RAILWAY IMPROVEMENTS

Southland Times, Issue 17607, 23 March 1914, Page 7

RAILWAY IMPROVEMENTS

I ,i ii.’AL VAKL> RFAIDDKLLTrD. Xl-:\V S VSTFAX I.!.\KKI » IT bfsv 11av for platkuwkks. There was the clans fit’ -steel meeting steel, the fall uf hammers, anil the puffins ef engines in the local railway yard yesterday ami an abnormally bis sans of men worked with unusual eagerness. The work in prosress was obviously ursent. and the bis platelaying :ind hallastins pings appeared to be fired with an all pervading desire to complete their task between sunrise and sunset. The activity of thus sans and the consumption of tiudr labours late in the afternoon marked a very important change, and one for which the business people of Invercar.sill and several of tb© outlyins townships have been clainouring for some time, and this morn ins goods trains will enter new sidings; rakes of goods wagons will mtt.l ■ throush new points, and in short, the whole workings of the goods sidinss will be according to a new plan. As the breakups of the old link's and the weldins of the new ones in the yard system rendered it impossible for the ordinary work of the department to proceed while it was in prosress the work had perforce to be done at some time when there was no traffic to th ■ sends shed, an>l as Sunday is the only day on which that happy slate of affairs prevails tit ere was no choice but to attack the tusk at six a.in. yesterday. West rf tlu; old soods shed runs a series of sidings which were formerly approached by a Hue crossing from the main yard Immediately south of the soodsyoflices, and l.ctwt en the site upon which the new goods shed is being erected and the offices. As this line crossed the track of vehicular traffic from the lower- end of the yard to the new goods shed it was necessary to eliminate it. and thus rpllins stock will now enter the soods sidings from the lines south of the new shed and at a point almost abreast of the engine house. That is to say. that all goods traffic will proceed down the western side of the old mid the new sheds, while on the eastern side will he the approach used by vehicles going to and from the two sheds. West of the shed are seven sidinss or loops, each of which is several hundred feet in lensth and running the entire length of the yard, and there is in .addition a siding which will run throush the entire length of both sheds. The additional accommodation thereby provided is enormous. and those who are competent to judge say that these Improvements will make the yard one of the most commodious and up-to-date in the dominion. The sidings referred to on the west have been laid down as part of the general scheme of improvement, and the work which was done yesterday was that of removing the old lines leading to the goods shed and linking up the network of points which ■will complete the new system, so that goods corning in to-day , will enter by a new route* The amount ot work connected with the task was far greater than a casual glance at the result would indicate, and it was. moreover, arduous, involving the cutting, fitting and fixing of lengths of rail in many of the sidings. I-'or the ballasting of the new lines some ninety trucks of gravel were assembled ill tin yard, and the bulk of thas was u I, TruiVic will, of course, continue to go t ► tli< oid sited until the new one is comi■!(•!«.i, but it will now go by a new louic. Mo indication caai yet be^given

as to when the new shed will he ready for occupation, but from the section which has already taken shape it is possible to form an idea of the hugeness of tile structure. Beneath the steel frame roof a track is being prepared to carry the powerful overhead electric crane with which it will be possible to handle goods with great expedition, and many oilier commanding features will doubtless lie observed as the work proceeds.