extension to Rangiahua is not included, as it never saw regular service. Otiria to Kaikohe (Opened 1 May 1914) Kawiti (5 km) Cameron's Crossing (7 km) Ngapipito (10 km) Rakautao (17 km) Ngapuhi (22 km) Kaikohe (26 km) Kaikohe to Okaihau (Opened 29 October 1923) Lake Omapere Road Crossing (35 km) Okaihau (40 km) A ballast pit was located near Kawiti. Engine sheds were located at Kaikohe (closed 1930) and Okaihau Operation Although Kaikohe has become established as the service centre of the Far North, it failed to generate much rail traffic in the early years of the line. During the first ten months of existence, just 1,500 tons of inbound freight was carried, with roughly half that carried outbound; the decline continued to the point that in 1918 Kaikohe lost its stationmaster. Minimal services were offered, and although losses increased up to 1930, fortunes had somewhat improved by 1940, and by 1950 there was sufficient traffic to justify six trains each way a week. Two carried solely freight, while four were mixed trains, also carrying passengers. Full complements of staff were employed at Kaikohe and Ōkaihau, where a locomotive depot was located. Folk singer Peter Cape wrote and sang his song The Okaihau Express in the 1950s about the Ōkaihau train, which consisted of a steam engine, a carriage and a guards van. When railcars were introduced on services north of Auckland in November 1956, they ran all the way to Ōkaihau. Previously, a carriage train known as the Northland Express (or the Opua Express) had run from Auckland to Opua with connections to Okaihau via the mixed trains, but with the change of the northern terminus to Ōkaihau, the branch increased in importance. This proved to be short-lived as the railcar service was withdrawn in July 1967 due to mechanical problems plaguing the 88-seater railcars. Passengers had to use the mixed trains, with significantly older rolling stock on a slower schedule, and demand slipped. The branch closed to passengers on 21 June 1976. In 1977, a relaxation of road transport laws led to a decline in freight traffic on the line and forestry proposals that would have required a railway service failed to eventuate. Scheduled trains were cancelled on 12 August 1983, and for a little over four years the line was shunted when required. The branch closed on 1 November 1987. Today After the line's closure, the