Birchwood was once the terminus of a private railway line run by the Ohai Railway Board, an extension of the Wairio Branch. The 19 km line from Wairio to Birchwood ran via Ohai and opened in 1934. The section from Ohai to Birchwood had been closed by the time the section from Wairio to Ohai was incorporated into the national network in 1990.[2]
Churchman, Geoffrey B; Hurst, Tony (2001) [1990, 1991]. The Railways of New Zealand: A Journey through History (Second ed.). Transpress New Zealand. ISBN0-908876-20-3.