The trains have long since stopped running, but history lives on in the Hyde Railway Station, which is for sale. Eileen Goodwin reports.
A landmark on the Otago Central Rail Trail, the Hyde Railway Station, built in 1894, is for sale, with a starting price of $100,000.
Richard Hay, then a 23-year-old Dunedin joiner, bought the station from the Railways Corporation in 1990.
The free-market ethos of the time was not kind to provincial rail.
It seemed "everything was for sale".
"If I hadn't saved the place, it would have had a bulldozer through it."
Mr Hay saved the station to honour the "old timers" who with "pick and shovel" carved out the Otago Central railway line.
Mr Hay's wife, Robyn, said "bird shit and straw" were all that was inside the little kauri station 20 years ago.
The station had not been manned for 20 years before the last passenger train passed through in April 1990.
Mr Hay steadily acquired heritage items and replica instruments, and now the station is a repository of New Zealand and rail history.
He is especially proud of the tablet machine.
Acquired in the early 1990s, it is identical to the one at the station between 1903 and 1969.
The machines ensured the safe movement of trains by not releasing a tablet while a particular section of the line was in use.
The machine was wired up by a former railway inspector, and announces its presence with a cheerful ring.
The couple plan to sell the heritage items individually but the station buyer will have first option.
They hoped the buyer would honour the equipment's history, and would not move it from the site.
Being on the Otago Central Rail Trail ensured a steady stream of visitors, and the Hays believed the station was ideal for a commercial venture.
Mr Hay said the couple had less time to spend in Hyde because of their young family.
The Hays live in Berwick, with children Mary (5), Aynsley (3), and John (9 months).
They used the station as a crib, often as a base for Mr Hay while he went rabbiting.
They would miss the locals, the area's sunsets, and picking the thyme, rosehips, sweet peas and gooseberries that grew in the area.
Mrs Hay said her husband panned the gold for her wedding ring nearby, in the Taieri River.
The station may also have a friendly ghost, according to the Hays.
Someone, perhaps a former stationmaster, made their presence felt, but the place did not have a threatening atmosphere, Mr Hay said.
However, it had caused a few frights through the years.
"You're hearing [foot]steps, thinking 'I'm not hearing that,"' Mrs Hay said.
Another oddity was the internal door between the general waiting room and the ladies' waiting room, which was frequently ajar when Mr Hay arrived.
He always firmly closed it on departure.
Mr Hay said the station "oozes history".
Friends and family farewelled soldiers, some of whom never returned, during the world wars.
The station was the last the ill-fated Cromwell to Dunedin train departed on June 4, 1943, before crashing on a downhill curve 5km south, killing 21 passengers.
Mr Hay believed Hyde was the only community that turned out to greet the last passenger train 20 years ago.
In 1992, the community successfully fought the Railways Corporation, which wanted to rip up part of the track.
The Department of Conservation administers the formal railway land, which remains Crown-owned.
The Hays approached the department as a potential buyer, and were directed to the Otago Central Rail Trail Trust, which declined to make an offer.
Trust chairwoman Daphne Hull said the rail trail trust would love to buy the station but could not afford it.
"I think [the station] should be part of the rail-trail experience."
The trust had other priorities at this stage, such as resurfacing parts of the trail.
She hoped the station's buyers would be as keen on its heritage as were the Hays.
Doc coastal Otago area manager Robin Thomas said the Hays had the right to reside on the 1985sq m section.
If prospective buyers were eyeing the site for a commercial venture, they would need to apply to the department for a concession.
The department was keen to keep the station on the rail trail and to work with the buyers, he said.
Hyde resident Gerald Kinney, whose brother Francis was killed in the 1943 crash, hoped the station would stay put.
It held sad memories for the 84-year-old because of the rail tragedy, which should "never have happened".
The building is not listed with the Historic Places Trust.
However, Historic Places Trust Otago Southland area manager Owen Graham said the trust would be disappointed if the building was removed.
Its history was intrinsically tied to the area.
The online auction closes next Wednesday.
