AUCKLAND RAILWAYS.
IMPROVEMENTS IN PROGRESS. FUTURE REQUIREMENTS. Some time the engine sheds at the eastern end of Quay Street will be removed. It is now quite a number of . years since deputations, of business men began to wait upon Premiers and Minis- . lers of Railways, to pray that this block to the extension of the 6treet on the waterfront should be removed, but without avail. It was not until the late Hoa. J. A. Millar, as Minister of Railways, arranged with the Auckland Harbour Board to reclaim Mechanics' Bay for the Department's requirements, that there was a definite arrangement arrived at for the engine sheds to be removed, and Quay Street continued in a straight line from Queen Street right to,Campbell's Point. It should not be long before matters will be sufficiently advanced to warrant the removal of the -unsightly engine sheds and the continuation of Quay Street proceeded with. Already the greater part' of Mechanics' Bay has been -reclaimed by the suction dredger, and the road along the waterfront has teen formed, metalled, kerbed and channelled. ,Some.. of, theL&ins are shifting I TjMeites :on King Avenue to the new frontage facing the sea. - The excavation work at Campbell's Point is being pushed ahead, :and it is now possible* to' walk on the -reclamation right • across from Queen Street to. the Point; In quite a little while it-will-be also possible to walk •round to.. Judge's >Bay, which will be s. great convenience to residents of the lower end of. St. Stephen's Avenne, as it will give .much easier access to the centre of the city.
Probably- the engine-sheds that block the east end of Quay Street would have been removed ere this, had it not been for the war delaying the completion of the alterations and additions to the railway workshops at Newmarket. Thte was due to the difficulty experienced in securing the necessary steel trusses and other iron materials required. The war has naturally created an immense demand for iron material, and this renders it difficult to get supplies for purely civil "work. Looking backward, it is interesting , to recall the time when the Auckland railway station was on the other side of what was then called Breakwater Eoad, the thoroughfare leading to the present Railway wharf.. Quite a number of retail shops fronted Customs Street East, all of which disappeared shortly after the station was removed to Queen Street. It is almost certain that ere long the railway station may be back somewhere in the vicinity of the former site once more, and some time in the future, perhaps, another line will run north from the western side of Queen Street wharf, touching at Ponsonby, Point Chevalier, and linking up with the Main Trunk line north at Avondale flat, thus doing away with the detour via Newmarket, Mount Eden and Mount Albert, all of which places are now catered for by the electric tram service. Looking .still further ahead, when a "bridge is thrown across the Waitemata harbour, along Tokaroa reef to Kauri Point, this railway line along the western front of the waterside would be useful to connect with a line running off to Silverdale and across to again connect with the Main Trunk line north beyond Helensville. I -'
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19160122.2.48
Bibliographic details
Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 19, 22 January 1916, Page 9
Word Count
542AUCKLAND RAILWAYS. Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 19, 22 January 1916, Page 9
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Auckland Star. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Auckland Libraries.