Aorangi railway station

By July 1876 the rails were in place, linking Palmerston North and Feilding,[6] and ballasting was finished in September.[7] The formal opening of the railway was on 19 October 1876.[8] Charles Bull had a sawmill at Aorangi until about 1886.[9] It had a private siding 4 chains (260 ft; 80 m) on the Feilding side of Aorangi from 1878,[10] but there was a complaint about trains not stopping for passengers in 1883.[11] By 1896 there was a shelter shed and passenger platform and also a cart approach by 1911.[10]

By 1959 there was still a shelter, platform and Borthwicks' private siding, which was the only source of local rail traffic after closure of the station on 10 August 1959.[10] A 1949 aerial photo seems to show a shelter,[12] where the 1967 photo (to the right) shows a white mark at the foot of the photo. In 1989 there was still a passing loop and private siding.[10]

The railway crosses the Oroua River between Aorangi and Feilding[13] on Aorangi Bridge, which was rebuilt in 1930[14]-31,[15] when the curve was eased from a radius of 14 chains (920 ft; 280 m) to 20 ch (1,300 ft; 400 m). It has ten 20 ch (1,300 ft; 400 m) 60 feet (18 m) spans,[16] with a total length of 183 m (600 ft).[17]

A footbridge over the river was built in 1883.[18] The first road bridge opened on 21 March 1893.[19] It was replaced by a ferro-concrete bridge in 1930.[20]

The road and railway bridges were partly swept away in a flood on 17 April 1897.[21]

A siding for the Oroua Freezing works was put in during its construction in 1915.[22] West Coast Meat & Produce Co Ltd had the works formally opened by Prime Minister, Bill Massey, on 17 April 1916.[23] Later that year the company changed its name to Feilding Farmers’ Freezing Company Ltd.[24] They sold the works to Thomas Borthwick and Sons (Australasia) Ltd in 1931,[25] who had a small shunting locomotive at Aorangi from 1931 to 1973.[26] Rail traffic was reduced in 1944 by allowing road haulage for up to 20 mi (32 km) parallel with the railway.[27] The works became part of AFFCO[28] from May 1992, after re-building in September 1991.[29] The works is no longer rail connected.[30]