Newspaper Article 1998 – Opapa Station on track

Opapa Station on track

Two grants and hours of hard work have ensured that the Opapa Railway Station at Te Aute will be restored to its former glory.

Friends of the Opapa Railway Station, an incorporated society, has been given $2000 from the New Zealand Rail Heritage Trust and $2000 from TrustBank.

The 1897 station is being repiled and will have rotting weatherboards replaced. It will then be painted in the 1950 heritage colours of raffia cream, with burnt brick trim. The colours had to be specially created by Resene Paints.

The 25-member society is trying to make the station as authentic as possible, and has collected original New Zealand Rail fittings.

It will be finished with shunter’s lanterns and flats, a replica platform lantern, an original wall-mounted first aid kit and a white picket fence.

The station can be easily seen now from Highway Two, after blackberry was ripped out. Twelve cords of household rubbish have been removed from the half-acre section.

Society president Spud Langley said he hoped the Pahiatua excursion railcar would visit the station when it comes on-track, sometime in the next year.

Mr Langley said Opapa was one of the few stations in New Zealand to still have the original railway houses nearby.

Photo caption – From left: society present Spud Langley, committee member and historian Kay Highwood with Millie, repiler Mark Bishop and committee member Tom Wheeler.