Runciman railway station

Runciman railway station was a station on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand, serving an area which had been sold by James Runciman in 1864, with plots near the proposed railway gaining higher prices. It was initially planned for the terminal of the Auckland and Drury Railway to be north of the settlement, but an offer of the later station site was made in 1864.

There was debate about the location of the station as early as 1874. Although the line was complete by late 1873, the first passenger train didn't run until 7 October 1874 and complaint continued about delays in opening the line. Possibly the delay was due to threats to blockade the line to force trains to stop at Runciman. Drury became a crossing point for trains on the official opening to Mercer on 20 May 1875. It seems Drury station was known as Runciman, though the name didn't become official until July 1879. The disputes over location seem to have continued throughout the station's existence. By 1895 it had cattle loading facilities. The name was briefly changed to Oira in 1909.

Until 1917 Runciman station was next to a level crossing on the Great South Rd. Work then began to replace the crossing with a bridge, ease the gradient and build a new Drury station between Runciman and Drury, despite a protest petition about the move a few chains away.