Horopito was a station on the North Island Main Trunk line,[1] in the Ruapehu District of New Zealand.

It and Pokaka also lay to the south of Makatote Viaduct, the late completion of which held up opening of the station.

In August 1908 Horopito was the point where engines were changed on the first through train, to reduce its weight to negotiate the still unballasted track to the north.

[17]Two of NIMT's main viaducts are to the south of Horopito, where the line crosses valleys descending steeply from Mount Ruapehu.

Both were designed by Peter Seton Hay, supervised by Resident Engineer, Frederick William Furkert, both had 201 m (659 ft) radius curves, and both were replaced on 29 June 1987 by a 10 km (6.2 mi) deviation, begun in 1984.

As early as the 1960s there had been calls to bypass the viaducts, as they'd had a 20 mph (32 km/h) speed restriction, due to their tight radius, since the 1930s.

The lattice piers were built a tier at a time, using guy lines attached to derricks.

It was railed northwards to the Hapuawhenua valley floor, over a temporary, sharply curved and graded,[21] 1 mi 48 ch (2.6 km) line from Ohakune, which was built in 1906.

It was the first of 5 viaducts in the last portion of the NIMT to be finished, but the rails couldn't be linked to Ohakune until Hapuawhenua was ready in April 1908.

[18] On 18 and 19 March 1918 the Raetihi fire damaged 70 ft (21 m) of sleepers, some of the parapet and set a truck on a goods train alight.

[20] It mostly followed the route (with the exception of the section to Taonui Viaduct) of a bridle track completed in 1886, which had been upgraded to a dray road in 1895.

It was mostly paved between 1904 and November 1906, mainly with setts to create an all-weather road for construction material along the line.

From 11 November 1906[34] it was also used to carry passengers and goods between the northern and southern railheads, though as late as May 1907 there were complaints of mud making some parts impassable.

[35] However, a month later the road was described as very good[36] and a daily coach was covering the 28 mi (45 km) between Raurimu and Rangataua.

[38] Early in 1908 the northern terminal advanced to Waimarino (National Park), reducing the coach distance to 22 mi (35 km).

Like the viaducts, it has a Category I Historic Places status, though much later, from 5 October 2004,[34] and was re-opened from 2009 as part of a cycle trail.