NEW GOODS SHED

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24866, 4 May 1946, Page 6

NEW GOODS SHED

officiaiTotening on MONDAY EXCELLENT FACILITIES PROVIDED With a wafson capacity seven times greater than the shed it is replacing, and with the introduction of a system of direct loading, the new railway good# shed between Colombo street and Durham street, which will be officially opened on Monday, should do much to facilitate the handling of. goods traffic from Christchurch. The new shed has four lines inside it, and one outside, and is 650 feet in length, giving a total rail distance of nearly two-thirds of a mile. Each of the five lines is capable Of handling 34 waggons, compared with a total capacity of 24 in the old shed. Four motordriven mobile cranes, each capable of lifting loads of two or three tons, are on order, and it is thought that more may be used eventually. The new shed, the width of which is 172 feet, is adequately lighted and will provide excellent working conditions. The line outside the ehed, which has a loading bank, will be used for the dispatch of agricultural implements, motor-cars, and horse traffic.

The direct loading system, which has been used with success In Auckland and Australia, will mean that the present shift of work, between 6 p.m. and midnight, will be eliminated. Instead of goods having to be wheeled in trolleys across a rough floor they will be loaded directly into the trucks. At present, the evening shift is required to load th? goods remaining after the last delivery has been made to the shed, but with the new system this will not occur. The time saved in loading should also be very considerable. In the old B shed, with its 24-waggon capacity, frequent shunting was necessary as the waggons were filled. Motor access to the shed appears to be ample. On the north side of the shed, traffic will enter from the Durham street and leave at the Colombo street end. At the south side the reverse procedure will be adopted. A special shunting line, which joins the main line west of Antigua street, gives rail access to the shed. This line also gives direct access to the yards at Middleton. It is reported that in the near future all south-bound goods trains will again be made up at Middleton, and the north-bound trains in the Christchurch yards. Waggons in the new shed will be marshalled in trains in order of departure, and the use of the Middleton yard.should eliminate a considerable amount of shunting. The work of demolishing the old shed will be commenced soon, and a signal cabin and yards office are to be erected as the next step in the programme to modernise tne station and yards. • .At.th® time the Christchurch Exbibitiqn in 19°6- 19 07, the shed known as B’ shed was burned to the ground in a spectacular fire, and the Railways Department was faced with heavy claims for lost goods. Later one of two sheds on Gladstone pier at Lyttelton, originally used for customs work, was moved to Christchurch and took the place of the shed demolished by fire, and it has been in constant use until the present time. The new structure will also be called “B” shed. The system of direct loadins to be employed has perhaps its most extensive use at the station at Darling Harbour, Sydney. Lack of space there has resulted in the introduction of a double bank of tracks. There are four on ground level, and a ramp for motor vehicles leads to a further four tracks above.

TTie Minister for Railways (the Hon. ?J.r S^ n y e) and the General Manager (Mr J. Sawers), will take part in the opening ceremony on Monday.