Identifying this station was a problem. Although the official name appears to have always been Ballast Pits (ballast is the name given to the stone used for the foundation upon which the sleepers and tracks are laid), there are a number of references to this as Vernon Station. Added to the confusion is Vernon Station - a sheep station centred about 1.5km away that encompasses this area. So when they say that the rail reached Vernon Station, which station where they talking about? Additionally, the references to Vernon railway station have it at about the position of the bridge, 400m north of here.
Scoble does not list this station, however a 1938 timetable shows it in use then (as Ballast Pit). According to that timetable, Ballast Pit station was two miles and 70 chains from Riverlands, which makes it right here, at the cache site (well, 30m into the vineyard actually, where the railway is). But there is no evidence of any ballast mining here. So if this cache location is not quite correct, it will do as a representative location. Scoble does mention Vernon Station, saying it was abandoned in 1889, which would be before it was installed. Abandoned before it was built? However some current documentation refers to Vernon loop, which makes sense if it supplied the industrial sector just before the tunnel.
South of here, as the rail start the winding climb up to the Dashwood Pass, there used to be a tunnel, however it was not wide enough for the longer cars required for container freight to take the curve, so this tunnel and another after the Dashwood Summit were daylighted in 1981.
Construction of the rail line from Blenheim to here gives an example of what was to come for the rest of the route south. The contract for the formations - cuttings, embankment, etc - was completed in December 1882, just two days late. However the rail was not installed till 1902. More on why as we travel south...
There is room to pull over (best if when heading south) on to the grass, but parking is not great. Alas, this is where the station was, so that is what we live with. Take care with the traffic.
Summit
At the top of the Dashwood Pass, before we get to Dumgree, was another station, Summit, located at the supplied waypoint. It, like Ballast Pit here, would have been just a siding. Summit was installed when the line was built in October 1902 and was closed December 1952. Alas there is no access to this site, which is why I mentioned it here.
Blenheim end of the Vernon tunnel, 1950s.
References:
Marlborough Express, 21 October 1901
Merrifield, R: "Beyond Dashwood", published by the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, 1990
McGavin, T.A.: "A Century of Railways in Marlborough 1876-1976", published by the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, 1977.
Scoble, J: "Names and Opening and Closing Dates of Railway Stations", published by the Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand, 2010
Churchman, G & Hurst, T: "South Island Main Trunk 1992", published by IPL Books, 1992.
Supporting the GeoKids program - my caches have treasure, makes them fun for kids to find!