Bell Block railway station

Bell Block railway station was a railway station on the Marton–New Plymouth line in Taranaki, New Zealand. It opened on 14 October 1875 under the name Henwood Road as one of the original stops on Taranaki's first railway. The station was later renamed Bell Block on 19 September 1906. It closed to all except wagonloads of freight on 22 September 1986.

Henwood Road station was established when the New Plymouth–Waitara section of the railway officially opened on 14 October 1875. It was one of several original wayside stopping places on the line, situated just over 7 km from New Plymouth. Trains halted there on request, primarily to serve local farming residents and small freight consignments. At the time of opening, the station had little infrastructure beyond a short wooden platform to facilitate boarding and alighting. In June 1876, a request was submitted for the erection of a passenger shelter, followed in 1878 by a request to install a siding. There was also early criticism from ratepayers concerning the poor state of the road access to the station. By 1885, local farmers applied to erect cattle yards, indicating a growing role in stock traffic. By 1898, Henwood Road had developed the following facilities: Accommodation shelter shed and platform Cattle and sheep yards Cart approach providing access to the station Loop siding capable of holding 21 wagons The station was initially served by two mixed services per day, carrying passengers and freight. On 3 December 1886, through trains began operating twice weekly between New Plymouth and Wellington - initially on Tuesdays and Fridays only. The express only stopped at principal stations along the route. The express trains were intended for long-distance passengers and did not cater to local travel. In 1901, a passenger attempting to board the express service at Henwood Road and travel to nearby Inglewood was refused unless they purchased a ticket all the way to Hāwera - the minimum distance allowed from an intermediate stop. Picnic trains to fields near the station were a popular attraction during this period. In December 1890, a Band of Hope picnic was held near Henwood Road, with tickets sol

TrainStation data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).