Otago Central Railway [26A]: Auripo

Auripo is a pretty easy station to draw because the chainage only shows the loop at this location. The shelter shed and loading bank have been marked in approximately based on the photo from D&E page 44 but no other detail of them is to hand.

Overview of Auripo station.

Closeup approximate location of major facilities. (Note I just updated this map by drawing in roughly where the structures were and their estimated sizes)

Approaching Auripo from the east, the station is on the left hand curve which is a 800 metre radius.

Coming onto the start of the curve and a retaining wall made of old rails and sleepers is to the right.

View of the general station area, the 161 km peg in the middle.

Access road entrance to the yard. The little building looks like an old railway hut, not the station shelter which is shown in 1968 as a leanto.

Looking back east.

Looking back east, the main facilities of the station would have been in the area where the rail trail signs and passport stamp box are.

Probably the access to the station from the northern boundary.

This ganger’s hut is just past 101 3/4 miles.

This map proposes the site of the “small deviation near Auripo” mentioned in D&E p.28. Chainage charts support this location at 102 miles as they show the ends being two right hand curves of 600 metres radius each. Whereas to the informed/trained eye the curves on the present route are considerably sharper, and on the curve and gradient diagram appear to be 200 metres. The middle curve is not marked on the chainage charts.

Proposed as the eastern side of the realignment. The track would have passed the left hand side of the rock in the middle background, compared to its present alignment to the right.