Glenpark is a lightly populated rural locality in the Otago

Otago

Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...

 region of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

's South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

. It is northwest of Palmerston

Palmerston, New Zealand

The town of Palmerston, in New Zealand's South Island lies 50 kilometres to the north of the city of Dunedin. It is the largest town in the Waihemo Ward of the Waitaki District with a population of 890 residents...

 and is on the banks of the Shag River

Shag River

Shag River is located in Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. It rises in the Kakanui Range, flowing southeast for 50 kilometres before reaching the Pacific Ocean near the town of Palmerston...

. To the west is the locality of Stoneburn

Stoneburn

Stoneburn is a lightly populated rural locality in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated west of Glenpark and Inch Valley. The nearest significantly sized town is Palmerston, southeast of Stoneburn.- References :...

.

Economy

Economic activity in and around Glenpark is agricultural, including New Zealand's largest free range chicken farm.

Transport

Glenpark is located between Palmerston and Inch Valley

Inch Valley

Inch Valley is a lightly populated rural locality in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It is northwest of Palmerston and Glenpark, east of Stoneburn, on the banks of the Shag River...

 on the route of State Highway 85

New Zealand State Highway 85

State Highway 85 is a South Island State Highway in New Zealand, servicing the Maniototo Plains and the North and Central Otago regions of the South Island between the major settlements of Alexandra and Palmerston. It is wholly two lane and passes through some of the most extreme climatic regions...

.

For 104 years, a branch line

Branch line

A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...

 railway that diverged from the Main South Line

Main South Line

The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railroad line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Invercargill via Dunedin...

 in Palmerston passed through Glenpark. This railway originally ran to Dunback

Dunback

Dunback, formerly Waihemo, is a small town in the Otago region of New Zealand. It is located between Palmerston and Ranfurly on Highway 85. It has a population of about 200 people...

 with a later sub-branch to Makareao

Makareao

Makareao is a lightly populated rural locality in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. To the west is Dunback and to the south is Inch Valley and the nearest significantly populated town, Palmerston.- Economy :...

 and was thus collectively known as the Dunback and Makareao Branches

Dunback and Makareao Branches

The Dunback and Makareao Branches were two connected branch line railways, part of New Zealand's national rail network. Located in the Otago region of the South Island, both lines were 15km in length and shared the first 11km...

. It opened through Glenpark on 29 August 1885; the station was 7.23 km from the junction with the main line, near the halfway point of the 15.2 km long branch. Passenger services were provided solely by mixed train

Mixed train

A mixed train is a train that hauls both passenger and freight cars or wagons. In the early days of railways they were quite common, but by the 20th century they were largely confined to branch lines with little traffic. As the trains provided passengers with very slow service, mixed trains have...

s and due to low patronage, they were cancelled on 10 August 1930 and Glenpark station became freight only. The station had a small goods shed

Goods shed

A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train.A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built alongside a track with possibly just a canopy over the door...

, a loading bank, and a loop to hold 31 wagons.

On 1 January 1968, the Dunback portion of the railway closed and trains ran solely to serve a limeworks in Makareao. Local freight ceased to be carried and trains ran through Glenpark without stopping thrice weekly. The line closed entirely on 1 June 1989 and the formation

Track bed

A track bed or trackbed is the term used to describe the groundwork onto which a railway track is laid. Trackbeds of disused railways are sometimes used for recreational paths or new light rail links....

and a disused bridge are still visible in and near Glenpark.