Mercer railway station

Mercer railway station in Mercer, New Zealand, is 72 km from Auckland and 609 km from Wellington on the North Island Main Trunk line. It opened on 20 May 1875 and was closed to passengers about 1970 and to goods in the 1990s. It burnt down in 1879[2] and also in 1900.[3] Until 1958 it was the first refreshment stop south of Auckland.[4]

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Pokeno Line open, station closed		North Island Main Trunk New Zealand Railways Department		Amokura Line open, station closed

Mercer railway station
1910 Mercer station viewed from east with Waikato River in middle distance. Price, William Archer, 1866–1948 Collection of post card negatives. Ref: 1/2-001041-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington
Location	Mercer New Zealand
Coordinates	37°16′39″S 175°02′52″E
Owned by	KiwiRail Network
Line(s)	North Island Main Trunk
Tracks	double track from 11 November 1951[1]
History
Opened	20 May 1875
Closed	1986

History

The line was extended to Mercer on 20 May 1875, though the pioneer British contractors, John Brogden & Sons, ran an excursion train the day before. The New Zealand Herald said, "This will be a busy station for some time to come, it being the terminus." It described the route as crossing Mangatawhiri swamp, then running beside the South Road, with a short branch line being constructed to connect with the Waikato Steam Navigation Company's boats. It said the station and other buildings were still being built.[5] 'Some time to come' ended just over 2 years later, when the line was extended to Ngāruawāhia on 13 August 1877. The refreshment room was built in 1876/77 for £245[6] and extended in 1878/79 for £180.[7]

The service began with two trains per day each way between Auckland and Mercer taking 2hrs 50mins.[8] The station was unfinished when the railway opened.[9]

An 1880 advert for reopening of the refreshment rooms said trains waited 20 minutes.[10]

In 1902 the newly rebuilt station was described as, "a long wood and iron building, which contains a large refreshment room and bar, ladies' room, public room, booking office, stationmaster's room, and post and telegraph department. There is also a large engine shed, besides a pump house and coalshed, and there are eight cottages in the immediate vicinity", with 9 staff – stationmaster, porter, cadet, 2 engine drivers, 2 firemen, and 2 greasers.[11]

Until New Zealand Railways took over in 1917,[12] the refreshment rooms were managed by the Mercer Railway Hotel, opposite the station. The hotel was rebuilt in 1898, with 15 bedrooms, 3 sitting rooms and a 50-seat dining room.[11] The refreshment rooms gained importance when dining cars on main trunk expresses were removed as a wartime measure.[13]

The refreshment rooms became the target of poet A.R.D Fairburn's witty tongue with this very famous quip.

"The thought occurs to those who are entrained: The squalid tea of Mercer is not strained."[14]

tickets sales 1881–1950 – derived from annual returns to Parliament of "Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended"

Traffic grew to a peak in World War 2, as shown in the graph and table below.

year	tickets	season tickets	staff	ref.
1881	1,763		3	[15]
1882	4,824		1	[16]
1883	4,330		3	[17]
1884	5,726		4	[18]
1885	5,536	2	5	[19]
1886	4,614	5	4	[20]
1887	4,675	1	2	[21]
1888	7,045	5	2
1889	8,127	3	3	[22]
1890				[23]
1891	7,686	3	3	[24]
1892	7,969	3	3	[25]
1893	7,519	5	3	[26]
1894	7,869	5	4	[27]
1895	7,951	7	4	[28]
1896	7,953	4	4	[29]
1897	8,652	4	5	[30]
1898	8,446	6	5	[31]
1899	9,605	3	5	[32]
1900	10,482	3	5	[33]
1901
1902	15,449		6	[34]
1903	16,365	1	8	[35]
1904	15,183	1	9	[36]
1905	14,912	14	9	[37]
1906	12,529	21	11	[38]
1907	11,619	29	10	[39]
1908	14,898	4	12	[40]
1909	13,977	8	12	[41]
1910	12,768	9	12	[42]
1911	11,055	20	11	[43]
1912	11,295	13	17	[44]
1913	14,199	52	17	[45]
1914	15,337	156		[46]
1915	15,898	144		[47]
1916	18,400	135		[48]
1917	20,601	113		[49]
1918	20,560	154		[50]
1919	20,680	111		[51]
1920	19,363	142		[52]
1921	21,203	125		[53]
1922	16,450	106		[54]
1923	14,535	101		[55]
1924	15,700	102		[56]
1925	17,615	107		[57]
1926	14,711	107		[58]
1927	14,696	68		[59]
1928	11,536	84		[60]
1929	10,218	133		[61]
1930	9,110	133		[62]
1931	11,892	94		[63]
1932	11,587	95		[64]
1933	14,141	99		[65]
1934	16,227	131		[66]
1935	18,030	127		[67]
1936	18,030	124		[68]
1937	19,560	111		[69]
1938	19,365	138		[70]
1939	19,802	175		[71]
1940	19,718	114		[72]
1941	19,667	128		[73]
1942	22,580	89		[74]
1943	25,422	92		[75]
1944	30,297	166		[76]
1945	31,073	145		[77]
1946	25,651	119		[78]
1947	21,410	185		[79]
1948	15,495	478		[80]
1949	14,838	337		[81]
1950	16,452	240		[82]

Accidents & tunnel

An engine cleaner died in 1899 after trying to jump onto a moving engine.[83]

A Wellington to Auckland "Limited" express derailed on 28 October 1940 killing the driver and fireman and injuring 12 passengers. An estimate put the speed at 75 mph (though some at the inquiry gave evidence of normal speed)[84] on the 30 mph (48 km/h) 8-chain radius curve, just south of the station, near the former 304 m (997 ft)[85] tunnel opened out in 1937.[86] The engine, K900,[87] tipped on its side and was overrun by six carriages.[88] Removal of the tunnel allowed double tracking and easing of the speed limit to 45 mph (72 km/h).[89] The curve has been greatly eased in the 2006 Mercer to Long Swamp Expressway 4-laning of 12 km of SH1, which included this 1 km of rail deviation.[90]

Another derailment at Mercer was on 3 September 2013, when a freight train blocked both the road and railway.[91]

Future services

In 2011 a feasibility report on reinstating passenger services said a station with a platform 155m long and 750mm high for 6-car trains would cost $4m. The proposal was shelved. It is believed by some that the figure is overly inflated to kill off the proposal.[92]

References

1. New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas (4th ed.). Exeter: Quail Map Co. 1993. p. 4. ISBN 0-900609-92-3.
2. Papers Past Hawke's Bay Herald, 20 May 1879
3. Papers Past NZ Herald 8 Feb 1901
4. Te Ara – Waikato Heads to Meremere
5. New Zealand Herald, Volume XII, Issue 4217, 20 May 1875, Page 3: THE AUCKLAND AND MERCER RAILWAY
6. "Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives – Public Works Statement by the Minister for Public Works, The Hon. John Davies Ormond, Friday, 10th August, 1877". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
7. "Railways - Miscellaneous Liabilities on 30th September, 1879". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
8. "Untitled". New Zealand Herald. 21 May 1875. p. 2. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
9. "The Auckland And Mercer Railway". New Zealand Herald. 20 May 1875. p. 3. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
10. "Papers Past — Waikato Times — 21 February 1880 — Page 1". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
11. NZ Electronic Text Collection – The Cyclopedia Company Ltd, 1902
12. Paekakariki Station Precinct Trust Museum Archived 7 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
13. "Refreshments – The North Island main trunk line | NZHistory, New Zealand history online". www.nzhistory.net.nz. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
14. Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "2. – Waikato places – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand". www.teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
15. "Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives | 1881 Session I". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
16. "Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives | 1882 Session I". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
17. "Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives | 1883 Session I". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
18. "Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives | 1884 Session I". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
19. "RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31st March, 1885". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
20. "RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31st March, 1886". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
21. "RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31st March, 1887". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
22. "RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31st March, 1889". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
23. "RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31st March, 1890". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
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25. "RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31st March, 1892". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
26. "RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31st March, 1893". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
27. "RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31st March, 1894". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
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30. "RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1897". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
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33. "RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1900". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
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35. "RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1903". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
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43. "RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1911". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
44. "RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1912". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
45. "RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1913". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
46. "RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1914". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
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49. "RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1917". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
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51. "RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1919". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
52. "RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1920". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
53. "RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1921". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
54. "RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1922". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
55. "RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1923". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
56. "RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1924". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
57. "RETURN No. 12. Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1925". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
58. "STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1926". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
59. "STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1927". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
60. "STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1928". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
61. "STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1929". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
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68. "STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1936". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
69. "STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1937". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
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71. "STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1939". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
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74. "STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1942". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
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76. "STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1944". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
77. "STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1945". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
78. "STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1946". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
79. "STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1947". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
80. "STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1948". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
81. "STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1949". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
82. "STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31st March, 1950". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
83. THE MERCER RAILWAY FATALITY New Zealand Herald, 9 December 1899, Page 5
84. Papers Past – Auckland Star, 27 November 1940, Page 8
85. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
86. "Demolition of Mercer Tunnel Completed. FRANKLIN TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 11 January 1937. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
87. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
88. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
89. "TUNNEL REMOVAL. AUCKLAND STAR". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 25 June 1936. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
90. Bloxham Burnett roading project from 1998 Archived 7 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
91. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/9118583/Highway-re-opens-after-train-derailing
92. Waikato Regional Council – Hamilton to Auckland Passenger Rail 2011 Working Party report

External links

Photos

• view from above tunnel
• 1900s view from above tunnel
• about 1900 J Class locomotive and tunnel
• stationmaster on a jigger about 1902
• 1907 flood (New Zealand Graphic NZG-19070126-10c-1)
• 1936 photos of old tunnel, tunnel removal and construction tramway
• 1950s
• 1952 photo of track doubling work
• 1968 aerial
• from north and from south 1972 aerial
• aerial view of 4-laned SH1 and realigned railway

Map

• large scale map showing station, tunnel, wharf branch and 1940 crash site

Timetables

• 1876, 1877, 1879, 1880, Feb 1882, Mar 1882, Sep 1882, Jan 1883, Mar 1883
• Appeal by porter against military service in 1918