Woburn & Gracefield This page documents the operation of Woburn Station and the branch line to Gracefield and Seaview.
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Woburn & Gracefield |
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A Very Concise History
On the 26th of May 1927, following the passing of the Hutt Valley Lands Settlement Act 1925, a double track branch railway was opened from just north of Petone to Waterloo, a distance of 2 3/4 miles. There were intermediate stations at Ava and Woburn. 64% of the cost of construction came from the sale of land. In April 1929 an industrial branch was constructed south from Woburn to serve the new Hutt Railway Workshops, the Hutt Park Racecourse and other industrial establishments. (Webmaster's note: I believe that the line to Hutt Park had been laid by 1927 - this detail needs to be checked). In 1943 this industrial line was extended to Gracefield, reaching its present length of 2 1/4 miles. An extensive network of sidings was constructed at Seaview when the reclamation was completed in the late 1950s/early 1960s(?). |
Click on an image for More Information about Woburn.....
Click on an image for More Information about the Gracefield Branch.....
![]() Gracefield Signalling. Study signalling on the Gracefield branch. |
![]() Safeworking. For a short branch the Gracefield line has been operated under an interesting variety of safeworking methods - One Engine in Steam, Open Section, Staff & Ticket, Automatic Signalling, Station Limits, controlled network (special requirements) and maybe even Operator Controlled Territory. |
![]() Hutt Park Station & Race Trains. Very few people probably know that there is a platform at Hutt Park and that trains once ran to race meetings. |
Worker's Trains Worker's Trains. From the 1930s until the 1960s or 1970s a passenger train ran from Wellington to the Hutt Workshops. |
![]() 1960s Photos. Photos taken by Graeme Bennett in the early 1960s of Woburn, the Gracefield Branch and Seaview. |
![]() Rail Infrastructure. An interesting variety of rail fittings are to be found on the Gracefield Branch. |
![]() Gracefield Yard Lifted. In 2002 most of the Gracefield yard was lifted. |
![]() Seaview Sidings In 2002 the Seaview sidings were lifted. |
![]() Photo Gallery . |
Paper Crossings Paper Crossings. The WTT for the Hutt Industrial Line contains examples of what are termed "paper" crossings. |
![]() Trains on the branch Details of specific trains. |
![]() Sources |
The following pages will be completed when I become motivated....
Last Updated: Tue Sep 18 16:45:38 NZST 2007