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Mercer railway station in Mercer, New Zealand, is 72 km from Auckland and 609 km from Wellington on the North Island Main Trunk line. It opened on 20 May 1875 and was closed to passengers about 1970 and to goods in the 1990s. It burnt down in 1879〔(Papers Past Hawke's Bay Herald, 20 May 1879 )〕 and also in 1900.〔(Papers Past NZ Herald 8 Feb 1901 )〕 Until 1958 it was the first refreshment stop south of Auckland.〔(Te Ara - Waikato Heads to Meremere )〕 ==History== The line was extended to Mercer on 20 May 1875, though the pioneer British contractors, John Brogden & Sons, ran an excursion train the day before. The New Zealand Herald said, "''This will be a busy station for some time to come, it being the terminus.''" It described the route as crossing Mangatawhiri swamp, then running beside the South Road, with a short branch line being constructed to connect with the Waikato Steam Navigation Company's boats. It said the station and other buildings were still being built.〔(New Zealand Herald, Volume XII, Issue 4217, 20 May 1875, Page 3: THE AUCKLAND AND MERCER RAILWAY )〕 'Some time to come' ended just over 2 years later, when the line was extended to Ngaruawahia on 13 August 1877. In 1902 the newly rebuilt station was described as, "a long wood and iron building, which contains a large refreshment room and bar, ladies' room, public room, booking office, stationmaster's room, and post and telegraph department. There is also a large engine shed, besides a pump house and coalshed, and there are eight cottages in the immediate vicinity", with 9 staff - stationmaster, porter, cadet, 2 engine drivers, 2 firemen, and 2 greasers.〔(NZ Electronic Text Collection - The Cyclopedia Company Ltd, 1902 )〕 Until New Zealand Railways took over in 1917,〔(Paekakariki Station Precinct Trust Museum )〕 the refreshment rooms were managed by the Mercer Railway Hotel, opposite the station. The hotel was rebuilt in 1898, with 15 bedrooms, 3 sitting rooms and a 50-seat dining room.〔 The refreshment rooms gained importance when dining cars on main trunk expresses were removed as a wartime measure.〔(Refreshments - the North Island main trunk line: NZ History online - History Group of the Ministry for Culture and Heritage )〕 The refreshment rooms became the target of poet A.R.D Fairburn's witty tongue with this very famous quip. "The thought occurs to those who are entrained: The squalid tea of Mercer is not strained." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mercer Railway Station」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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