RAILWAY GOODS SHED
.NOW IX OCCUPATION AX IMPOP.TANT IMPROVEMENT. It is a universally recognised principle that without facilities of transport mere volume of production cannot bring wealth to agricultural countries. It is to no purpose that some verdant valley or ['lain is producing abundantly unless there are facilities for bringing the produce of that soil to the marketing centres. Where the means of communication with markets are limited there can naturally be but little development, for not only arc the balk of the profits from the products of the soil swallowed in the cost of transit but the producer is also at a disadvantage in that he is not In close touch with the markets. Good roads mean a great deal, and railways mean a great deal more. But even railways have their faults, and one of the chief faults of the New Zealand railways seems to have been that when rolling stock was most needed by farmers there has been congestion and shortage: congestion of trucks at the market centres owing in some cases to the limited storage capacity, and shortage because a supply of trucks adequate to meet maximum requirements of farmers during the height of tho busy season could not be reasonably maintained by the railway department. In some oilier respects farmers have been at a disadvantage in their relations to the railway department, and for years they have been through their various organisations pegging awav at a proposition of great importance to the business interests of Invercargill. Not only has this matter been of concern to farmers. but it has exercised the minds of importers and I lie commercial community generally. The question referred to is the provision of a now goods shed at fnveraergill. and it is gratifying to be able to announce that simultaneously with the publication of ibis article the new shed, which has boon under construction for some month-:, will be opened for business. DIMENSIONS, The shed is being timidly finished off, and it bevy of workmen are engaged in putting the finishing touches on what is st;: ted by departmental officials to be the most up-to-date goods shed in the dominion The workmen are proud of the product of their labour, and they and the department have just reason to be proud of such a convenience. The shed is eight hundred feet long and sixty feet wide, ami although the figures may not give a very clear impression of the great extent of ground covered by the building they will serve to show that this structure will greatly supplement the storage accommodation at the local railway yard, <»n the western side of the shed ;i track runs along the entire b-ngth of the building, which is divided by a brh-k wall with steel sliding screens, into two sections each four-hun-dred feet long. On the eastern side there are four cart Pocks and five other doors. The dock allows the cart to be backed into the sited. The building stands on a concrete foundation, and it is interesting to note that there are one thousand three hundred ferro-concrete pillows beneath the floors. Aloft there tire sixty skylights admitting ample light, while steel-framed windows along Hie western facade supplement the lighting appliances. The roof is supported by steel girders and trusses resting upon studs of iron hark. The structure as a whole is of a very substantial character. There tire verandas running the full length of the shed on both sides, beneath which is a well-paved approach so that carts and horses standing before toe shed will be better protected from the weather than they have been in the past. Inside the building there are four offices so situated as to tie easily accessible from any part of the shed, and as tilt; building will be divided into two sections, one for imports and the other for exports, it will not be long before business people become used to the plan upon which the new building is to be utilised. EGOR-PROOF CRANES. Among the features of tho equipment are two electric cranes which operate in each of the two sections of the shed. They are mounted upon a framework supported by rails high up near the roof, and the lifting gear may be moved into any position in the shed, even unto the uttermost corners. The lifting capacity of each of the cranes is two tons, and they are described as fool-proof. That is to say that even a fool may operate them and not get into trouble, but past experience justifies the belief that the department will not entrust these valuable appliances to anyone coming within Ihe category mentioned. I VERSA!-. BENEFIT. Into the building during the coming season will lie gathered the produce from Southland’s numerous fanning centres. and the additional facility for the handling of goods should save time and thus gladden tho hearts of farmers and mercllants alike. What the immediate effect will bo it is difficult to say precisely. X>ut one thing is certain, and that ts that with this enormous building in which to handle the inward and outward trade of the province, and the twenty or thirty miles of tracks laid down in the railway yard, the needs of Invercargill and the surrounding districts are being well served, and an appreciable improvement should oe noted when next season’s rush sets in.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ST19140617.2.23
Bibliographic details
Southland Times, Issue 17679, 17 June 1914, Page 6
Word Count
895RAILWAY GOODS SHED Southland Times, Issue 17679, 17 June 1914, Page 6
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Southland Times. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.