RAILWAY ENGINE SHEDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6565, 1 December 1882, Page 6

RAILWAY ENGINE SHEDS.

Fouohey, the contractor for the erec- ! tion of the engine sheds at the Auckland railway station, has almost completed his ' contract, ana will be ready to hand the buildings over to the Government- in a few days. The buildings are very extensive and commodious, aud are thoroughlv well built of the best materials procurable. The main building has a depth of 70 feet by a width of 112 feet. The roof is the principal fea- ) ture of the structure. It consists of two spans, 55 feet and 57 feet, trussed by iron | rods of 2i inches by half-inch, and stays 4 • inches by half-inch. The roof has a very li<jht appearance from the f;,ct of its being u all iron, but some idea of its solidity may be formed, when it is stated that , each of the twelve spans of the roof contains 19 cwt. of wrought iron work, built in the strongest possible manner. The roofs ' are covered with 24-gauge galvanised iron, painted on both sides with red lead. There j are fourteen skylights and two ventilators, > each forty feet in length. The walls are j i fifteen feet high, the studding being 6 by j 3 inches, and for the windows G by 4 inches. : | The central and side-posts are of massive 3 timber, capable of sustaining almost any 1 weight. There are eight pairs of enLrauce • doors, 5 feet by 12 feet each. The weather- ' boards are 8-inch by 1-inch, and the whole ' interior of the building is painted with " Thames hematite paint. There are eight i engine-pits, each 5S feet lousr, 3 feet 7 inches deep, and 2 feet 6 inches wide. The = pits are built of concrete and cemented, the top beams being massive kauri of 12 inclics by 9 inches, firmly bolted 1 down by long bolts screwed in recesses in the concrete. The pits are drained into j the main sewer by means of 4-inch pipes, and ■ in each pit is a cesspit, 3 feet in depth, under 5 the floor of the pit. The sheds are capable ; of containing 16 engines, for cleaning, repairing, &c. Outside the shed are S pits, r for discharging ashes iuto, &c. At the ba--k i of the main building facing Breakwateri road, is the engine-fitters' shop, 35 feet by s 32 feet, the walls of which are 20 feet 9 : inches in ?,he clear, and the weatherboards and sheila are similar to those in the main building. There are also two offices and a store-room, each 15 feet by 15 feet 10 inches, » built on the lean to principle, and covered t with iron of the same cauge as the main rocf. The greater portion of the building material (and many of the pieces were of extraordinary length and size) was procured from the Hcleusvillc Saw-mill Com pany, the dressed timber from the New Zealand Timber Company, the skylights, doors, &c., from the Union Sash and Door Company, and the whole of the iron work was made by Mr. G. Leahy. The whole structure is highly creditable to the contractor and all concerned, and when it is taken into consideration that it is little more than three months since the work was commenced it must be acknowledged that great expedition has been used.