Pigeon Bush railway station Pigeon Bush railway station Pigeon Bush railway station was a single platform, rural railway station in an area of the South Wairarapa district known as Pigeon Bush, about south-west of Featherston, in New Zealand’s North Island. The station was between Featherston and Cross Creek stations on the Wairarapa Line. The station was bypassed when the Rimutaka Tunnel was opened. During work on the Incline Contract for the Rimutaka Incline, land was taken just north-east of Lucena’s Creek (known today as Owhanga Stream) for a road diversion around what was to become the yard for a station identified on plans as
Rimutaka Tunnel tunnel. Detailed surveys were completed in 1938/1939, but the project was again postponed due to World War II. After World War II it became a matter of urgency to consider a replacement. The H class locomotives were showing their age, the Incline was in bad shape, and maintenance costs were increasing. Between September 1945 and July 1947 four options were considered. It was accepted that no contour line could be the solution and that a tunnel under the Rimutaka Ranges was the only satisfactory answer. The adopted route was the shortest route, a tunnel between Mangaroa and Lucena’s Creek gully.