page_title: The Strand Station
section_title: Railway use
hierarchical_section_title: The Strand Station / History / Railway use
caption_attribution_description: English: Title: Aukland [sic] - railway station Physical description: 1 photographic print&#160;: gelatin silver&#160;; 8 x 10 in. or smaller. Notes: Photographic print made by LC from Jackson's vintage glass negative.; Forms part of: Jackson, William Henry, 1843-1942. World's Transportation Commission photograph collection (Library of Congress).; Gift; Colorado Historical Society; 1949.
context_page_description: The Strand Station, also referred to as Auckland Strand Station, is a railway station located on the eastern edge of the Auckland CBD. It currently serves as the northern terminus of the Northern Explorer long-distance service between Auckland and Wellington, operated by The Great Journeys of New Zealand. Suburban services do not pass through the station, but it can serve as a backup for Britomart Transport Centre, the city's main railway station since 2003, during times of disruption.
  The Auckland Railway Station was opened in 1930 on Beach Road, replacing the previous railway terminus which was on the Queen Street site where Britomart now exists. The 1930 station was the third to serve as the rail terminus for Auckland, and remained the sole station serving the CBD until its closure in July 2003, when Britomart became the new terminus.
  The Strand Station uses some of the platforms that were retained when the Auckland Railway Station building closed. The original Platform 7 was retained for excursion use as 'The Strand Station', named after the nearby street.
context_section_description: The Auckland Railway Station was built by the New Zealand Public Works Department between 1928 and 1930 and sits on reclaimed land on Beach Road close to the wharves. It replaced a smaller terminal on the site of Britomart. The grand and ornate building was intended to serve as a gateway to the city, and its construction cost of £320,000 was the largest independent contract awarded in New Zealand. It has great historical importance for its associations with the public building programme of the 1920s, and with the central role played by the railways in national transport.
  The Auckland Railway Station building has been a city landmark from the time it was opened in 1930, and is a grand architectural statement in beaux-arts brick and mortar, having been called "one of the most self-consciously monumental public buildings erected in early twentieth-century New Zealand". The building was designed by William Henry Gummer (1884–1966), a student of Sir Edwin Lutyens and architect of various notable New Zealand buildings such as the Dilworth Building in Queen Street.
  The symmetrical facade of the three storey-high building was constructed of reinforced concrete, faced with brick and Coromandel granite. It is approached by a sweeping ramp on either side of the building, enclosing a landscaped garden immediately to the front. The building's design echoed American models, such as Union Station in Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania Station in New York City, considered the most striking and luxurious examples of the time. It has also been favourably compared with Grand Central Terminal, in New York City as well, and the National Theatre in Melbourne.
  The station was given ornate public spaces and a wide variety of amenities, from waiting  and dining rooms to shops and a first aid station. Of particular interest is the magnificent metal ceiling in the main lobby, this item was manufactured in Germany and the parts shipped out and reassembled to create one of the most remarkable structures in the country. The looming threat of German aggression meant that its origins were quickly downplayed and obscured. The rest of the lobby is a showpiece of expensive imported marble and fine bronze detailing with a beautiful terazzo floor. The fine detailing extended to the restrooms with imported panelling, light fittings, period-style furniture and porcelain sanitaryware.
  Underpasses and ramps linked the station building with an extended platform network to the rear, built with elegant concrete canopies and other elements as integral parts of the original design and function. With modifications, the building was used as the main point of arrival for rail passengers in Auckland for most of the century.
  The station building was sold during the privatisation of part of the New Zealand Railways Corporation during the 1990s, partly because of the impending construction of Britomart Transport Centre, which would become the new railway station for the city centre. Although sold, the station remained open until July 2003 when Britomart was opened. A single platform remained in use to serve a limited number of peak-hour suburban services which continued to operate for several months after the opening of Britomart. In the decade that followed, the platform was occasionally used by excursion trains although, along with the rest of the platforms, it became largely dilapidated.
caption: Auckland railway station, 1895, on the Queen Street frontage where the Britomart building now stands
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