Well I have started working from the other end of the line backwards because it makes a lot more sense seeing that is the direction I am working in for an article I am writing at the moment. So having already covered Cromwell to Alexandra then it is working back from Alexandra to somewhere, maybe to Hyde. If we take the distance from Alexandra back to Wingatui and split it in half, we end up somewhere near Hyde. But I have to work out how much I can do with an article of 3000 words and how much will be left for the remaining part. And that has to be finished in four weeks. It won't take too long to do the maps seeing as I have already drafted a lot of them, just comparisons and corrections from the aerial photos is what is needed.
Galloway was at 200.37 km between Chatto Creek and Alexandra. It was never a big station and like a lot of others never had a separate goods shed, instead the station building (like many of them) catered for the limited freight. There was a stockyard. The road was originally diverted to go around the site, but since closure has been straightened, cutting through the edge of the stockyard. The station building was partially preserved on the Clare family farm nearby, and sold to the Rail Trail Trust when they moved away from the area.
A not too sharp aerial photo of Galloway from a 1976 aerial of the area. The track layout on the maps was aided by the chainage charts showing centres of 13' and 39' for the loop and siding respectively. It is not clear if the loop was still in place in this view two years before closure.
Maps of Galloway.
Western approach to Galloway.
The Manorburn bridge (No.81) between Galloway and Alexandra. This is 55 metres long, and only 3 metres high. The bridge was originally constructed at a length of 121 yards, but half at the Galloway end was filled in with an embankment when it was rebuilt in 1944.
