Today
Though in various places road improvements or other development have obliterated the original railway formation, the route can still be followed for much of its length.
The old Nelson station yard has been developed since the 1990s, now containing several commercial premises including a new Fire Station. A plaque outside the Fire Service building is now the only reminder at the site of its former association with the railway.
At the south end of St. Vincent Street, the railway formation can be seen veering off to the left on the climb to the Bishopdale Saddle to join the railway reserve. At Appleby, the road overbridge is still in place, crossing the still clearly visible rail formation. The old Annesbrook Road overbridge was demolished in 2000, and modern road improvements have utilised parts of the rail formation between Stoke and Richmond.
At the site of the former Spring Grove station, locals have erected the station’s old signboard and a railway crossing road sign as an acknowledgment of the site's railway past. Platforms, shelters and displays have been built at the sites of the former Tapawera and Kawatiri stations for the benefit of visitors. The Belgrove windmill has been restored and is maintained by the Department of Conservation.
As of 1998, original station buildings were still standing at Foxhill, Belgrove, Tui, and Glenhope where the station building – converted for use as a farm shed – stands forlornly alone in a paddock that was once its station yard.
Both the Spooner's Range and Kawatiri tunnels still exist and are part of public walkways, though the Spooners Tunnel is only accessible by appointment.
The Nelson Railway Society, originally incorporated as the Grand Tapawera Railroad Company with the intention of establishing and operating a line on the original formation near Motupiko, now operates a short line in Founders Park, Nelson. They have recovered and now utilise station buildings from a couple of former stations on the Nelson Section, and operate rolling stock from, or at least of the same class or vintage as that used on the Nelson Section.
A proposal to rebuild the line between Glenhope and Port Nelson was mooted in 1995 as part of a branch line revival strategy, but no further progress was made.
Read more about this topic: Nelson Section
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