Marton railway station was a station and rail junction on the Marton–New Plymouth Line, opened on 4 February 1878. After the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) made a junction to the south of Marton, a new station was built there and the old station renamed and downgraded, in 1898.
The original Marton railway station in 1896. This station was renamed Pukepapa from 1 June 1898 and closed on 10 August 1959
Trains from Whanganui were extended south, from Turakina to Marton, on 4 February 1878
Marton was extended to its new junction station from 1907. The original Pukepapa station is on the far left of the plan, neither being convenient for the original town
The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was corporatised on 1 April 1982 into the New Zealand Railways Corporation. Originally, railway construction and operation took place under the auspices of the former provincial governments and some private railways, before all of the provincial operations came under the central Public Works Department. The role of operating the rail network was subsequently separated from that of the network's construction. From 1895 to 1993 there was a responsible Minister, the Minister of Railways. He was often also the Minister of Public Works.
Engraving of a locomotive and carriages moving along the side of the Wellington Harbour toward the Hutt Valley, c.1875
New Zealand Railways Department Head Office, Wellington, photographed circa 1905–1908 by J N Taylor.
The AB class were introduced in 1915. Over 141 of these locomotives were introduced, from three different builders. Here preserved AB 778 hauls the Kingston Flyer.