subsidy for the construction of this line, but did offer a £7,000 loan. This was repayed by a rates increase to ratepayers of 1/13 of a penny to the pound for 41 years. The connection was completed in 1902. With the tramway approaching Bulls, the people of Bulls looked at the possibility of a bridge to connect the tramway into their town. Manawatu County were happy with this, but did not want to pay for it. Bulls was happy to foot 2/3 of the cost (the bridge was expected to cost £3,008) if the Rangitikei County would cover the remainder. Rangitikei was not interested, so the connection to Bulls did not happen.
The opening of the Pukenui gravel pit meant that roading gravel was now available quite cheaply. It was delivered and stockpiled at all the stations along the line, to impove the county's roads. Tar sealing of the roads began in 1929 with the Foxon-Palmerston road, and this needed an improved foundation, requiring even more gravel. Ballast trains became a common sight. Thus they contributed to their own demise!
This roadway is actually the original rail line and the station, if you can call it that, was just past the concrete blocks.
Manawatu at the Pukenui crusher, early 1920s.
References:
Cassells, K.R.: "The The Sanson Tramway", published by the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, 1962.
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