WELLINGTON RAILWAY FACILITIES

Evening Star, Issue 21662, 6 March 1934, Page 2

WELLINGTON RAILWAY FACILITIES

NEW BUILDING TO REPLACE TWO STATIONS OLD MUDDLES CLEARED UP The plan of Wellington’s new railway yard shows to what an extent the remodelling of the tracks will remove some of the disabilities which every railwayman recognised in the old layout. The present generation wonders why there were ever two railway stations, and the visitor could never see any reason lor separate stations at Lambton and Thorndon ; but the railwayman knows that the matter goes further than that, and that his chief difficulty lay in working two separate station yards within a short distance of one another. These tiro yards, the unified working of which, even with modifications upon the original lay-outs, imposed numerous difficulties, were due to the peculiar conditions existing prior to 1908. At that time the whole of Thorndon station and yards constituted part of the private Mannwatu Railway Company, which operated between Thorndon (Wellington) and Palmerston North, where connection was made with the Government Railways. The southern yard—that is to say, the Lambton station —was Government-owned, and there was very little community of interest between the two stations, which for many years, indeed, were severe competitors. Since the Main Trunk line was completed through to Auckland in 1909 and the Mannwatu Company was bought out by the Government several temporary arrangements have been made to,enable the two stations to work under one control. The development of business and the necessity for centralising the work have made a new yard imperative HUGE IMPROVEMENTS. The new locomotive housing will be a great improvement in more ways than one. The old sheds were not only m a dilapidated condition, but were on dead-end ” tracks, and all operations in taking engines to “ loco.,” as the railwaymcn say, and out a“ain, were much too unnecessarily complicated for modern transport conditions. The new locomotive housing 'is on thoroughly up-to-date lines, giving through running for the locomotives from the trains to the coal and water services and to shelter, with no “ dead end ” working whatever. The whole scheme of sidings is on the loop system, giving access at both ends and a much freer means of entry and exit between the yard and the main lines. The seven platforms which the new Wellington station provides for passenger trains will represent a huge improvement upon the existing systems at Lambton and Thorudon, where until quite recently everything had to be received and despatched at long single platforms, creating much inconvenience for the passengers, who had little shelter.

Davis street, which really marks the old boundary between the former Manawatu Company’s yard and the Government yard at Lambton, disappears from the plan and. from the railway yard, its place being taken by a network of railway lines, including the main lines, of which there are five connecting up with the Main Trunk and the Wairarapa line. Bunny sti’eet will, of course, have no railway lines. Without the reclamation of sixtyeight acres the new yard wonld_ have l been impossible. This land inside a new waterfront carries the now main road outlet from the city via Waterloo quay, and what was once the Thorndon esplanade and baths is now the most intensely used section of the goods train arrival and departure area.

The price of the new scheme is in the vicinity of £300,000, and the work is in tbo bands of the Fletcher Construction Company.