THORNDON CHANGE

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 59, 7 September 1937, Page 11

THORNDON CHANGE

WELDED MAIN TRACKS

LONG LENGTHS USED

FINAL ADJUSTMENTS

Great changes have takfen place in the railway yard in the vicinity of the old Thorndon station, which has completely disappeared with all its grimy appanages. There are still a few old wooden buildings on the Thorndon Quay side of the site, but these are being demolished. Looking at the open ground one realises that even a persistent anachronism in the shape of railway stations like Thorndon occupies a great deal of space. The cleared area, indeed, would make a fine sports ground, and at first sight one wonders what the Department will find to fill it up with, but inquiries prove that the'trouble will be to get all that is necessary into it The present main lines leading out of and into the yard are only temporary. The . permanent main lines will go over the site of the old Thorndon station, where they are now being laid, and the rest of the available space will be utilised for the yard lines for the locomotive depot. This is at presently only partlyequipped with the necessary cdmmunications for efficient working, and when the present main lines are taken up, that space .will be taken for the purpose. There are also the permanent coaling and sanding hoists to be put in. This will be the last big change- ' over in the yard, where ever since the work of laying the rails was commenced, traffic has had to be carried on in the face of difficulties. The permanent main tracks are being laid in welded 210 feet lengths. Long lengths of welded line are no new thing on the New Zealand Railways. Most of the track between the Hutt Road overbridge and the Tawa Flat station is welded almost continuously. All told there are some eighteen miles • of welded track in service in Wellington. The work is usually done on the job, by a chemical process greatly in favour on the Continent, and considered superior to electric or arc welding. It is also coming into favour in America, where much longer lengths of continuous welding are being carried out. Tests of joints made by this method have been carried out in the Hutt shops, in which it was found that the joint was very nearly of the actual strength of the rail, If the joint were made stronger than the rail, the riding of trains would be affected. During the three season in which welded rail has been in use by, the railways it has given every satisfaction. In the tunnels, where the changes in temperature cause less expansion of the metal than outside, longer i continuously welded lengths have proved satisfactory, but in the open the 210 ft lengths are being kept to at present. ; One continuous length of a mile in the yard has given complete satisfaction. FLEXIBILITY OF STEEL. In the main lines in the yard\ now tinder construction, the work o£ welding was carried out on the reclamation, as it was not convenient on the spot. The carriage of 210 ft lengths of rail would seem to offer difficulties, but the flexibility of these long ribbons of steel is remarkable. They weigh tons apiece, yet, as they lie on the ground on temporary supports, held here and there on sleepers, a strong push to one end with the foot makes that length wriggle like a snake. They are,; indeed, comparatively short welded lengths to handle. In America hundreds of yards are carried on flat wagons, and fairly severe curves on the lines are' taken readily, the cargo adapting itself automatically. .The suppleness of the steel on the Thorndon job is shown by the way it snugs itself into depressions or inequalities in. the ground on which it is resting, presenting a switchback appearance. • The upper surface of the tail gives no indication whatever of the weld, and that the joint is considered strong is shown in the fact that no pains are taken to place each weld over a sleeper, and by the way the lengths are confidently pushed off the trucks and allowed to fall on the ground without damage. Weld^l lengths do away with the "clickettyclack" so obtrusive on the ordinary fishplate line. Screw bolts are used only at the fish plates, at intervals of 210 ft, the entire welded length being held by the ordinary dog-spikes. LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT. All the space between the old station and the line of buildings fronting Thorndon Quay will eventually be used for yard connections. Permanent coaling and sanding stations have yet to be installed. The ash dump and grab for loading into trucks for removal is now in use. Further down is the f locomotive depot. This is one part of the yard not connected with the signalling system. Tha engines, will come in over the big turntable, turn round there if required, and proceed to coal, sand, and water, and then are run into the locomotive shed, where there is every arrangement for their treatment, the provision, of worn parts, changing of axles, washing, and cleaning generally.

The "sub-store" on "trust store" contains a miscellany of everything, that may be required at short notice by locomotives, wagons, train lighting, etc. It is styled a trust store because it is not charged with articles until they are taken out and signed for. A bin card system avoids all possibilities of errors in stocktaking. Each bin or shelf has a number, and-on an index kept in the office of the storeman is a record of the number of articles or parts in each bin. By this means it is not necessary to have the technical names of parts placed on the bins; they might convey little to anyone not connected with the mechanism they may be needed for in a hurry. If the miscellany of a; ship chandler's store is interesting to the landsman, the "trust store" is bewildering to the layman. He may recognise buffers, coil springs, mammoth washers, and the like, but he would be puzzled to say what use some of the bits of metal could be put to. Things fragile, like gauge glasses, are found in the same store as metal things of bulk apparently indestructible. There is an ordered cleavage in the disposition of these stores. -All goods imported or bought outside the railway shops are kept separate, and it is surprising how much of the total necessities is made locally. Above the store are the foreman's offlce, and men's showers, lockers, etc. The depot is naturally a sooty, oily spot, and the showers are well used.

The locomotive depot is divided be^ tween electric and steam engines, wagon road repair shop, and workshop, with lathes and other machinery, and down the centre of each compartment runs a deep pit, reached by means of small movable steel ladders. This engine creche has its own atmosphere* hot, smelly, and very dirty. Smoke and steam make it hard to see, what is going1 on when the big babies come in for a drink of oil and a massage. They hiss and rumble in as though in pleasurable anticipation, but what those who have to crawl round and under them think is doubtless in keeping with the spirit of the place.' Each driver is allowed forty minutes to prepare his engine for the road, and twenty minutes to clean up when he •pomes In.