Upper Hutt

Upper Hutt Station

Upper Hutt is the terminus of the electrified commuter service from Wellington and a passenger stop on the diesel operated Wairarapa service.

The railway reached Upper Hutt in 1876. EMUs and diesel locomotives replaced steam in the mid 1950s - the steam locomotive depot and extensive goods yard have long been closed. Today all that remains are EMU storage sidings and a dock.

On this page my emphasis is on signalling and operations.

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The Upper Hutt station building in 2004, probably looking much as it did when opened in 1955.

Upper Hutt Potted History

Rails reached Upper Hutt in 1876.

Tablet was installed north and south of Upper Hutt in January 1902 (replacing Winter's Block).

Maidstone Park. I believe that at the beginning of the 20th century what is now called Maidstone Park was owned by the Railways Department. It was opened to the public (on payment of an entrance fee?) on public holidays. More research is neaded.)

Automatic Signalling with upper quadrant semaphores was installed south of Upper Hutt in 1922.

New Signalling. In 1955 following completion of the the 8.8 km long Rimutaka tunnel a signal panel was installed in the new Upper Hutt station building. The Trentham - Upper Hutt section was controlled directly by cable. Upper Hutt - Featherston was controlled by Time code CTC.

Electrified services to Wellington began in 1955.

Goods yard closed in the 1980s/1990s. In 2007 a large part of the yard was developed for big box retailing. The remainder was retained for EMU stabling.

Upper Hutt Panel was closed in 2007 and control of the Trentham - Upper Hutt - Featherston section transferred to the Network Control Centre (NCC). There was no longer a need for the station to be staffed 24 hours per day.

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Upper Hutt Panel. The Upper Hutt signal panel and CTC machine controlled the single line Trentham - Upper Hutt - Featherston section from 1955 until 2007. Study the panel as it was in 2006.	Timetables. Study the timetables for various years from 1928 to 2006. Learn when a weekday commuter could catch a train from Upper Hutt to Wellington and note the decrease in journey time over the years.	Signals. Photograph gallery of signals.
Signalling History Trentham and here. Upper Hutt Upper Hutt - Featherston Featherston	Truth About CTC. It is sometimes claimed that CTC was installed between Trentham, Upper Hutt and Featherston in 1955. This is incorrect. This diagram shows the interlocking controlled by Upper Hutt in the mid 1950s and corrects the CTC claims. The diagram demonstrates that things are not always what they seem and that care must be taken with terminology.	Local Instructions Upper Hutt - Featherston CTC (1955). This file also includes Mangaroa and Rimutaka Loop Emergency Panels and Mangaroa Local Panels. Upper Hutt (1959) Trentham (1976) Featherston (1959)
Shunting Eurocell. - to be added	Morning Peak. - to be added.	Railway Picnic Grounds. The following extract from E Post 24 Dec 1906 suggests a future line of research: To-morrow the annual outing of the tramway employees is to be held on the railway grounds at the Upper Hutt. Special trains are advertised to leave the Te Aro station for the picnic. This is now called Maidstone Park.

Last Updated: Sun May 12 2013.